August 2 - Day 50 - Sturgis and surrounds

We received our mail from St. Brendan's Isle yesterday and I spent the early morning paying bills and taking care of financial matters. I have to say that St. Brendan's Isle is proving to be most reliable and efficient mail forwarding service.

After the mail was disposed of, and while Suz and Dixie slept, I headed to Rapid City on the bike for a day of riding. The first stop was to fuel up and then to Rapid City Harley Davidson for a look around. There are some new bikes that look very tempting - but no, I am happy with what I have - for the time being. From the Harley shop, I headed down Highway 16 to Mt. Rushmore, but didn't go to the shrine. I have seen it before, and it is very "touristy." Rather, I headed onto highway 16a and the Iron Mountain Road - probably one of my favorite roads. It is very twisty, has numerous cork-screw turns where you pass over the road you have just traveled, numerous one-lane tunnels and goes through some very beautiful country. In the tunnel picture, if you look carefully, you can see Mt. Rushmore. Sorry for the lack of definition in the photo.

Following 16a through Custer State Park, the next leg took me over Needles Highway. The name says it all. The road goes through some of the most interesting topography I have ever seen. Again, there are one-lane tunnels and lots of beautiful terrain. If you get to this part of South Dakota, you must tour Iron Mountain Road and Needles Highway!

From there I took 385 South to the Crazy Horse Memorial. This is a project started by a Polish immigrant, Korczak Ziolkowski, who worked on Mt. Rushmore, to make a statement about the plight of the American Indian. It is a truly awesome project with no defined completion date. The sculpture depicts Chief Crazy Horse's response to a white man's query "where is your land now?' The chief responded "My lands are where my dead lie buried." While I am a loyal American, I cannot deny that the European settlers' treatment of the American Indians was anything by honorable, and the native American story needs to be told and memorialized.

From The Crazy Horse Memorial, I headed north to Deadwood, the site of Wild Bill Hickock's demise. The town is "touristy" to say the least, but there is some interesting history there and Suz and I will return there tomorrow.

Retunring to the coach, I picked up Suz - in the car - and headed back into Sturgis for Happy Hour. We went to One Eyed Jacks, where we had been three years ago, and found that they had already gone to "Rally" pricing - $5 for a beer and $6.50 for a very small Vodka Tonic. Needless to say, we didn't stay.

Back at the coach, I barbecued a couple of steaks and Suz prepared potatoes and veggies and we had our own feast. Tomorrow, I will head into Sturgis to see some sights I have missed then to Rapid City to the Harley store for a part I need. After that, Suz has agreed to ride with me (on the bike!) to Deadwood for lunch and some exploration. Until then, Cheers!

John, Suz and Dixie the Wonderdog