Trip's On

Day 1: Trip's On

The long-awaited departure of 8:30 AM on August 4th has arrived. Actually, it came and went and it wasn't until 8:30 PM that I shoved off. Nothing major. Just a bunch of little things, like when I hit the button on the backup camera and it turned upside down the image of the motorcycle trailer being towed. After an hour of pushing every conceivable combination of buttons, I caved in and just rotated the screen in the cab upside down as well. Now the trailer is righted, but it looks like I'm driving in England on the left side of the road. So, Bill, you're 12 hours behind schedule. What to do? Turn on the IPOD and listen to Garrison Keiler read his book, Pontoon, and drive until 2:00 in the morning. Get two hours of sleep and hit it again.


Day 2: Dinner Date in Humboldt

Ten hours of the twelve hour delay have been made up. Arrived in Humboldt--only two hours late--still in time for the steak barbie.


Day 3: Flyin' little airplanes

Great day. Flew lots of RC airplanes with Dave and Joel. Crashed lots of airplanes with Dave and Joel. All will fly again and it was really a good time. Was also great seeing and visiting with Mom and Susie. Been quite awhile since Dave, Susie and I have been together, sans a funeral or wedding. I'll have to catch up with Barb and Brian on the return. Just ran out of time.

Day 4: Let the adventure begin.

Left Humboldt on a beautiful Saturday morning, passing familiar towns: Pocahontas, Mallard, Emmetsburg, Jackson, MN...The corn and bean fields are bountiful, but my mind is starting to wander. You know, I think the Born Free motorhome should have a name. Okay the logo is a lion and the inspiration was the Born Free movie documenting life with African lions. How about "Marlin" after Mutual of Omaha's Marlin Perkins? Or "Leo"? No, too obvious, and transportation vessels should really have a feminine name. Well, I'm headed to Alaska, so how about "Sarah"? No, I couldn't live with myself. "Lucille". Now there's a possibility. The upside down camera... the time it took to get the air pressure monitor sensors working... Yes, Lucille will work. "You picked a fine time to leave me, Lucille."  "We've had some good times, lived through the bad times, this time the hurtin' won't heal, you picked a fine time to leave me, Lucille."  Yes, when Lucille throws up inevitable mechanical roadblocks along the way during the next six weeks, I'll just break into a chorus of Lucille and take it in stride.

See ya in 6 weeks...

As I head west on I-90 through Minnesota and towards South Dakota, there are more motorcycles on the road than passenger cars. It's crazy. Every exit has motorcycles everywhere, and pickups or motorhomes pulling trailers loaded with motorcycles. Tents are set up outside gas stations with vendors selling hot dogs or espresso drinks to bikers. Lots of girls riding Hogs, too. More than I would have thought.  I'm passed every mile by packs of two to ten riders. A majority have the typical bearded, overweight, roughian look. But many look like they might be insurance agents, school teachers or dentists, anxious to let their wild side flourish for a few days and nights in Sturgis, SD.

The corn fields have given way to massive rolling hills of grass with thousands of hay rolls. And what's really interesting are the signs promoting tourist stops. "See 1880 Western Town, as seen on the Discovery Channel." "1880 Western Town, featured in Dances with Wolves."  Or, "Petrified Gardens, see the 10-ton log". "Petrified Gardens, see the Sabre Tooth tiger". "See glowing rocks." "Don't miss Petrified Gardens, this exit, easy off, easy on." After you see twenty to thirty signs promoting each stop, it kind of makes you wonder what you missed as you sail by the exit for them.  But the Florence Joiner--best of breed in outdoor advertising for a tourist stop--goes to Wall Drug. Starting 250 miles out, you see "Dally up to Wall Drug", "Homemade Ice Cream--Wall Drug", "Free Ice Water, Wall Drug", "Shooting Gallery, Wall Drug". "Wall Drug--Cowboy Hats".  Not one of these signs says where Wall Drug is actually located.  It wasn't until I saw a road sign "Wall -- 20 miles" that I started to piece it all together.  Didn't count them, but there had to be more than 200 road signs promoting Wall Drug. Just had to see what the fuss was all about.  Well, I'm here at Wall Drug in downtown Wall, SD. Quite frankly, the Wall Drug buildings occupy most of the downtown. Obviously, it's a testament to the effectiveness of outdoor advertising, as the town is packed with bikers and families enjoying buffalo meat burgers, homemade doughnuts or pie and ice cream, and viewing thousands of pictures, artifacts and stuffed animals on the walls. It's a soda-fountain, restaurant, curio gift shop, pharmacy, etc. on steroids. Quite remarkable. Worth the stop. And the buffalo burger was quite tasty.

As I was to learn, Ted Hustead, a young pharmacist, two years out of school, and his wife, Dorothy, a high school literature teacher, bought a small drug store and soda fountain in Wall, SD, a remote prairie town of 326 inhabitants, in 1931.  Business was bad. They lived in the back of the store with their son, Billy. The five years that they agreed to give it was about to expire, and the business provided a meager livelihood, at best. Ted spent most of his time looking out the front door for customers who never showed. Then, on a particularly hot summer day in 1936, Dorothy thought she had an idea that could entice some of those folks traveling by on route 16A in their jalopies to stop at their store. She knew they were thirsty. She knew they needed water. So, on that hot day, she came up with the idea for a series of road signs ala Burma Shave: "Get a soda." "Get root beer." "Turn next corner." "Just as near." "Free Ice Water."  "Wall Drug". The next weekend they put up the signs. Ted was back at the store swatting flies with a rolled up newspaper. Within hours he was swamped with customers asking for free ice water. He ran out of shaved ice and had to get a new ice block out and chip up some more.  For hours, people poured into the store. Some asked, "How about selling me an ice cream cone?" Free ice water brought the Husteads a long way. According to a pamphlet I picked up at the soda fountain, Wall Drug now attracts up to twenty thousand people on a good summer day.

One of the Free Ice Water locations

It's 10:00 PM, mountain time, and I've arrived at Sturgis, SD. The place is abuzz with bikers. Looking forward to riding the badlands tomorrow. Oh... the highlight of the day: Cindy's call wishing me a Happy Anniversary. Thirty-nine blissful years enjoying each other's company, love and affection. (I know what you're thinking. Bill, that postscript is a shameless attempt to recover some lost points. True, but hopefully, effective).




Day 5: The Ride

Riding a motorcycle at 70 mph in a pack of twenty bikers is not difficult. It just takes more focus and concentration than you would imagine. It's probably a bit like a military pilot flying in formation. You've got to maintain the proper separation. Sounds easy enough. But there's an accordian effect, as the reaction time of each rider behind the first one to slow down compresses the pack. If you are toward the rear, you need to be on your game. Why was I in a pack of twenty riders? Because they are everywhere. You can't ride by yourself. Too fast and you join a group in front of you. Too slow and you're overtaken. Both result in you being in a pack.  The ten mile ride from Deadwood to Sturgis is hilly, curvy and quite fun. I then headed out for Rapid City, another 28 miles down the road. When I saw that it was another 45 miles from Rapid City to Mount Rushmore, I considered the heat of the day (95 at noon) and the congestion and headed back to Sturgis and the comfort of Lucille's air conditioning.

Deadwood, SD (10 miles from Sturgis)

Day 6: Sturgis

Have you seen one of those nights where the fish flies have just hatched and the air is like a thick fog with them? That's the way it is with motorcycles in the small town of Sturgis, which has a normal population of 6,362. They are everywhere. Loud, yes, but driven with amazingly good manners. And the folks you meet, like my neighbors Rocky and Liz and their granddaughter, Haley, are polite, interesting people with whom to visit.   Rocky--retired military from Aurora, CO--has a ZZ-top beard and has been coming here for nine years. His friends, also from the Denver area, took a keen interest in my unusual motorcycle trailer. In fact, I've demonstrated it to a half-dozen camper/bikers now. Many are recently retired and perhaps like me, fulfilling lifelong dreams. I'm only here for the first day of the rally, and I've been told that things do get much more boisterous as the week progresses.  For now, it's been quite tame. About the raciest thing I've seen yet are the tents set up at various hotels, bars, or gas stations with bikini clad girls offering bike washes. Boy, my bike sure shines. (I'll add pictures if I get up the nerve.)
Too bad I have a shedyule (sp) to keep, as I'd like to spend a few more days here.  Bob Dylan is playing at the Buffalo Chip pavillion tonight.  Would like to have seen and listened to him.  Off to Montana.  Thank you, Sturgis Burger King, for letting me use your free wifi to make this first post.

(No explanation necessary)