Sturgis - The Chip and Downtown

Sculpture in the Bufalo Chip Amphitheater

Downtown Sturgis is simply insane, gridlocked traffic and wall to wall bikes and bikers as far as the eye can see.

This is a side street...

but it's typical of every side street on either side of Lazelle Street, the main thoroughfare through town...

Main Street, a block off Lazelle, looks like this for nearly its entire length...

The Harley-Davidson exhibit takes up half a block. This is where they introduce their new line of motorcycles each year.

Everyone should go downtown once, then do everything humanly possiblre to avoid it again.

Crowds and traffic?  Hell, I can get that in downtown SF for cheap!

More to follow...

Sturgis Report ~ The Good the Bad, and the Ugly

The good - the bikes, babes, and boogie.
The bad - The heat and dust
The ugly? The gawdawful stinking traffic!

OK, I've been remiss in keeping my readers updated. I'll make no excuses except for poor connectivity, inability to charge my laptop battery, and the fact that i was riding most of the day and catching the entertainment at night.

I pulled into Sturgis on Saturday, the 7th, fought the ungodly gridlocked traffic all the way through town did my check-in. at the Chip...

Then went on a search mission for the CycleFish group's campsite..

.


 The area was sparsely populated in this pic but it filled up over the next few days...

As you can see, shade was at a premium and everyone congregated under our one small canopy.

Finally, with a bit of help from an Aussie bloke who goes by the handle, "Boof," I got my tent pitched and camp set up.










 After a long haul, we had finally arrived...

Mariah, the Bugslayer and I

Little Bighorn to Deadwood...

In the visitor center at itle Little Bighorn Battlefield, a tribute to
Lori Piestewa, the first Native American woman to die in combat.

Battlefields are sobering places,places of honor that commemorate the courage and sacrifice of those who fell as patriots in the service of their respective ways of life.

Little Bighorn is no exception. The fields are decorated with scattered white markers in the spots where the troopers of the 7th US Cavalry fell.












More recently, red granite markers ahe been placed, marking where the native warriors died in defense of their village.





Of  course the most famous marker is the of the 7th's flamboyant commander, George Armstrong Custer.

On Last Stand Hill, as it is known today, an obelisk bears the names of the US soldiers who fell on that hot June afternoon in 1876...

While across the road, a single stone marks the mass grave of the slain cavalry horses.

"Spirit Warriors," at the Native memorial. which is still a work in progress.

I overstayed my plan by about an hour which meant I had to ride hard, keeping a constant weather eye on three different cells that seemed to be stalking me.




After a few hours I finally reached my second objective, Devils Tower, made famous in the film, "Close Encounters of the Third Kind."








I didn't see any aliens, but I did get a look at some playful prairie dogs...

And a couple nice views of the tower...

After the tower, I headed for Deadwood and my stop for the night, but...

Is that trouble ahead!

And sure enough, just outside Deadwood, it began to rain...

 

 

A drippy ending to the day, but if it weren't for rain, how would we have rainbows?

 

 

Tomorrow, it's on to Sturgis and the World Famous Buffalo Chip.

More to follow...

Yellowstone Part Deux and Beartooth Pass

Well, something just ddidn't seem right.

After all, how can you go to Yellowstone and not see large wild animals or geothermal areas?

So I rolled out this morning and headed backk towards Cody and back up into the park. It was 100 miles out of my way but it just seemed to be the best not to leave the Yellowstone dilemma unresolved.

Large game animal:

Geothermal Site:

NOW I don't feel cheated.

I drove through the pass out the Northeast gate, just outside of Cooke City, MT. There were some threatening clouds up ahead...

So, discretion being the better part of valor, I waited in Cooke City over an excellent bowl of chili here...

After lunch, it was back on the road, headed for the Beartooth Highway.

Always keeping a close eye on the ever-changing weather as I climbed the winding highway to the nearly 11,000 ft. summit.






Here are a few shots taken at or near the top...

Finally, just below the summit, we crossed into Montana for the third and final time...

Looking back to the west as I switchbacked doun the other side, I saw these "God-beams" shining through the clouds.

At the bottom of the hill is the delightful litle town of Red Lodge. I fell in love with the place when I first drove through it three years ago. Perhaps you can get an idea why...

Then it was hammer down for Billings and a good night's rest.

Tomorrow it's Little Bighorn and Devils Tower, then hole up in Deadwood for the night and roll into Sturgis on Saturday Morning.

Cruising through the Tetons...

But first, here's another shot of Idaho Falls taken as I was rolling out this morning.

On the way out of town, I noticed this stern warrning...

Complete with bullet holes.





Clearly, Idaho ain't Union Square!




After a couple of hours of riding, despite several lane control breaks for road construction, I found myself motoring through Grand Teton National Park...

Hard to believe there is still snow on them in August.

Here are a couple more views...

I stopped for lucnh at Signal Mountain Lodge. Jan and I had breakfast there a few years back and the lunch menu is excellent as well.

I had the "Wild Game Chili Burger,"  a broiled buffalo burger topped with elk chili, a little mild for my Southwestern tastes but tasty, nonetheless.

Shorly up the road is the south entrance  to Yellowstone...

Unfortunately, I had to forego my run up the Yellowstone valley and head for the low country where the only room I could find as of this morning was in a spot on the road called Powell, WY. It was disappointing not to see any large wildlife, but perhaps I'll get the chance for some shots riding through Custer Park next week.

I'll decide tomorrow whether to run up the Chief Joseph Highway, Beartooth Pass, or both.

The adventure continues...

Niagra, they ain't - and the Great Potato Tour

As promised here's a photo of one of the more scenic parts of the falls...

Now to today's ride...

I decided to stay in Idaho Falls another day and do some exploring in the area.

When one thinks of Idaho, one's first thought is likely of potatoes, in fact the slogan on the ID license plate clearly says "Famous Potatoes."  With this in mind, I took a ride down to Blackfoot and the Idaho Potato Museum. Yes, they really do have a potato museum. It's located in the old Blackfoot railroad depot.

It's small but kind of fun and like all museums a place for learning.

Example: Until today I had no idea that back in 1952, Marilyn Monroe posed for a promo for 20th Century Fox wearing a dress made of a 100 lb. potato sack.

Legend says a studio exec wanted to prove that Marilyn didn't need diamonds and furs to look beautiful, insisting that she'd be glamorous "in a potato sack."  You can judge for yourself whether or not he was right.

Of course the real star of the museum is none other than the Famous Potato itself, specifically the Number 1 Burbank Russet.

Then again, what tribute to the noble spud would be complete without an appearanceby the master of potato disguise himself, Mr. Potato head and his entourage.

By the time I was finished at the museum, I was pretty hungry so I headed back to

Idaho Falls for lunch at the Snake Bite Cafe.

Their signature burger is called the Blue Snake, and is loaded up with bleu cheese and green chilis. If you're ever in the area, it's not to be missed. They don't take credit cards but they conveniently have an ATM on site.

After lunch I took a run out to the Teton Valley. I had to ride between the raindrops in a few spots and I made some unscheduled stops to avoid the scattered t-storms in the area.

The Teton Valley is home to the Spud Drive-in and the World Famous Giant Potato.

Here's Mariah posing with Old Murphy and the Spud.

 

Now, I'm not sure whether Old Murphy is the antique Chevy truck or the driver, who seems just a bit shifty-eyed to me.

Well, that's about it for today. Tomorrow it's on to the Tetons and Yellowstone. 

I'll leave you with a look at a beautiful cumulus formation I saw on the way back to my hotel. 

Enjoy!