LAST FEW HOURS IN SPEARFISH
WATCHING THE GUYS PLAY POKER
THE HAPPY BARMAID
EVENING WALK
AND A TASTY MEAL AT THE BUM STEER
TIME TO HIT THE ROAD AGAIN.
HEADING EAST MEANS NO EARLY STARTS – THE RISING SUN IS BLINDING, SO I HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL IT IS A LITTLE HIGHER.
I COULDN’T SEE ANY ROAD SIGNS, SO I ENDED UP GOING THE WRONG WAY, OUT OF SPEARFISH, TOOK A WHILE TO GET SORTED AFTER THAT.
NEXT TOWN ALONG IS STURGIS – BIG BIKER TOWN WITH A HUGE BIKE MEET IN EARLY AUGUST – THOUSANDS OF BIKES (MAINLY HARLEYS OF COURSE) CONGREGATE FOR THE WEEK. BUT AT THE MOMENT IT IS FAIRLY QUIET.
THE FULL THROTTLE SALON IS A HUGE COMPLEX IN STURGIS. IT’S THE WORLD’S LARGEST BIKER BAR WITH A HUGE CAR PARK
The Full Throttle is the world’s largest biker bar housed on 30 acres of land, which Ballard purchased in 1999.The indoor/outdoor bar includes several large stages, a burn-out pit, a tattoo parlor, zip lines, a wrestling ring, restaurants, dozens of stores, hundreds of cabins for rent and parking for thousands of motorcycles. Famous performers at the Full Throttle include Billy Ray Cyrus, Bret Michaels and Ice-T. Only open for 10 days a year in August (during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally), the Full Throttle can average 15,000 guests a night.
WELL CHRISTINE AND ME NEVER CAME OUT OF STURGIS ON THAT ROAD ON PREVIOUS TRIPS – WE HAVE NEVER SEEN THAT HUGE COMPLEX BEFORE. I COULDN’T BELIEVE IT WHEN A BLOODY DONKEY JUST TROTTED IN. THERE WAS A CATTLE GRID AT THE GATE AND THE REST WAS FENCED OFF, SO IT WAS STUCK.
THERE WAS A LOT OF MIST/DUST/HAZE TODAY AND THE LONG ROADS JUST WENT DULL GREY AND LOOKED DULL, SO I HAVE DELETED A LOT OF PHOTOS I WAS OTHERWISE EXPECTING TO BE GOOD.
THERE WERE A LOT OF SWALLOWS ON THIS RIVER – INCLUDING ONE POOR BUGGER WHO GOT IN THE WAY OF A TRUCK
IN WOONSOCKET WAS A BIG LAKE WITH A FOUNTAIN AND A CHURCH. LOTS O MEDIUM SIZED FISH. LOTS OF TURTLES TOO.
FROM THEN ON, THAT WAS ABOUT IT; JUST AN INCREDIBLY LONG ROAD, AND ALTHOUGH I STOPPED FOR PLENTY OF SCENIC SHOTS, ONCE I SAW THEM ON THE COMPUTER, THEY WERE HAZED OUT, SO I DUMPED A LOT OF THEM.
OH YES, I PASSED A PETROL STATION JUST AFTER STURGIS, AND AS THERE WAS ONLY 32 MILES ON THE CLOCK, I THOUGHT ‘NAH, ILL FILL UP DOWN THE ROAD’. THERE WERE NONE OF THE USUAL WARNING SIGNS ABOUT LAST SERVICES, PERHAPS COS IT’S A LESSER ROAD.
BY THE TIME I GOT TO PIERRE, SHE WAS STARTING TO COUGH AND CUT OUT, BUT I COAXED HER TO A SHELL STATION, WITH 177 MILES ON THE CLOCK; THAT’S A COUPLE OF MILES LONGER THAN THE HANKSVILLE TRIP WHERE CHRISTINE AND I WERE RUNNING ON FUMES IN AN EXTREMELY ISOLATED AREA OF UTAH. THERE WERE 172 OR 173 MILES ON THE TRIP METER THAT TIME. I NEVER THOUGHT THAT THE POXY TOWNS ON HW34 WOULDNT HAVE A GAS STATION. THE TOUR GUIDE NEVER MENTIONED THAT !!!!!
AT AROUND 7PM, I CAME TO SLAYTON – I WAS NOW IN MINNESOTA. I ASKED A WOMAN AT THE GAS STATION, ‘ IS THERE A MOTEL IN TOWN?’ NO, SHE SAID, YOU’LL HAVE TO GET ON THE INTERSTATE AND RIDE ABOUT ANOTHER 45 MINUTES. HMM. I PHONED CHRISTINE TO LET HER KNOW – SHE WON’T GO TO BED TILL SHE HEARS FROM ME. SHORTLY AFTER THAT, I NOTICED A GUY ON A HARLEY – DRESSED IN A ‘VEST’ SO HE MUST BE LOCAL. I ASKED HIM ABOUT MOTELS. ‘SURE, JUST GO TO THE STOP SIGN AND TURN RIGHT – THERE’S A MOTEL THERE’ DUH. THANK GOD I GOT A SECOND OPINION.
SO HERE I AM IN SLAYTON – TWO NIGHTS BOOKED. VERY NICE ROOM – THE ONE THE PREVIOUS NIGHT HAD WALLS SO THIN, I THOUGHT I WAS SHARING A ROOM WITH MY NEIGHBOR!
MY PLANS WERE CHANGED A LITTLE TONIGHT. I HAD A MISSED MESSAGE FROM FRIENDS, PETE AND BARB, BACK IN OHIO. THAT STORM THAT HAS BEEN STICKING TO ME OVERTOOK ME AND SWATHED ITS WAY ACROSS THE MIDWEST. IT HIT OUR AREA OF OHIO A COUPLE OF DAYS AGO. BLEW THEIR PORCH CLEAN AWAY AND FELLED A FEW TREES – ONE OF WHICH WENT THROUGH THEIR ROOF. SO I AM GONNA HEAD BACK AND HELP GET THINGS FIXED.
