15 - Spearfish, Sundance, Racing & Rodeo
The Badlands were amazing. Headed West toward Sturgis, I began to really worry about a problem with my bike. Down from 200 miles per tank, at 140 miles, I'd had a 30% reduction in fuel economy. True, gas is $3.50, but the disturbing part is that something had gone wrong with the bike. Before leaving, I'd put in a new fuel filter and air filter. Perhaps a bad fuel stop wrecked the filter? Even worse, maybe a bit of sand was gumming up one of the jets in the carbs. Or, maybe when I dumped the bike in WI, oil had gotten sucked up through the intake manifold and soaked the air filter. I saw a billboard for a Honda Dealer in Sturgis (I was surprised.) They had a filter in stock so I went out to inspect mine. It looked ok, clean and bright orange. It did smell like oil though. I didn't want to worry anymore so I plunked down fifty bills and installed the filter. Nice, back up to 40mpg and worry free!
The ride toward Mt. Rushmore is amazing. There was little traffic and I made great time.
Mt. Rushmore is really impressive and I'm glad I went. Spending $10 for 10 minutes is getting old, but the pictures are worth it. I will have to learn to "say no" to some of the many cool National Parks I'll pass along the way.
None of these pictures have been cropped or altered.
I came around a corner and saw parked cars... which usually means wildlife. Wild Donkeys are cool! Who knew?
The little one was frolicking intensely. It's hard to tell in the picture, but he just bounced all around the meadow for a couple of minutes.
I watched them for a few minutes, then took off so as to leave a buffer between me and the traffic that was sure soon to follow.
Here's one with an itch.
Shortly after seeing these animals, I saw buffalo. They were far enough away, that the pictures aren't worth posting, but seeing them was spectacular.
On Wednesday, June 20th I was in Hot Springs, VA. A month later I went though Hot Springs, SD.
I pride myself in always watching for animals. In Maine, it was Moose. In Michigan, Bear. In South Dakota, Pheasants. And everywhere, Deer. However, I realized that I do not, in fact, always watch for animals. This one really caught me off guard. I was in the middle of town, and there he was.
I rode into Sturgis, it's three weeks before the rally and the whole area is getting ready. 600,000 bikes will converge on a tiny town. Rooms for 300 miles will be full at $300+ per night. However, when I arrived, it was very anti-climactic. I stopped at a legendary bar and talked with some people who recommended Spearfish for the night. Remember Jesse the photographer from the Badlands? Yep, I took off for the home of Black Hills State U. The ride was great and the town was buzzing. Thousands of Corvettes had come from all over for a rally in Spearfish that weekend. Also, there was a HUGE Arts & Crafts festival. I love festivals of any kind. Though clearly Corvettes more than Crafts.
My campsite was great and they had wi-fi in the office. In the morning, I set up 2 gigs of data-transfer and left my PC in the office and set out to ride Spearfish Canyon. If you're ever within 300 miles of Spearfish Canyon, it's worth going out of your way. Amazing. Riding it with hundreds of Corvettes didn't hurt either. If only I had a nickel for every time a Corvette guy looked annoyed when he got passed by an old Goldwing that cost less than a set of tires for a 'vette. At age 16, I bought my first car (Audi 4000 GT Coupe) from a guy who was selling it so that he could put tires on his Corvette. The cash I paid for the car would barely buy a set for the rear.
A little nighttime amusement with my camera and tripod.
Breakfast. Oatmeal, Celtic Sea Salt, Dried Blueberries. I doubt I'll ever eat another oat upon returning from this trip. That includes Oatmeal Cookies and Crumb Cake. (As I shovel down another spoonful while writing this from Cody, WY.)
Seeing all the Corvettes was a lot of fun. I'd have a chance to meet some of their owners / driver later in my trip. I met couples from IN, OH, NE, KS, WA, and even FL.
I talked to several couples at touring in their old cars. The lamp on this one is from a car from 1911. They've driven over 500 miles in a single trip. All the guys were filling jugs of water to add to their radiators.
I don't know which year this car was made, but it is beautiful. It's an old Pierce and the wheels stood nearly chest-high. It is a HUGE automobile.
I left the Canyon and took country roads for a bit before stopping in Deadwood. What a cool town!
It's also where I met Jerry Lee.
I stopped in Deadwood (a real Western town) to take a few pictures and I wandered into the Wild Bill Hickok Saloon. Working on a laptop at the bar, I met this guy who was also on a trip. He’d been on the road for 3 weeks and had come from Chicago and was riding a 1200 Interstate. His bike was the same model and same era as mine! I talked for awhile and then went out to check out the bikes. Jerry Lee’s bike was much nicer looking than mine as he’s smart enough not to dump his on a sandy road in Wisconsin. I actually don’t care about clean motorcycles, but I did like his XM radio and upgraded stereo system. My stereo is simply a dash ornament.
His trip was nearly over and he had to be back the next afternoon to take his girlfriend to a concert. It was 5:00 and he was almost 1,000 miles from home! He and I rode a very scenic and curvy rode for about 20 miles into Sturgis before he headed East and I kept riding Westward.
Before I went West, I stopped at the Harley Dealer in Sturgis because there was a generic part I needed that the dealer would stock. That turned into a VERY interesting experience, but more on that later. It's 9:00 am in WY on the 23rd, and is now to hot to sit still. Yesterday, it was 97 at 10:00 am. I need to get riding soon before I combust. Read about Jerry Lee, and check back in couple of days when I post about meeting Harry from New Hampshire. Have you read about The Blessing of the Bikes? If not, check out the post called: The Great North Woods and Crossing the Border.
Back in Spearfish, the pictures had uploaded nicely and I didn’t have to sit around while 2 gigs of pictures slowly crept up the cyber stream. Jackpot. I walked over to the Festival for dinner and a quick look around. An Indian band was playing amazing music. Flutes, Strings, Drums, and tribal-sounding vocals.
I took off toward Sundance, WY. Pretty fitting since I’d stopped in the Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid restaurant earlier.
So Sundance, Racing and Rodeo will have to wait or else I'll melt. The thermometer on my tent says it's 90 and it's not quite nine a.m.
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