Fall Trip

October 12, 2014

We left home Thursday the 9^th after mowing the lawn.  Zach our yard guy showed up Tuesday and treated the lawn.  Wednesday I had to hustle out with the hoses and sprinklers to water it in before I could mow.  Of course the weed treatment had to work for at least 12 hours before I could start to water.  I know it sounds like I’m whining but our yard has never looked so good.  Getting treatments on time and above average rain, it was late September before I could mow just once a week.

We left home about 11:00 and had a leisurely drive to Hawkeye Point Campground.  It is the highest elevation in Iowa.  Sort of similar to being the deepest point in the Platt…. J!  Anyway it is one of those places that we’ve driven past for years and we decided to spend the night there.  There is a little monument across the road from the campground on private property and a marker for the high point.  The real advantage is we didn’t have to arrive in the Twin Cities at the peak of rush hour.

Friday morning I made coffee, fed Darby, took her for a walk to see the monument and drove to The Blue Line Café in Worthington for breakfast by 9:30.  Then we stopped at the quilt store in Windom (I know I was all aquiver too).  We stopped at the kid’s house to top off the water tank and were set up at Bunker Hills by 3:30.  Just in time to start a weekend of hockey practice and swimming lessons.  I’m just glad someone tells me where to be because I could never keep track of all of it.  Friday evening and Saturday we made three trips to hockey practice at three different facilities with more to come today.  There is school Monday and Tuesday so Grandma and I can catch our breath.  The kids are off Wednesday thru Friday so it will be a busy week.

October 14, 2014

Sunday we watched Connor practice hockey. We met him, his mom and Hailie at the rink.  4-6 year olds on ice skates are a hoot.  There was one little guy that never made it more than 15’ from the door but he was grinning from ear to ear.  At the other end of the spectrum there were kids who could skate, stop, skate backwards shoot and handle the puck.  They worked lots of drills to teach hockey skills.  The learning to fall down and get back up are a hoot to watch along with moving the puck through a series of cones then shoot into a little net.

After Connor’s hockey practice we went to their house and watched football until swimming lessons.  It was real hard to stay awake in the new recliners in the basement, they are real good napping chairs… J

Then it was off to swimming lessons.  That was two hours in the junior high pool.  The chlorine smell hits you while still in the parking lot and I had flashbacks to swim meets past.  The swimming lessons were not as much fun as hockey but the kids wanted us to come and watch.

Monday while the kids were in school  we visited the Duluth Trading store and the Rockler store.  Then a late lunch at the Shortstop before Debbie picked up the kids, took them for a snack then home to do homework.  I stayed at the camper and took Darby for a long walk before Connor’s last soccer game of the season.  It was cold and a light rain was falling while he played.  They don’t “officially” keep score but he informed us after the game they won 3 – 2, which is what I had.

We’ll pick the kids up from school this afternoon and they are spending the night with us.  They are out of school the rest of the week so we will get to see a lot of them.  Makes me tired just thinking about it…J

October 22, 2014

Thursday Leslie and I played golf at the executive course at Bunker Hills then had a late lunch at the Shortstop.  She needs to play more than once a year, I think she’d be a pretty fair player with a little practice.  It was fun to get a little alone time with her.

Hailie had dry land practice that evening and there is no place for spectators so we met for diner after at their house.  Friday was paintie toes day so Connor and I spent the time together.  He didn’t want to go to the tool store so we played Bumper Cars, Spoons, and Old Maid.  That evening we went to our last hockey practice for Hailie.  Paul is helping coach this year so he met us there and broke in his new skates.  Conner had the weekend off and Hailie had a 7:00 AM practice on Saturday. 

Paul and I watched the Gophers play the early game on Saturday then slept through most of the Ohio State game.  P&L went to Chris’s 40^th birthday party that evening so we watched the kids.  Well Debbie watched the kids and I watched the Huskers.  Hailie was already in bed when the game was over.  Connor was watching Ghost Busters so I put him on my lap.  He sat there until Sigourney Weaver was levitating above her bed and the spooky music was getting louder, then I poked him in the back and said boo and he went to bed.

Sunday we broke camp and went to their house to fill the water tank and eat breakfast.  Connor told his Mom how mean Grandpa was to him but he didn’t get a lot of sympathy.  After breakfast we headed for Crystal Lake west of Forrest City Iowa.

Monday after sleeping in and being slow to get started we went to the Winnebago Customer Service Center to visit with them about getting some work done on the camper.  We didn’t know what to expect so it was worth stopping for a visit.  We got a lot of good information from Rebecca at the service desk and picked up a couple of parts that I have been having trouble locating.  We found that if we schedule our appointment they well have all the necessary parts available to get us in and out quickly and their shop rate seemed reasonable.

Tuesday we moved south to Nine Eagles State Park near Davis City Iowa.  We found a pile of firewood that a previous camper left so we had our first campfire of this trip.  We’ll spend the Wednesday here then head to Missouri for a while.

October 28, 2014

We spent two nights at Nine Eagles.  It’s a very pretty area but does not appear as prosperous as northern Iowa.  It’s difficult to understand why but most farm places are run down and the machinery the farmers are using is much older and often in disrepair.  We drove to several small communities and found much of the same, obviously poor economic opportunities available to the locals.  After our drive we returned to the campground and Darby and I took a nice hike on the park trails.  I enjoy doing this but haven’t had much opportunity to do it this year.

Thursday morning we packed up and headed for Arrow Rock SHP Missouri.  The town of Arrow Rock has a population of 59 and has done a tremendous job of maintaining the character of an old Missouri town.  The town is on the National Register of Historic Sites with the SHP Visitor’s Center located adjacent to the old business district.  We drove through town Thursday evening then went to the Visitor’s Center and town on Friday.  During it’s heyday the town was the center of commerce for the area.  It was on the Missouri river and the largest city west of St Louis.  The Santa Fe Trail originates there.

After looking around Arrow Rock we drove to Blackwater.  It’s another community that appears to be surviving.  Many of the storefronts are occupied, there are two banks and although most homes are small most are in good repair and kept up.  This as opposed to Nelson just three miles away, I would not walk into most of the homes much live there.  The only business is the grain elevator.

On Saturday I watched the game on my computer; Missouri parks have Wi-Fi available.  After the game we went to three area cemeteries and saw the names of many people we learned about.  The Negro Cemetery was the exception.  The population of Arrow Rock was at one time 1/3 black.  The Negro Cemetery has over 350 graves with maybe 20 stones.  The latest one I saw was 2012.

Sunday we moved to Watkins Woolen Mill SP/SHP.  We visited here in 2009 but Debbie was hurting and didn’t see it all plus I wanted to see it again.  They have a nice visitor’s center and do a tour of the farm and the mill.  I find each fascinating!  For example it took eight attempts for Waltus Watkins to make bricks to construct his home.  It takes months to make them by hand so it was eight years before he got it right and could begin construction of his house.  Another tidbit was how many hours of labor were required to knit a sweater if you processed the wool by hand, 100 hours.  No wonder his mill was so successful.  The mill is the only remaining example of a 19^th century mill that is still intact, all of the machines are still there.  If you are ever near here it is worth the stop.

Today we drove to Weston.  One of our favorite wineries is located here, Pritle.  They have a Port that is out of this world.  We picked a case of assorted wines.  We also visited McCormick Distillery store and drove through Weston Bend SP to read about tobacco production again.  We need to make a trip here sometime other than fall, I’d like to see a tobacco field before it is harvested.

Thursday well head back home and make some decisions on when and what RV repairs and upgrades we need to work on.  We also received notice that the Blazi’n Grill we ordered is in and we are looking forward to breaking it in.

 

 

Summer 2014

I am sorry for doing this but I've decided to go ahead and publish what I've written so far.  I had intended to wait until we returned home but there is getting to be too much.  I will add some photos and related information when we're home I have the time to play around with that stuff.

August 5, 2014

I have been very remiss on writing my travel blog this year.  It is a cloudy, rainy morning and I seen to have run out of excuses to write.  Yesterday we rode 268 miles but more on that later.  I need to get caught up on previous trips.

In May we did our usual Mothers Day trip to Bunker Hills to visit Paul, Leslie, Hailie and Connor.   As we have since Hailie was just 1 or 2 we took “GG” (Great Grandma OB) with us.  We did add a couple of days to our visit to work on tiling the floor and shower of the kids’ basement remodel project.  Paul laid most of the floor and did the grout.  I helped with the layout and cutting the tile.  Same for the shower except Leslie was more involved with that part of the project.

The rest of the trip was the usual eating too much and visiting.  This was highlighted by too much Sponge Bob and being rejected by Darby.  We were leaving for the evening and Darby didn’t want to come with us.  She was too comfortable sprawled out on their living room floor.

This brings us to June and out annual SHOWeR trip.  Everyone wanted to return to Lake Shetak so we headed there in mid-June.  We arrived on Wednesday to find the road running north through Currie was flooded so we got on line and found that park was ok and had to take a 20 mile detour to get 2 miles to the park.  P&L were on their way so we were able to let them know so they were able to reroute coming from the east.

Lee just had shoulder surgery so Steve towed Melba’s trailer up for Joyce, Lee and “GG” behind his motorhome which caused quite a stir.  When Julie and Arnie arrived Thursday the park checked in everyone from our group arriving that day.  When Steve arrived with their motorhome pulling a trailer and didn’t have to stop to check in so the folks at the office panicked and were on the radio telling the ranger about this huge rig.  With all the recent rain they were sure that Steve would have ruts everywhere backing it in.  By the time the ranger got there Steve was unhooking the trailer and there were 3 other pickups available to back in the trailer.  The ranger got a kick out of the situation.  Then asked if we were the group from last year with the bounce house?   Is that good or bad?..  J

Vadim and Paul tried fishing with no luck. With all the rain the Des Moines River was running back into the lake rather than flowing out.  There was so much trash in the water that the whole lake was no wake until Sunday so fishing was not good.  The rest of our time was occupied visiting and eating.  Everyone took turns providing a meal.  Arnie smoked ribs one day.  We had to spend the whole day smelling them smoke, sweet torture.  P&L did pudgy pies one evening which was new to everyone but us.  It was great fun.

This brings us to July and Rockfest.  We arrived at Bunker Hills on Tuesday.  We spent some time with P&L while they were finishing packing for their trip.  On Wednesday Leslie dropped the kids off.  We took them to Como Zoo and Amusement Park.  Being the mean grandparents we made them look at the animals first.  Even though the whined most of the time they enjoyed a lot of the zoo.  The gorillas were a big hit along with the seals.  By the time we were done with the zoo there was only time for one ride each.  Again being such mean grandparents we made them pick their rides and of course Connor was too short for his first choice.  Then we were even meaner because we made him watch his sister on her ride.  He did get over being mad long enough to pick a ride he could get on.

On Thursday we left Bunker Hills for Beaver Creek Valley SP in southeast Minnesota.  It is an older park so the sites are a little tight to back into but it is a very beautiful part of the state.  After we set up camp we went for a short ride through the park then into Caledonia then stopped at the playground for a minute. 

Friday I took the kids on a hike.  There was a short trail that began near our campsite.  It took us to where the water of Beaver Valley Creek comes out of the ground then follows the creek to the campground road.  It was a short hike so we walked to another trailhead near the picnic pavilion and followed the creek to another trail that was closed; we were hoping to see why it closed.  The kids pointed out two other trails they wanted to try that were steep and more challenging.  I told them we were not prepared for them and would try them later in the trip.

One of the things we like to do is get in the car and take a ride.  We did that with the kids and they just don’t seem to get it.  On one of our rides we found Bratsburg.  So we spent the rest of the trip threatening the brats (kids) that we would leave them at Bratsburg.. J  Mean grandparents.

Sunday we geared up for the more challenging trails.  We took some water bottles and granola bars and set out on the more challenging trails.  Hailie started whining about half way up the second trail but Connor wasn’t ready to quit.  He ran point for most of the hike and wanted more.

On Monday we returned to Bunker Hills.  Somehow Leslie convinced the kids to spend Tuesday with us rather than going to Amy’s.  We took them to Bunker Beach which we have wanted to do for some time but were never able to make it work.   We had a great time playing in the water then went to P&L’s for a nice diner before heading home Wednesday.

On the trip home we stopped at Winnavegas and spent the night.  I played for a short time then ate dinner.  Debbie played after dinner while went back to the RV and watched a movie.  We did learn that the casino gas station sells fuel for $.25 less a gallon so we will try to make it a regular fuel stop.  It is 3 miles off the interstate and easy to get to.

That brings things up to our current trip.  We left home Saturday for Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.  We took two days to get here.  It was n uneventful trip with the exception of losing a screw in my glasses Saturday night.  I got my riding glasses out in the AM and made a stop at the Wal-Mart in Rapid City.  Of course the optical department was closed but there was a Walgreens across the street where I was able to purchase an eyeglass repair kit that had a screw that worked.

We set up at Rocky Point where we stayed last year and spent the evening just relaxing.  Monday we went to the Catholic Church in Belle Fourche for their Biker Breakfast then did a prairie ride from Belle Fourche to Faith then south to Howes then west to Sturgis then back to camp, 268 miles.  It was a fun day.  We spent few hours walking around Sturgis and stopped at the Knuckle for a drink and a chance to sit down before getting back to let Darby out.

 August 7, 2014

Tuesday was rainy most of the morning.  In the afternoon we rode to Belle Fourche for gas then into Spearfish.  We did not find much that we were interested in so we returned to the campground.  We were thinking of going to diner at a roadhouse in Nisland about 10 miles east of here but the sky started looking ominous so I put the bike away about 2 minutes before the rain started and grilled steaks in the rain instead.

Yesterday things looked a little better.  We rode to Sturgis Brown High School for their biker breakfast then to Rapid City H-D.  There are a large number of vendors and of course we needed official Sturgis HD tee shirts and this is the place to get them.  We also wanted to demo a TriGlide and Harley’s demo fleet was there so we stopped there on the way out and got to ride one through the rain… J!  It was very different than riding on 2 wheels but I can see why people get them, it’s another way to keep your knees in the breeze when you’re no longer able to hold up a 900 pound motorcycle.

We rode back to Belle Fourche through more rain for gas then stopped to let Darby out before going to Nisland for diner.  Mom would have loved the place; the floor was covered with peanut shells.  A real dive but the prime rib sandwich was pretty good.

I’m not sure what we are going to do today but we have to make a trip to the dump station before we get to start playing.

August 8, 2014

Yesterday the sun was out and we were able to ride into the Hills.  We took US 85 south from Belle Fourche to Spearfish then south on SD 14A through Spearfish Canyon to US 85 and went south into Wyoming.  The ride was only about 160 miles but very pretty and challenging, lots of twisties.  It is shown on the map as one of the more challenging routes.  We ended up at a place called the Flying V south of Four Corners.  Four Corners is where I was thinking of turning around and heading back north but by the time I read the sign we were past it.  The sign said “Four Corners Post Office.”

Flying V was a beautiful setting with an old natural stone lodge down in a valley.  We don’t know anything of it history but it is currently a restaurant and bar with camping and obviously does a lot of business during bike week.  We had refreshments at the outdoor bar before heading home.  It was about a 6 hour round trip with a few stops to stretch and look at the scenery. 

Today looks cloudy.  Our plans were to head into Sturgis for a while then who knows.

August 9, 2014

Yesterday we rode into Sturgis.  We shopped, people watched, looked at bikes and people watched some more.  Debbie has been looking for a vest but has been unable to find what she wants so we stopped at a lot of leather stores with no luck.  We are restocked with tee shirts and Debbie found a pair of transition riding glasses and some earrings.   I got a set of motorcycle jumper cables and a Craftsman bottle opener. 

It is impossible to describe the sea of people and motorcycles here.  We got to town about 11:30 and it took about 20 minutes to find a parking spot.  We found one behind the police station next to a row of porta-potties.  Bikes are parked handlebar to handlebar on both sides of Main and many side streets plus a double row down the middle of Main and many of the feeder streets for blocks.  People rent space in their yards and driveways for bike parking.  We’ve experienced it twice and are still amazed.

Hopefully we’ll get in some more riding this weekend then we will head to Denver to visit with T&G for a few days.

August 10, 2014

Yesterday was another fun day until I got a ticket.  After breakfast we went back to Rapid City.  I wanted to demo ride an Ultra Limited and I wanted to visit once more with the Biker-Bar guy, I have one more question about their product.  When we got there I found that they had some Road Glides available so I tried out both.  Debbie rode with me on the Limited demo and we both were impressed.  The bike was quiet (way too quite) and very smooth with loads of low end torque.

I tested the Road Glide myself as there is not tour-pac or backrest and a very narrow passenger seat so it was not an apples to apples comparison but wow do I like it.  The faring is mounted to the frame rather than the fork tubes so the steering is very light.  The Biker-Bar guy had closed up shop so from RC we headed to Deadwood.

It was a very pretty ride with lots of twisties and pretty scenery.  We took SD 44 west from RC to US 85 north into Deadwood, where I got a ticket.  I was spotted on a surveillance camera “girl watching.”  The fine was $10.  It was a fund raiser for the local food bank… J  We ate a late lunch / early supper at the Number 10 Saloon where Wild Bill Hickok was murdered.  The food was pricy but good. Then back to Rocky Point where after chilling out with a beer in the shade I got stuff put away in time to watch a thunder storm blow through.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot.  I bought another tee shirt… J

August 11, 2014

Sunday we took a quick trip into Wyoming on I 90 to find a visitors center.  We heard from Terry and Glenda so we will be visiting them. That means we will be going through Wyoming and we decided to spend a couple of days somewhere before going to Denver.  After stopping at the visitors we headed north then east back to Belle Fourche for gas.  Then we took SD 34 / I 90 to Sturgis to see what was left, not much.  Most of the vendors were either gone or packing up to leave.  You could actually drive through town.  Then we headed back to the campground to pack up to leave in the morning.

Today we headed for Curt Gowdy State Park west of Cheyenne and will be here until Wednesday then head for Denver. 

August 15, 2014

Tuesday we took a ride into Cheyenne to get another Harley tee-shirt then rode to Laramie and back to the park.  It is a very pretty drive except the last 5 or 6 miles into Laramie.  WY 210 ends at I 80 just east of town.  I am not fond of urban interstates.  Too many distracted drivers.  At Laramie we just stopped for gas after looking around then heading back to the campground.  I dropped Debbie off at the camper then went to the visitor’s center.  There the usual stuff about the park wildlife and geology and a display about Curt Gowdy that was interesting.

The rest of the day we read and loaded up for the drive to Denver.

Wednesday we moseyed to the mile high city and set up in T&G’s driveway.  Nice accommodations with the exception of the view out the front window of their garage door and privacy fence… J  This is a very laid back visit.  We are mainly visiting and enjoying each other company.  Tonight Art, Heather and the kids will join us, we are looking forward to seeing them.  I know the little ones have changed a lot since we last saw them.

We’ll be here until Sunday then head home.

 

August 20, 2013

Randall Creek is a very nice park.  We stopped here on the way home from the last SOD trip although we did not realize that until we got here.  It’s right below the Fort Randall Damn.  Friday we took a short ride around the area going through Pickstown, Lake Andes and Wagoner then back to camp.  When we arrived on Thursday they had just completed oiling the roads.  The smell was dissipating when we returned.  We spent the rest of the day reading and watching weekend campers come in.

Saturday we took a longer ride.  We made a big loop going west, north then east crossing the Missouri River before heading back to the campground.  Riding in the Hills sort of spoiled us.  Even though this part of the country is very beautiful it is not as fun as the Hills and somewhat similar to the rides we take at home.

Sunday we stayed at the campground.  We read, watched the weekend campers leave and got ready for our trip back home.  We got back home Monday at about 3:00 PM.  This was a fun trip and very different for us.  We rode 1350+ miles on the bike and saw some pretty country and learned a little more about our hobby.  The trailer worked well but as with everything there were some tradeoffs.  I was not able to take Darby to a trailhead and spend time hiking.  We had to plan grocery shopping to travel days.  The plus of course was seeing this part of the world on two wheels.

August 16, 2013

Wednesday we went back to Custer SP and this time we took SD 87, the “Needles Highway” to Hill City.  We did get a better view of the buffalo, there was a single bull not too far off the highway in Windcave National Monument.  He was nice enough to pose for a few pictures.  Then just over the next hill was nice group but no place to park so Debbie tried to take a few pictures as we rode by.

The Needles was fun and challenging except when some idiot parked just past the last tunnel and had traffic backed up in both directions.  I had to hold the bike up on a steep hill with sand under my feet while this @$$&!* was off taking a picture.  We rode through a few sprinkles.

At Hill City we stopped at the Harley dealer (really just a t-shirt shop for Black Hills H-D) but we already have enough and stuff was pretty picked over.  Then we walked around town for a while stretching our legs.  About the time we were ready to head back to the campground a thunderstorm came in so we went into the Bumpin Buffalo for an early diner.  We had buffalo burgers and were admiring the beautiful bar, all quarter sawn oak and maple with beveled mirrors.  Then I noticed a picture to the left when I looked closely at it was an ad for Brunswick Blake bars.  We asked the waitress about it and she gave us paper about their history.  They were made from 1880 to 1905 in Dubuque, Iowa.  In the 1891 catalog a 24’ back bar listed for $500, today they bring $50,000.  By the time we finished eating the storm had past so we rode home through Custer (the town) and got ready for a travel day.

Yesterday we moved to Randall Creek RA west of Pickstown SD.  We’ll be here through the weekend and head home Monday.

 

August 13, 2013

On Saturday we decided we needed to stop at the “Buffalo Chip” to see what it’s all about.  It’s the largest venue here.  We were too late.  Most everyone in the free area had either closed up shop or were packing to leave.  We did get to see the Budweiser Clydesdales but that’s about it.  On the way home we stopped at Bear Butte SP, drove through Fruitdale and to Orham Damn.

Sunday we never left the campground, just spent the day reading and getting ready for a travel day.  On Monday we headed toward Custer SP only to find that everything was full so we moved on to Angostura RA near Hot Springs, which was our backup plan.  We stayed here a couple of years ago on the last SOD trip.

Today we took a ride back up to Custer and rode the Wildlife loop.  Kinda disappointing because we saw very few buffalo and they were a long ways away.  Still it was a pretty drive.  We stopped at the Game Lodge for lunch then drove home through Custer (the town not the park) and got caught in a shower for a few miles.  Tomorrow we’ll do about the same thing.  I want a buffalo steak at the Blue Belle Lodge. 

Thursday we’ll head into Nebraska and start towards home.

 

For some have a network connection today so I' going to post about out trip so far.

August 5, 2013

Well it has been a long time since last that I posted anything in my travel blog.  There hasn’t been anything to post.  We have made three trips to Leslie’s this spring and summer but each was a mission.  The first trip we took Mom up for Mother’s Day weekend and demoed their basement in preparation for a complete remodel.

Trip number two was ahead of our SHOWeR trip (Schroeder, Hamilton, O’Brien, Westerfield and Robinson).  This was also a working trip removing the rest of the galvanized plumbing and relocating the laundry equipment in the Schroeder’s basement.  Two day estimate of work and a long three days to complete.

Trip three was the annual July trip to spend time with Hailie and Connor during Rockfest.  This time we spent several days at Bunker Hills so Hailie could finish summer school then moved to Blue Mound SP for the weekend before returning home with the grandkids.  Leslie and Paul came down the next weekend for Leslie’s 20^th class reunion (that made me feel old) and to pick up the kids.

Which bring us to a real trip the annual Motorcycle Rally in Sturgis SD.  We left home Saturday 8/2 and drove as far as Presho SD and stayed at the New Frontier RV Park.  Nothing special but it was close to the interstate and clean.  Then Sunday we moved to Rocky Creek RA east of Belle Fourche SD.  We are about a half hour ride to Sturgis.

After a late lunch we unloaded the bike and headed to Sturgis.  It took us over a half hour to drive thru town on US 34.  The population is 5900+.  Coming back into town from the south we spent 45 minutes stuck in traffic before we could find a place to turn off and park.  My thighs and junk were toasted.  We walked around for a while and just looked around.  I saw Rick and Corey Harrison from the Pawn Stars strolling the streets but they were past me before I could get a picture or say hello.

Monday we rode to Black Hills Harley Davidson in Rapid City.  We made the mistake of going thru Sturgis so I cooked myself again.  As you’d expect Black Hills Harley Davidson is huge and there were many vendors selling tons of motorcycle related products and accessories.   We looked at a number of things that I’d seen adds for.   Some of it was really cool and others well not so hot.  In any case we learned a lot and saw a bunch of cool stuff.  On the way back to the campground we got caught in a shower on I-90 so we had to slow down for a few miles.  About the time we could pull off the highway we were out of the rain.  We bypassed Sturgis on the way home and are currently nursing TB (tired butts).  Debbie is using a nap and ice packs with a margarita.  I’m working on a Bud.  So far I think it’s working.

It sure is nice to have someplace different to ride.  The trailer worked great so far.  It’s different than pulling the Jeep but so far so good.

August 7, 2013

Yesterday we spent the day in Sturgis.  We started the day at Sturgis Brown High School.  The school serves breakfast daily as a fundraiser.  I asked the little girl cleaning tables about how well they do and Monday they did over $10K breakfast business.  After breakfast we searched for a place to park then visited several vendors looking for a new seat and other goodies.  About 1:00 we made our way to the History Channel area to meet Rick and Corey Harrison of the Pawn Stars program.  We got a quick picture and a hello before we were moved away.  The next stop was to get some patches sewn on my vest.  After I decided what I wanted we went to the Knuckle to sit down and cool off.  We enjoyed a beer and listened to ”The 2^nd Amendment” perform, they were very good.  We visited with a lady from Indianapolis and a lady from Spearfish.

After picking up my vest it was back to the History Channel area to Meet Kevin and Danny from Counting Cars.  These guys were as pleasant and fun as they appear on TV.  Danny greets everyone with a handshake and a hug and asks your name.  Then they actually visit with everyone for a couple of minutes.  They asked about where we were from and how far of a ride it was.  We told them we were sissies and came in the RV, they flew in.  He also noticed my Air Force patch and recognized my service which is always nice.

We also saw Frank Fritz of American Pickers wandering in the crowd and the guy from American Guns who signed my hat.

Today we got lost on the way to Deadwood which is fun when you are not in the Winnebago.  We saw some pretty country.  Sturgis is not in the Black Hills so this was the first ride to that area.  Deadwood was no real big deal other than all of the bikes.  We got a couple more tee shirts and ate a late lunch at one of the casino buffets.  We took the scenic way home down the twisty roads.  Great fun on a Harley!

Right now we’re watching a thunderstorm move through in the camper.  It’s cloudy overhead but we can see sunshine to the west, maybe we’ll get a rainbow.  I’m back, it was a double rainbow to the south and a single to the east.

August 10, 2013

Thursday was a ho hum day as far as things new and exciting.  As with any similar event this place is packed with vendors.  We looked at several seats and decided on the one we liked best and also a center stand that makes it easier and safer for Debbie to get on the bike.  We decided to go ahead with those upgrades to save shipping costs so we went back to Rapid City and had them installed.  I’ll not go into details on the stand but the new seat is 18” wide for the driver and 15” for the passenger.  When we were discussing the need for the new seat I measured the stock seat.  It is 15” for driver and 11” for the passenger.  We discussed measuring our a$$es but decided we were better off remaining ignorant on that point.  J!

After leaving Rapid City we returned to the campground.  We caught up on some cleaning and did a dump and fill of our holding tanks.  See I told you it was not an exciting day.

Friday we got kind of a late start.  Just couldn’t quite get going.  We just made it to Sturgis Brown HS for breakfast.  The traffic into town after breakfast looked a little nuts so we took the cutoff to the Ft Mead Cemetery.  It was a very windy dirt road which took us to an old cemetery on top of a hill.  Then we went on to the Black Hills National Cemetery which lies on the southern most part of Ft Mead.  If you’ve never visited a national cemetery you should put it on your to do list.

When we left the cemetery we took I 90 to SD 34 then west into Wyoming.  At Hulet we turned south to Devils Tower.  (I purchased my Golden Eagle Passport) We went to the visitors center and walked around looking at the tower.  We did not take any of the trails because riding cloths are not the ideal hiking attire and time was limited.

After leaving the tower we took WY 112 north from Hulet to Alvda MT which is nothing more than the intersection of MT112 and US 212 which took us back to our campground.  That was about a 240 mile ride, a record for us.

We’ll leave here on Monday and are thinking of going to Custer SP for a few days.

 

October 24, 2012

This is supposed to link to a slideshow of the well drilling rig.  The previous link did not work so I'm trying it again.  We may have to fire the editor... :-)

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