We thought we had seen a lot of bikes yesterday but today as we travelled west in South Dakota we found there were more motorcyclists on the road than there were cars and there we were in the middle of it all. They were all headed for Sturgis and the towns and cities in a 50 mile radius around Sturgis—some of the towns close their main streets to traffic so that it can become a parking lot for the bikers. We also found out that it was difficult to find a place to put your head. We were fortunate to find a very helpful woman at the welcome centre and together we found us a room. It is a delightful place in Hill city in the Black Hills. The black hills remind us of the green mountains in Vermont but they are indeed darker green and black looking. We are staying in a resort for campers—tents, RV’s, cabins and a small motel. They had a room and it was very reasonable so here we are in the Black Hills of South Dakota just below Mount Rushmore.
We left Minnesota early this morning (Monday Augurst 6)and had our first stop in Mitchell South Dakota. Our friend Heather suggested that we would enjoy the stop at the corn palace and she was right. The corn palace was first created in 1892 by the local farmers to show that more than buffalo were important to the area. Portions of the exterior and the interior are covered with murals made from corn husks, local grasses and grains. The exterior motif is changed every year and we were fortunate to arrive when we did as they were beginning to remove the old grasses in preparation for the new mural—once the corn is harvested they remove the old cobs and about 20 locals work with an artist to make a new mural. The outdoor mural becomes a huge bird feeder as well as a work of art. As well as being a tourist attraction this “palace”is the local community hall and is used for graduation, local basketball games, trade shows—even the Shrine Circus. We opted for an early lunch and found a great stop at Chamberlain-Oacoma on the Missouri called Al’s Oasis. It advertised homemade pies and coffee for 5 cents so Ron was sold. The meal was great—a buffalo burger for Ron and liver for me. Ron said the lemon pie was almost as good as Tedde’s so we left full and ready for our trek to the Badlands. The badlands are amazing—right plunk in the middle of the Prairie. The National park allows one to drive or hike in the badlands—we opted to drive and spent a lot of time stopping to take yet another photo. You cannot capture the beauty of this area on paper or in a photo—it has to be seen. There are irregular ravines, fantastic ridges, low hills and cliffs in variegated colour alternating with grayish-white sediment. We were in awe of it all and enjoyed our time in the park. We came out of the park at Wall which is famous for it’s drug store that is now a block long. We did not spend long here as we were now concerned about a room. We phoned some 800 numbers from Wall and most places were full and any who had rooms wanted $300.00 so we decided to get in the car and head for the Black Hills hoping that they were far enough away from all the activities in Sturgis. NOT. We found a welcome centre and got excellent help and a room so we then carried on to Mount Rushmore Memorial Park to view the magnificent sculptures of Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln. The park itself is beautiful and the information available on the creation of the sculpture is very interesting. It was a lovely evening to be out walking and we did enjoy after suffering in 96 degree heat all afternoon. We had fog and cooler weather for our morning drive but not so lucky in the afternoon. Most of the campers here are bikers so we certainly do look out of place in our zip off shorts and tee shirts. I have never seen so many motorcycles. I think someone told us there were about 500,000 here for the rally.
We left Minnesota early this morning (Monday Augurst 6)and had our first stop in Mitchell South Dakota. Our friend Heather suggested that we would enjoy the stop at the corn palace and she was right. The corn palace was first created in 1892 by the local farmers to show that more than buffalo were important to the area. Portions of the exterior and the interior are covered with murals made from corn husks, local grasses and grains. The exterior motif is changed every year and we were fortunate to arrive when we did as they were beginning to remove the old grasses in preparation for the new mural—once the corn is harvested they remove the old cobs and about 20 locals work with an artist to make a new mural. The outdoor mural becomes a huge bird feeder as well as a work of art. As well as being a tourist attraction this “palace”is the local community hall and is used for graduation, local basketball games, trade shows—even the Shrine Circus. We opted for an early lunch and found a great stop at Chamberlain-Oacoma on the Missouri called Al’s Oasis. It advertised homemade pies and coffee for 5 cents so Ron was sold. The meal was great—a buffalo burger for Ron and liver for me. Ron said the lemon pie was almost as good as Tedde’s so we left full and ready for our trek to the Badlands. The badlands are amazing—right plunk in the middle of the Prairie. The National park allows one to drive or hike in the badlands—we opted to drive and spent a lot of time stopping to take yet another photo. You cannot capture the beauty of this area on paper or in a photo—it has to be seen. There are irregular ravines, fantastic ridges, low hills and cliffs in variegated colour alternating with grayish-white sediment. We were in awe of it all and enjoyed our time in the park. We came out of the park at Wall which is famous for it’s drug store that is now a block long. We did not spend long here as we were now concerned about a room. We phoned some 800 numbers from Wall and most places were full and any who had rooms wanted $300.00 so we decided to get in the car and head for the Black Hills hoping that they were far enough away from all the activities in Sturgis. NOT. We found a welcome centre and got excellent help and a room so we then carried on to Mount Rushmore Memorial Park to view the magnificent sculptures of Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln. The park itself is beautiful and the information available on the creation of the sculpture is very interesting. It was a lovely evening to be out walking and we did enjoy after suffering in 96 degree heat all afternoon. We had fog and cooler weather for our morning drive but not so lucky in the afternoon. Most of the campers here are bikers so we certainly do look out of place in our zip off shorts and tee shirts. I have never seen so many motorcycles. I think someone told us there were about 500,000 here for the rally.
Who knows where tomorrow will take us. Stay tuned.
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