Custer State Park, South Dakota

We decided to take the tour of Custer State Park today (July 6) to see all the beautiful sights there.  After picking up Debbie & Dale, the four of us headed for the park.  The first stop was to check out the Crazy Horse Memorial that is under construction; however, we saw the mountain side with the carving and decided to pass on the $11/person entrance fee.

There are three driving trails in Custer SP and we managed to take them all.  The Needles Highway trail was first and it was a very nice drive with tunnels, unusual rock formations and 10mph hairpin curves.   Plus a lot of people.

Dale walked through the tunnel and captured a picture of us driving through.  If you look closely you can see him in the right center of the photo.

Our view from the tunnel

Dale's view of us in the tunnel

Dale, Debbie & Me

Just big enough for a car.

How long before these rocks slide off?

We took the Wildlife Trail next and saw a couple herds of buffalo, pronghorns, wild burros, deer and prairie dogs.  It's been a very wet season so far in the park and the grass is over a foot high.  I imagine there is more than enough food for the animals this year.

Buffalo calf suckling with mother.  Right after this shot she shoved it away with her leg.

Solitary large male buffalo.

Traffic jam because of wild burros.

Mother and colt.  Cute little feller or filly.

Pronghorn

What a load roar this big guy made.

Mother and calf sauntering down the road.

The last trail was the Iron Mountain Trail and it was the most interesting for me.  I don't think there was a level spot on the road and not more than 40ft of straight road.  It had numerous switchbacks and sheer drop offs alongside the narrow road.  Luckily, there wasn't much traffic and it was a fun ride where we saw some more animals.

We came through a tunnel and this is what we saw ahead of us.  A great shot of Mt Rushmore and the Presidents.  I would guess we were 5-7 miles from the Presidents but they are so large it seemed closer.

How about this photo taken from a tunnel coming down the side of the mountain?  It was beautiful to see and really set off the Presidents.

We hung around long enough in the area to see the Presidents lit up with huge floodlights and then made our way back to drop Debbie and Dale off at their motorhome.  Gerry managed to get this night photo of a wooden statue alongside of the road in Keystone.

  
 Keystone had a DQ and you know who wanted to stop and pick up a blizzard.  Debbie & Dale have a weakness for DQs so I was outvoted on whether to stop or not.  I was in the mood for a Cappuccino coffee and went to a shop next door to pick it up.  It was terrible, but the warmth felt good going down.

We had a long day and drove almost 200 miles but we all enjoyed the drive very much.  Even Gerry who is still under the weather said it was worth the drive.  

Gerry and I took over 275 photos but I didn't want to make this a photo log, so I've only included a few of them.  I hope you enjoy them and get a chance to see the great Custer State Park.  The drive is well worth it and I'd like to do it again on a less busy day.

 Since we were leaving the next morning, we made it an early night.  Tired, but satisfied with our day.  

Deadwood, SD

As I mentioned the previous posting we visited Sturgis and Deadwood in one day with Deadwood being last in line.  It started  raining just as we arrived in Deadwood and continued to rain the whole visit.  

At first we drove thru town to check it out and then drove up to the cemetery where "Wild Bill" Hickok is buried.  He was shot in the back of the head by a miner, but nobody really knows why the murderer did it.  The miner was tried by a "Miners Court" and found innocent, but he was tried in a real court and found guilty and sentenced to death.

After paying our respects to Will Bill, we drove down the very steep hill back into town.  It was raining too hard to walk the streets and check out all the shops, but I did get some nice photos of main street with a minimum of people around.

 We wound up eating dinner at an old restaurant which will remain not named since it was a forgettable dinner.  The shot above shows the patio with rain coming in next to people seated for dinner.

 They did have a large portion of the bar that was original from back in the glory days of Deadwood and we had to get a picture of it with Dale, Debbie & Gerry.

Due to the rain and cold we didn't really get a chance to see the town and all it's charms.  It was interesting to see, but very touristy and expensive.  At least we can cross it off our bucket list now.

We managed to miss a critical turn on the way back and drove a few miles out of our way and were heading for Wyoming when we discovered our error.  Then we had to retrace our drive through detours and construction to find our way back.  At least the wrong turn took us through a very scenic and narrow twisty road in the rain.

It was a quick ride back to the motorhome and we both crashed for the night.  Dale drove today so that was a nice change for me so I could pay attention to the scenery rather than the road.

That was our day, exploring Sturgis and Deadwood.  How was your day?

Sturgis, SD

We got to bed late last night and the fireworks were still going off around 1am.  The sky to the east was full of rockets, bursts and lots of noise very late in the night.  The people in the Rapid City area really know how to put on a fireworks spectacular.  It seems most of it was from private people shooting them off.

Debbie & Dale came by this morning and we headed for Sturgis, SD to look the area over.  I've heard of Sturgis bike week for years and have seen photos, movies, etc., of the bikes lined up on main street for blocks.  It is hard to visualize the number of bikes until you see the area.  There were only a hundred or so weekend bike riders out today to add a little flavor to the town.

We took the back way there and missed a turn and wound up driving a couple miles on a gravel road.  It was a good road and smooth to drive on which was a surprise.  The scenery along the road was beautiful with hillsides covered in pine trees, meadows with bubbling creeks running through them and an occasional house thrown in.  The old barn below really looked nice sitting near a meadow and small pond.

The first rally was held on August 14, 1938, by the "Jackpine Gypsies" motorcycle club, who still own and operate the tracks, hillclimb, and field areas where the rally is centered. The first event was called the "Black Hills Classic" and consisted of a single race with nine participants and a small audience. The founder is generally considered to be Clarence "Pappy" Hoel. He purchased an Indian Motorcycle franchise in Sturgis in 1936 and formed the "Jackpine Gypsies" that same year. The Jackpine Gypsies were inducted to the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1997. Hoel was inducted into the AMA Hall of Fame the following year, in 1998.
The focus of a motorcycle rally was originally racing and stunts. In 1961, the rally was expanded to include the Hillclimb and Motocross races. This could include half-mile track racing (the first year in Sturgis, there were 19 participants), intentional board wall crashes, ramp jumps and head-on collisions with automobiles.
The Sturgis Rally has been held every year, with exceptions during World War II. For instance, in 1942, the event was not held due to gasoline rationing.

Main street in Sturgis on a less busy day and just a few tourists checking out the t-shirt and souvenir shops looks like a typical main street in small town USA.

 

 Main street during bike week with a portion of the bikes attending the rally.

 Of course with all these bikers here during August with the sun shining and heat, a tremendous thirst comes on.  The organizer had thought of that and some saloons, beer gardens, bars, etc have fullfilled that need.

The Full Throttle Saloon (FTS) bills itself as the largest biker bar in the world.  After inspecting the bar and drinking one of the thirst quenchers, I would not disagree that it is the largest biker bar in the world.  It is huge with a number of bars and areas dedicated to keeping the beer and whiskey flowing.

 

  It isn't very often that one sees a truck tractor parked in a bar, but they have one there.  All along the wall they have motorcyles much like some restaurants have model trains.
 

 This is the back of the bar with side bars along both sides and three trucks on poles with the FTS logo below them.  In the center are two more trucks on poles.  

 The Knuckle Saloon also is quite large and is a block long.  We didn't go in there to check out the cold beverages but I am sure they have a huge supply cold and ready for consumption.

 Another large saloon is Easyriders and it is quite impressive.  One-Eye Jack's Saloon and the Broken Spoke Saloon are two other popular bars.  They all have bands and other forms of entertainment for the adult bikers.

 The Full Throttle Saloon also had a resident donkey who walked around begging food and drinks.  I wonder how much beer he can drink and still walk.  
 

They do ask you nicely to not feed the donkey and the message is very clear.  It didn't seem to help much since we saw many people petting and slipping some chips or other snack the donkeys way.
 

That was our visit to Sturgis and I don't think it would be that much fun to fight the crowds out there.  I read where one year there were over 450 arrests and motorcycle thefts over $300,000.00  Not that bad considering the attendance runs from 400,000 to 600,000 bikers in attendance.

We also made a trip to Deadwood, SD today, but I will include it in the blog for tomorrow. 

That was our day, how was yours?

Happy 4th of July

The Elks Lodge here in Rapid City put on a nice fireworks display  Friday night.  Our friends Debbie & Dale came over for dinner and to watch the fireworks.  We hadn't seen them since last October when we met them at the Ott House in Emmitsburg, MD for dinner.

The Elks Lodge was selling hotdogs and sloppy Joes to help pay for the firework display.  Dale and I went over and picked up dinner while Gerry & Debbie caught up on what they have been up to lately.  The food was good and we sat outside and finished off the meal.  It was too early to walk the 300 ft to where we could view the fireworks so we chatted outside with them and a neighbor.  

We made the short walk with our chairs to the golf course where we joined a couple hundred other spectators.  There were 100+ children playing ball, tag, bouncy bounce room and numerous other games.  Everyone was having a great time and it was nice to see the children playing so nicely.

Gerry, Debbie & Dale

Taking down the bouncy bounce

Kids galore having fun

Looking toward the expected fireworks display

Grand Finale.

 We took more pictures but it is hard to capture the bursts with the camera.   This is part of the grand finale and I was too late to capture the next part.   Since it was on the golf course, all of the fireworks were bursts in the air with none on the ground.  They did a nice job and all went well.

After the fireworks we came back to the motor home and chatted for a couple more hours.  Hopefully if Gerry is feeling up to it, we will join them tomorrow for a drive up to Deadwood and Sturgis.  

By the time you read this it will be the 4th of July and we hope you all get out and celebrate the day in this great country of ours.  Happy 4th to you all.

That was our day, how was yours?

Catch Up TIme & On The Road Again

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

JACK

We received a phone call about 11am on Monday from the mechanic and he said all the parts had come and he was ready to finish the repair job.  We couldn't make it before lunch so we drove there at 1pm and the mechanic was waiting for us.  I backed the motor home up to the garage door so he could use his power tools and he immediately started work on the unit.

The first part of the repair involving the drive shaft went well and he finished that up quickly.  Then the headache started for him when he tried to install the drive belt.  Unlike a car where you can loosen a bolt and slide the drive motor over and slip the belt on, that was impossible on this unit.  He tried to use crow bars and other tools to make it happen but was unsuccessful.  I suggested he put the belt on the drive motor first and then place the other end on the diesel engine.  He almost got it then but still no go.  Then I suggested I turn the diesel engine over a click with him holding the belt on.  That worked like a charm.  This was an old trick I had learned from my father many years ago.

It took less than two hours for the above and once I parted ways with some money for the repairs, we were on our way back to the campground.

Tuesday we got up early and managed to get on the road about 11am and start our trek to Rapid City, SD.  There was a Pilot fuel station near the campground and I filled up the fuel tanks.  With my RV Card from them I saved 6 cents a gallon.  Not bad when you take on 60 gallons of fuel.

We called our friends Steve & Pat and they met us in Laurel, MT for ice cream and milkshakes at a local diner.  They are hosting at Cooney Lake just south of Laurel.  It was an hour drive for them and we visited for a couple hours and caught up on what has been going on.  They had to get back to their dogs and also finish their workday so we bid them a fond farewell.  They are a fun loving and bubbly couple and a joy to be around.

We continued on to a campground east of Billings near Garryowen, MT.  The 7th Ranch RV Camp was on a working ranch and was tiered so every site had a western view.  We sat outside and watched the cars and trucks go by on I-90 about a mile away.  Finally at sunset we decided it was time to get ready for bed.  

Wednesday we were on the road around 9:30am and took RT 212 rather than stay on I-90.  It was more scenic but had more hills and fewer towns and homes.  There was a lot of smoke all the way to Rapid City from forest fires in northern Montana.  It wasn't a visibility problem but the haze made it impossible to get any good pictures.

We did see a cattle roundup as we were Montana with real live cowboys.  They had three large cattle trucks waiting to load and were just moseying along.  Git along little doggie.

 


We are dry camping in the parking lot of the Elks Lodge here in Rapid City and will get a campsite in the morning.  Our plans now are to stay here until Sunday or Monday and then continue our trek east.  Plans can change at any time and most likely will change.

Not a very exciting blog, but just a catch up.  Also, it will serve as a log of our trip this summer.  More to follow, hopefully it will be more interesting.