Busy Summer...Fall is on the way

Well I haven't done any posts since our trip to Marion, IL and the Benton KOA but that doesn't mean we haven't been busy. We have gotten out a few times with the camper but the trips are just weekends fairly close to home. We have been back to Bo Wood at Lake Shelbyville, Rock Island KOA near the Quad Cities and we went to our local county campground at Lake Evergreen called Comlara Park. But the big event for me this summer was my motorcycle trip to Sturgis, SD for the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. My friend Darrell and two of his friends from Iowa headed out on Aug. 3rd and rode to O'Neill, NE the first day. The next day we headed out and traveled to the Badlands National Park.

The landscape there is incredible

 

As the sign indicates it is best to stay on the trail.

 

Of course after a while it starts to look the same.

 

 

We stayed in Rapid City with some folks that my friends knew from previous trips to Sturgis. This was my first time there. The Sturgis Rally draws around 400,000 motorcycle enthusiasts each year and this was the 72nd year of the event. Everywhere we rode there were motorcycles.

 

The first full day there we went into Sturgis the town and went to the Full Throttle Saloon.

 

 

This is a famous bar in the area that people go to for the evening and night time activity.

 

As you can tell the scenery is easy on the eyes.

 

After we left Full Throttle we went down town to do some more people watching.

 

Well there is alot more to see than people so we decided the next day we would ride over to Wyoming a see Devil's Tower. This is a large rock formation that is said to be made from left over magma from a unerupted volcano.

We didn't go into the park area around Devil's Tower because I would like to come back someday with Glenda and our camper so we can explore the area together.

We rode through Custer Sate Park and rode on the Needles Hwy.

The road is very narrow and there are even a couple of tunnels cut through the rock as you travel through the area.

There are so many roads to ride on and the sights and sounds are the best. Especially if you are a motorcycle enthusiast.

 



We rode over to see Mount Rushmore one day.

 

Then we had to ride through Spearfish Canyon near(of course) Spearfish, SD

 

As you can see the landscape is just breathtaking. It seemed like the sky was blue-er than what we see in IL.

 

We were there at the rally for about 4-5 days and then we had to head back home. I rode a total of 2700 miles in one week.

I look forward to going back again some day. I would like to do the rally again in a couple of years.

I will definitely return one day with Glenda to spend some real time with the camper in this part of God's country.

 

Working toward retirement. And it won't be long. :-)