One of the things we did not get to do here the last time was drive the Needles Highway. The Highway has three one lane tunnels along its length. One of them is only 8 feet wide, the same width as the back of the Behemoth. The other two are just a few inches wider. So, driving the Behemoth through was a no go (yes, people get stuck in these tunnels all the time driving vehicles too big for the tunnel) and since the road is very narrow two way with no space to turn around, we were not even thinking of trying it. But Leslie came up with a great idea that would satisfy one of our other desires, rent a Razor All Terrain Vehicle in Custer, drive the Needles Highway and then take it off pavement for some fun four wheeling. Today promised to be the perfect day to do it with temperatures in the mid-sixties and no rain in the forecast. We drove up to Custer, arriving a bit after 2 PM, and picked out Adventure Rentals. We were able to rent a two seat Razor XP 1000 ATV. They normally rent for half days from 2PM to 6PM, so we were a little late. Total cost (not including gas) was $297. We were getting a late start, but the staff assured us we could do what we wanted if we hurried. After filling out the forms, coordinating with the staff on a good route with some fun off pavement trails, and getting our safety briefing, we jumped in our Razor and took off. One of the things we sort of expected but had not prepared for was that these things are VERY LOUD! Even though it has a muffler, it did not sound like it and the engine is right behind the seats. We almost could not talk to each other. Another thing was there is a fair amount of heat coming off the engine. The cockpit was tight for David, but workable. We drove from Custer, back into Custer State Park where we picked up the start of Needles highway. The Razor was able to get up to 55mph on the road, which was incredibly loud but a little nerve racking. Cruising along the Needles highway at 25-35Mph was more pleasant. We drove along the Needles highway with a lot of motorcycles since the Sturgis rally was still going on. Driving the Razor through the narrow tunnels was a breeze. There was no way we would have gotten the Behemoth through unscathed. We stopped along the route for pictures and to give our ears a break. We also took the time to scout out Sylvan Lake area since it seemed like a good place to go Kayaking. The drive was gorgeous and well worth the effort to see it. We drove the rest of Needles highway until it intersected US385. The last 8 miles were through Black Hills National Forest. We headed south on US385 and turned off onto Spring Creek Road which took us off pavement back into the National Forest. The first several miles were easy gravel roads which we could have taken the Behemoth on if we wanted. Then we turned off onto some dirt tracks that the electronic pad navigation map they had given us showed would take us to the top of Bear Mountain (7,165 feet) , the highest outlook in the area. The trail quickly became more challenging but the Razor made it seem simple. Between the great ground clearance, off road suspension, excellent traction and low end torque, it easily climbed us up the side of Bear Mountain to the top where there is a forest service watch tower. We are very impressed on the off road capability of the Razor as we don’t think we could have made it with any of our previous four wheel drive vehicles and definitely not with the Behemoth. As we got to the top of Bear Mountain around 5:30, the ranger was coming down out of the watch tower and locking up. So, we could not go up on the watch tower deck to take in the view, but we walked around and climbed up as high as we could in the tower to get pictures. Leslie took over driving the Razor as we headed back to town. We drove the dirt and gravel roads down to US16, then screamed along US16 at 55MPH (and finished off our hearing) back into town. Leslie really enjoyed driving, especially since the dirt road back was pretty smooth and it was fun to bump up the speed a bit! We stopped to refuel the Razor (it only used 4 gallons) before turning it back in. We were late arriving back at Adventure Rentals about 6:25. But they graciously waved us into the wash up area and checked us back in. They seemed surprised we were returning the rental with no damage to it! We tried to get a copy of our route off the electronic pad with the maps, but it seems to have gotten lost in the transmission. After completing our drop off, we walked across the street to the Wolf Bar and Grill to have dinner. The food was surprisingly good for a small town bar and grill. On the way home, we saw numerous deer near the road.
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| Our Razor XP 1000 |
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| Cathedral Spires |
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| Narrow Tunnels |
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| Sylvan Lake |
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