Bikers and Gun Fights

Tuesday, 8/24

25 miles west of Rapid City is Biker Heaven, AKA Sturgis, SD.  Home of the annual Biker Weeks in early August, Sturgis was fun for us.  Doris had a tough time finding the correct biker chick t-shirt for herself, but it sure was fun helping her.  The selection ranges from the really cute to the "Oh MY GODDD!!!".  I'll guess you know which one she bought. 

May He Rest Easy

Tattoo shops almost outnumber the t-shirt stores, so it was time for Doris to, shall we say, "identify" herself.  Unfortunately, she resisted the opportunity.  Despite the picture, so did I. 

Biker Heaven at Its Worst

So much of Sturgis is now closed, as it does annually once the 600,000 biker visitors leave, so we moved on to nearby Deadwood.  With a river as one boundary, a very close mountainside as the other, Deadwood became famous for its gold and silver mining was famous for something else.  Wild Bill Hickok, once sheriff and also a good shot with the highly inaccurate guns of the time, lost his life here.  Shot in the back by an assassin, Hickok's demise began with breaking his own rule:  Always sitting with his back to the wall. 

Deadwood's downtown is still essentially one long street, now filled with boring tourist oriented shops and, uh oh, casinos.  Every hotel, and there are numerous, has one in the lobby.  Restaurants depend on them for profits more than the all-you-can-stomach buffets. 

We didn't leave in time for Doris's husband from paying more for his lunch than the posted price.

Back home, we're watching the news of the Chilean miners who seem in high spirits, but who will have to spend months underground before coming to the surface.  Our sympathies and prayers go out to them from this beautiful part of the world.  We are so fortunate.  We wish the same for them.

Rapid City

Monday, 8/23

Doris got us a rental car for the duration.  I took the coach to a Cummins shop as we're blowing black smoke on acceleration, not a good sign.  Diagnostics showed no codes (a good sign).  A new air filter was ordered as the old one is filled with very fine "stuff".  We have the replacement before we leave town.  We hope that works.

Everyone has to see Wall Drug in (ready for this?) Wall, SD.   Founded in the early '30s, business was slow in this one horse town 45 minutes east of Rapid City, the druggist/owner saw traffic zipping by and correctly decided that placing multiple signs for long distances before Wall was a good idea ... if the signs said "Free Ice Water".  No kidding.  It can be HOT here.  Business boomed beyond expectations.  in '64 (last century for you young'uns), I stopped there and found it a savior.  Car air conditioners were rare.  My '56 Ford's operated by opening windows to the outside hot air.

Today, Wall Drug, and a large portion of Wall, is an overblown tourist trap.  Black Hills Gold is sold at 50-75% discount in every conceivable retail shop ... and still way over priced, per Doris, the expert on such things.  Lunch at Wall Drug challenges the worst of the truck stops that have served me over the years.  Lunch at the competition won our vote, only to be necessarily re-digested several times before bedtime.

Sorry, no photos today.  We're trying to maintain a positive blog.

Hello To Old Faces

Sunday, 8/22

It wasn't easy to leave new friends in Lusk, but once they painted my name on the Elks Lodge, it was best to get out of town .. fast. 

  A promise made requiring immediate departure from Lusk, WY.  Obviously, Jim shows great promise.

Reluctantly we did, heading north then east into the Black Hills of South Dakota.  Pine forests took over from the high plains, giving us more elevation, more easy, non-interstate driving with little traffic.  Vistas around every curve.  Then, as we began to descend toward Rapid City, a special view of Mt. Rushmore.  Showing only the right profile of George Washington, dynamited and chiseled into the side of the mountain, our introduction to the next five days of touring brought excitement to us.  There is so much to see and do within an hour's drive of Rapid City.  We intend to do it all.

Our location for the first three days will be the Rapid City Elks Lodge RV parking.  Located facing the lodge's golf course, we began meeting another crop of nice people, including RV neighbors from Grants Pass, Oregon.  Sharing experiences and cold libations with Jerry and Carol was a fun way to end the the 104 degree day.