Sturgis Motorcycle Rally

Our friends bought a motorcycle this year and talked us into going to Sturgis with them. We have been four times in the past, the last time in 2002. Sturgis is the largest and oldest motorcycle rally in the country in Sturgis SD. It ran roughly August 1-10. Here is our friend Jim loading the bikes into the Toybox, our toy hauling RV........

...this is Cindy and Wendy watching Jim and I load. Actually they did most of the preparations.........

........We left at 0300 July 30 and arrived 13 hours later at Elkhorn Ridge, a brand new RV park in Spearfish SD. It is gorgeous. It took us about 10 minutes to set up and we were off on a ride down beautiful Spearfish Canyon........

.........we rode through Needles Park to Mt. Rushmore. We had great weather, 85-95 degrees and no rain.........

....the Needles highway has some cool tunnels..........

.....these are the needles.....

........here we are taking a break on the way to Devil's Tower in Wyoming. It is the little blob on the horizon just above the windshield....

.....a closer view......

.......Since this an RV blog, I will point out our learning event. One must always close up the awning when not in use, as the wind may come up unexpectedly and shred the awning. Here is our boy scout lashing repair, needed to get the RV in shape to travel after the shredding............

.....this is the allure to the rally, the sheer volume and intensity of the numbers of bikes. Loud colorful bikes everywhere. Lots of vendors and shopping. Lots of food and entertainment. Lots of people watching......

.........here is Wendy with her shopping find of the day. They are high-heeled sandals, official Harley-Davidson, of course. These are a must for any well-dressed rider!.......

...........in closing, this is the harsh new reality of the Sturgis Rally. Over the last few years, the police have exerted increasing control over bad behavior and public nudity (the very two reasons most of us go in the first place!). The church ladies are winning again, and the politically incorrect are all in jail for thirty days (how do you explain that to your boss?) A video about Sturgis 2008 would have to be entitled "Cops Gone Wild". It is sad. Attendance is down 30+% and the locals are unhappy. I have a couple of more related blogs on preparations to go and some great RV's we saw in our upscale RV park coming up. See you then..........

Uncle Hans