To Sturgis

Aug 8:  After a little rain last night and a rainbow Ralph and I took a day off from Sturgis and went to Wall Drug for breakfast.  We had breakfast and ran across a unique bike trailer then out for a quick trip through the Badlands.  We were on our way to a Minuteman Silo that is now run by the park service.  Along the way we stopped by a "Prairie Homestead" that was built in 1909 and had the family living in it until 1949.  A tough way to live and it wasn't that long ago.  The tour of the missile silo was booked up so we didn't get to do that.

Click picture for more.

Aug 3:  I hit the road this morning with the bikers enroute to Sturgis (well for me it's Wasta).  I got about 30 miles down the road and No Corn!  Plenty of wheat and hay but no corn!  There were also more cattle than I expected but no buffalo.  Then it began to rain and the bikers started pulling over to put on rain suits.  It rained for about 100 miles and I was beginning to think that I might finally have to hook up the trailer in the rain (did I close all of the windows?).  About 30 miles out of Wasta the rain let up and gave me time to set up and now it is raining again.  Lucky me!  Wasta is another tiny town without a cafe!  I will have to go east 10 miles to Wall Drug or toward Rapid City for breakfast and supplies.  There is nothing here and I have to reset all of those pesky clocks again (Mountain Time)!

Click picture for more.

After a short rest (nap) I found a couple of pictures around the campground.

Last night I caught some of the bikers setting up camp.  Their trailers have more room than you might think.  Yes, one is from Alaska!

Aug 2:  This is a rest day.  I took a picture of the town mascot and the cafe/market/gift store.  Notice the bikes in the lot.  Wonder where they are going?

Aug 1:  I hooked up the trailer and drove to Luverne for breakfast.  Back onto I-90 for 183 miles of freeway.  The landscape changed from corn to corn and soy beans then corn, soy beans and hay.  I began to see cattle as the corn diminished and the hay increased.  I began to notice that the migration was on as more and more bikers are on the road heading the same way!  I have to guess that at least half were on trailers or in pickups!  At one point three bikers passed me.  One noticed the PGR signs and up went his arm to wave.

I crossed the Missouri River and found the campground.  As I set up the trailer I started hearing thunder and the sky was getting real dark.  It started raining just as I finished and went inside.  The rain didn't last long, just enough to make spots on the truck.  I was outside a little later and noticed a biker pulled over to the side of the interstate next to the campground.  Was he having trouble?  I started walking the 100 yards to the fence and before I got there two pickups with bikes on trailers and a lone biker had stopped to help!  The brotherhood is alive.

Click picture for more.

July 31:  Yesterday I drove across Minnesota to Adrian, about 35 miles east of the South Dakota boarder on I-90.  The land flattened out and the corn keeps growing.  I thought I was in a spot where I couldn't see any corn but it was just around the next corner.  After setting up camp at the municipal campground I went looking for dinner.  I really just wanted a salad.  It just sounded good in the heat.  There is one steak house, a Subway and a sandwich shop!  What about breakfast!  I guess I stopped about 14 miles too soon.  I had to go that far to Luverne for breakfast this morning.  Below are some pictures of yesterdays travel and a few highlights from Luverne.  I couldn't find any in Adrian.

I ran across a posting on the Patriot Guard site about the "Healing Field".  This has been area with over 50,000 flags to remember those who gave their lives in Viet Nam.  It seems that the sponsor bailed out this year so their won't be any field.  This didn't sit too well with some of the PGR members so they have a site where they will put up flags for each state and call it the "Field of Honor".  They asked for help in setting up the site and somehow my hand went up again.  I will meet them on Monday and we will erect the flags.

Click picture for more.

July 28:  I have been goofing off about pictures.  The roads are narrow without much of a shoulder and there is allot of traffic this close to Minneapolis.  I did get a few pictures of the countryside around Maple Grove, MN this morning.  One of the lakes (only 9,999 to go!) and a farm.  Yes they have corn here too!

July 25:  On the road this morning about 9:00 and said goodbye to Wisconsin as I headed west for the 250 miles to Maple Grove, MN.  The first hour on two lane roads then 3+ hours on Interstates.  No excitement just a lot of traffic through the "Twin Cities".

Click picture for more.

Return to Previous Page

Return to Home Page