Thursday, August 08, 2013

Sturgis 2013...

I've neglected my blogging this last week. I've been camping, the weather hasn't been cooperating, and my internet connection hasn't been that great..

On last Thursday, 8-1, I left home and headed for St. Paul, MN. I picked up my buddy John and we were off to South Dakota.


We camped the first night in the city park in Faukton, SD, and had dinner at the Burger Shack...


The next morning, the weather turned rainy and we rode in the rain from Gettysburg, SD to Faith, SD. That afternoon, we arrived at our destination for the week, Wyatt's Hideaway campground in Belle Fourche, SD. We set up camp next to our friends Lyle(St. Paul, MN) and Garth(Castlegar, BC).


For Bob...


Over the next 5 days, John and I took numerous rides through the Black Hills, and spent a few hours watching the circus that downtown Sturgis has become at rally time. The weather this year has been cooler and wetter than any year we can remember.



On Wednesday, John and I met up with our friend Terresah. John met her when she was working as a waitress back in 1996. We went for a nice long ride and met up with Lyle and Garth in Hill City. We all rode to Sturgis for some t-shirt shopping...

Lyle, me, Terresah, John, Garth.



Today, John and I packed up and started for Wyoming. We crossed over the Bighorn Mountains on Hwy 16. It looked like it might be raining ahead of us, but we continued...

The higher up the mountain we went, the colder it got. Near the top it started to hail and rain. It was just enough to get us wet and cold. A few miles later, the road was white with hail, and several motorcycles were parked alongside the roadway. We continued slowly and rode in the tracks cleared by a couple of cars ahead of us. Less than a mile later, the road was clear and nearly dry.

We stopped for a photo opportunity at the Powder River Pass.

From there, it was almost all down hill to Tensleep, WY.

We had lunch at Tensleep Saloon where I felt like I was being watched by a psychotic Elk.....

We ended the day in Cody, WY at the Sunrise Motor Inn...









9 comments:

  1. I remember that place in Ten Sleep but didn't stop. Hopefully you'll get back to a drier, warmer August. Enjoy the wide open Erik!

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  2. When you wait all year for the ride, it's nasty when it turns wet and cold. Hopefully the weather ahead is sunny and warm. Looking forward to hearing more from your trip.

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    1. The weather is the only thing I don't like about long road trips. No control...

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  3. Some odd summer weather for sure this year. It sounds as though you are having fun despite the rain.

    That bike sure is photogenic!!

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    1. Thanks Brandy, and yes, some strange weather for sure!

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  4. That elk was wondering what was on your burger...

    I like the photo of the storm cloud but probably wouldn't have cared for the hail. Sounds like an adventure for sure. How far west and south are you going to go this year?

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    1. It was a Jalapeno and Pepper Jack cheese burger!!
      We,re going to stay in south western Montana a few days and then head home.

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  5. We seem to be hearing of all sorts of extreme weather you guys are having. Hail storm in summer , i sthat comon? Bike is looking good by the way..

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    1. Summer time hail storms are pretty common when there's a large storm involved. We've been in hail storms with stones a bit larger than golf balls, but thankfully, they're usually pea size.

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