As you can see, we had a little BBQ at the Patton's Home on July 31, 2009. I really would like to thank my lovely wife-Theresa, for all of her organizational skills and thoughts and efforts in making the BBQ a success. We had the cookout in honor of Theresa's grandfather Big Grandpa who turned 96 or 97 years old on Aug. 1, 2009. Present at the Q were members of Theresa's family who drove up from Jackson, MS to partake in the party. Also present were some of the riders from NOB who were riding out to Sturgis. There were approximately 10 riders who showed up for the BBQ. Riders from Virginia Joe (R 1200 RT), Robert (FJR 1300); from New Jersey Tony ( Soft tail Duece); from Kentucky Erskine (GTR 1400); Alabama Phil (GL 1800); local riders were Alex (V-strom 1000), Q (CBR 600), Bert (ST 1300)and myself. The cookout was great and it was really good to see everyone here. We took off the next day at approximately 8:30 AM. We were only 30 minutes late from our departure time. Nine of us left Barrington, IL. Q and Alex rode with us to Galena, IL and turned around. Bert stayed with us most of the day riding about 325 miles with us to Ft. Dodge, IA. There he got a hotel and explored such shopping meccas as Home Depot and Target. The six of us rode to Sioux City, IA and arrived there at approximately 7:00 PM. We checked into the AmericInn and had a nice dinner at Outback Steakhouse.
As we checked into our hotel, there were three Harley Riders who had driven from Kentucky looking for a room. Joe wanted to give up his room so they would have a place to stay. Of course this meant that I would have to share my room with Joe. When Joe asked me in front of the Harley riders if we could share a room together my response was simply, "Hell no they are Harley riders and don't even wave to other riders!" Of course we gladly gave up our room and they had a nice place to stay for that evening.
Here is the Karma, when we got to Outback after giving up our room, someone in Outback gave us a $25 gift certificate. Good things happen to good people. The manager at Outback, Jim Brown, not the football player, gave us some certificates for free desserts for Outback in Sturgis. Unfortunately, we ended up not using them. We had a good night sleep that evening. We had driven approximately 500 miles and mostly on US 20.
The next morning we got up and of course left late from Sioux City. It seems like anywhere we go, we end up talking to people. Please note the lady in the tie dyed dress. Her name is Carol. She is from Denver. She flew to Chicago to drive her aunt from Schaumburg, IL to Sioux City, IA for a wedding. She was on her way back to Schaumburg, IL to catch a flight back to Denver. Carol had gone to Black Canyon, CO. She said that it was really a beautiful place to visit. That was our intended destination after Sturgis.
We left Sioux City Sunday morning on Route 20 into Nebraska. It is amazing how just crossing the Missouri River into Nebraska how drastically the topography changes. Western Iowa near the Missouri River is really hilly. Once you cross into Nebraska the hills grow exponentially. We rode on Rt. 20 for almost an hour then we picked up Nebraska State Highway 12. This road took us through the many sweepers and hills of eastern Nebraska. You kind of forget what the speed limit is because of the lack of traffic. The only limitations that we experienced was the limited range of one of our brethren's bike. We found ourselves stopping ever 110-130 miles for fuel. We rode Nebraska 12 for a few hours and then picked up US 18 and rode that into South Dakota. Usually I have found in the past that South Dakota was dry and brown. This year there must have been a great deal of rain because South Dakota was relatively green. We rode US 18 for quite a few hours. We stopped for lunch at a place called the Tee Pee Cafe. You can see our bikes lined up at the Cafe. Boy was it hot that day! We had good food, good service at a reasonable price. See our waitress Kathy...She was really nice.
We left Tee Pee Cafe with full bellies and fond memories and continued our journey on Rt. 18. We ran into an accident in a small town and had to detour around the accident. Of course with only a few roads it was not hard to find our way back to the main highway of Rt. 18.
We finally left Rt. 18 and turned north at Nebraska Highway 183. This is the road that will connect us to I-90. On the map our route 183 does not look like it is more than maybe 20-30 miles apart. We got on route 183 and sped like demons for what seemed like hours. We saw a combine that took up the whole road. It looked like something out of Closer Encounters. We finally got to I-90 and headed west to Nebraska 240 to the Badlands! For those who have never been to the Badlands it is a place that everyone should experience at least once in their lifetime. See our picture of our bikes at the entrance of the Badlands. Once in the Badlands National Park we stopped and you can see a picture of Robert and his FJR 1300 with Phil in the background. They say that a picture is worth a 1000 words, look at the rock formations behind the two of them. Enough said.
We left the Badlands and the western exit is quite challenging as you leave the park. We stopped at Wall Drugs, another must see in a lifetime. We had dinner at Wall Drugs, no one in the group was impressed with the food. Moving on we left Wall Drugs and made our way to our rooms for the next two nights at the Black Hills Education and Health Center. It is a beautiful setting where the BHEHC is located. It is tucked in the foothills. It is a Christian run Wellness Center specializing in holistic treatment of the mind, body and spirit. People pay a great deal of money to recuperate there. The BHEHC also rents rooms at a very reasonable rate. The only thing to keep in mind is that the rooms do not have any TV's nor telephones and drinking of alcoholic beverages are prohibited. The only other down side is that the entrance of the BHEHC requires one to ride 2 1/2 miles on a gravel road. This can be a real challenge at night when there are no lights only wild animals all around you! That would include but not limited to deer, elk, antelopes and various other furry mammals.
Of course at the BHEHC there is no check in time, nor check out time. The Christians that run the facility do not even ask for a credit card to hold your reservations. Everything was on the honor system. I can tell you that if I ever need a place to stay while I am out in the Rapid City area, I will be staying at the BHEHC.
While we were in Sturgis we rode the next day to Devil's Tower. It is the backdrop for the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1979). It is an incredible site to behold. I have enclosed a picture of Joe (BMW R 1200 RT) posing with the Devil's Tower in the background. The picture looks so surreal. The background almost looks fake. It is not, it is the real deal.
We left the Devil's Tower and drove east on Route 24. What a wonderful, scenic way back to Sturgis. Most of the guys hung out at Sturgis that evening. Erskine and I went back to BHEHC. That evening there were really bad storms that everyone seemed to miss except for me. As I was going down that 2 1/2 mile stretch of gravel, at night, there was a horrific thunder and lighting show going on approximately 5 miles south of me. Unfortunately, I got the rain and wind from being of the fringe of the storm front. I made it back to BHEHC relative dry. I was worried about the rest of the group who were in Sturgis doing whatever. You know that what they say, "What happens in Sturgis stays in Sturgis!" The rest of the group got back without even seeing the rain or thunder and lighting.
When the group got back some of them decided to do their laundry at the community laundry room. Remember we are at the BHEHC and there are rules. One rule is that the laundry room is available from 6 AM to 9 PM. There is a BIG SIGN posted. Unfortunately for us, those who did their laundry that night either could not read or chose to disregard the sign. I guess doing your laundry after midnight is inappropriate at BHEHC. Of course the next morning our contact Jeannie spoke to me and Erskine about the groups late night activities. We apologized for the group.
We bid BHEHC adieu and left to ride around Custard National park. While in the park we saw a herd of wild donkeys and buffaloes roaming. It is amazing that more people are not injured or killed in this park. People treat these wild animals like this is some petting zoo. We also rode on Iron Mountain Highway. Unfortunately, the ride was not that good because there was so much traffic one had to do less than the posted speed limit.
We left the Sturgis area and headed down the back roads, we ended up taking US 85 all the way down to Cheyenne, Wy. At one of our gas stops we ran into a guy named Kent who lived in Colorado and was on his way to Sturgis to visit his parents. He told us that due to construction US 85 was a much better route to take than US 18. We thanked him for his advice. Once in Cheyenne we got onto I-25 southbound to Loveland, CO. It was in Loveland, CO where people started to break off for home. We arrived in Loveland, CO on Tuesday evening. Robert and Tony took off for Colorado Springs, CO to visit friends and ride up Pikes' Peak. If you have not done that ride up to Pikes' Peak it is a once in a lifetime ride especially on a motorcycle. It is not for the novice. The road starts off paved and then becomes hard packed gravel. There are no guard rails and it is an absolute breath taking ride.
The next morning Joe left early back to Woodbridge, VA. Erskine and Phil left early afternoon. Then I was by myself in Loveland, CO. I had an opportunity to ride up to Estes Park, Boulder, Louisville, Longmount and Drake, CO. I really enjoyed being there and having an opportunity to explore the area. I met a lot of nice people the three days I spent there.
For Erskine, I have included a picture of the Hotel Stanley. I know Erskine was emotional distraught when he realized that he would not have an opportunity to see the Hotel Stanley. For those of you out there that do not know the significance of the Hotel Stanley-it is the hotel that was used in the 1980 movie "THE SHINING"! On our last trip that would be June, 2009, Erskine had to go to Bangor, ME. I was at first perplexed as to why we were stopping in Bangor, ME. The reason was because Erskine wanted to see Stephen King's home which happens to be located in Bangor. This is the same Stephen King who wrote the novel "The Shining"!
That second night in Loveland I happened to eat at Lone Star. I had a very nice waitress her name was Shelley. Shelley is my home girl, she admitted proudly that she was from Gary, IN! She is in the picture with me. I really enjoyed her conversation, however, she could have given me the home boy discount.
For the record, the first picture is of the oddest looking Harley that I have ever seen. That picture was taken in front of Wall Drugs. The picture of the quaint little town is that of Estes Park, CO. Estes Park was founded in 1859 by Joel Estes. The town has approximately 6006 people according to the 2006 census. From Estes Park you can pick up the Trail Ridge Road which happens to be the highest continuous highway in the US. Estes Park is at an elevation of 7522 feet. There was a noticeable difference in temperature between Estes Park and Loveland. I will be going back to drive the Trail Ridge Road soon.
The guy sitting on the Shadow is Mike, who tracked me down in Loveland. He was nice enough to explain to me what roads were good for motorcyclist going up into the mountains. By the way, Mike moved to Loveland, CO 15 years ago from the Chicago suburb of Hickory Hills, IL. He has no intentions of ever going back to live in Chicago. Who can blame him, the mountains are beautiful out there.
It was a great trip and various riders rode anywhere from 3100 miles to 4700 miles. We all returned to our respective homes safely. I want to thank each and every one for going on the trip. Until our next journey. RIDE SAFE.
