Day 55; Spearfish South Dakota to Butte Montana
We had a late night, so we got a late start to make up for it. I got up around 730 and took a shower (I needed one badly!). Then we took a while to break down camp. In the process of putting things away, I keep thinking I'm forgetting things because I keep having more and more space available after I pack everything. I hope I'm not leaving things behind.
The four of us (JR, my parents and I) went out to breakfast because it was our last day together on our trip. JR and his monkey Clyde took off heading home (safe travels to you both). We finally got moving around 11, and headed into the storm.
I'm not really sure how it happened, but we seemed to miss all of the really bad areas of the storm. It was like the road new how to maneuver is between raining spots. Don't get me wrong because we did hit some heavy rain, but not as much as I expected. The whole day was riding until the end of the day. Then it became frustrating, tiring, and incredibly beautiful!
Our original goal was to make it to Livingston, and we did...But there was no place to stay. Tired from the days ride, my dad fought the Internet looking for a place to crash for the night. He found one in Butte that had vacancies, so we booked a room. It is over 100 miles to Butte from Livingston. We got to the hotel around 10am after riding a grand total of 503 miles. With that said, I'm glad we kept going because the sunset was, like I said before, incredible!
Bright red clouds on a blue background. Many places we have gone have people that claim to have beautiful sunsets, but none of them were like this one! It stayed beautiful even as the color faded and it turned into layered shades on the horizon.
Needless to say, I was too tired to write this last night (I fell asleep in the bath tub).
Bye now, LB
Sunday, August 9, 2015
Friday, August 7, 2015
Day 54
Day 54; ended up in spearfish (near Sturgis).
To be honest, this trip is wearing me thin. I am constantly exhausted, but have to continue on. That is why today's post (even though it was an eventful day) will be short.
Clayton (mom's cousin) and his friend came to our campsite and we loaded up or stuff on his truck, so that climbing the hills to get to mount Rushmore would be easier on the bikes. We went there and checked out the mountain as well as the sculptors that preceded the actual mountain. Over 90% of the sculpting done to the mountain was done using dynamite!
Then we went to the spearfish KOA to set up camp before heading into Sturgis for the evening. My goal was to find one specific patch, and buy lots of others. Mission successful. There were thousands of bikes lining the roads, and tons of places to find cool stuff to spend money on. I restricted myself to one shirt so I could justify buying over 20 patches. Granted not all of them are for me, but I think I'm an addict. I still need to get some sewn on my vest, but I guess I'll have to find someone back home with the right sewing machine to do it.
Just to see if I can grow you out, today is my fourth day without a shower. I wanted to take one tonight, but I have to write this and it's late. Don't worry though. Tomorrow morning, I will be clean once again! Hopefully that will help revive my loveliness :)
Bye now, LB
To be honest, this trip is wearing me thin. I am constantly exhausted, but have to continue on. That is why today's post (even though it was an eventful day) will be short.
Clayton (mom's cousin) and his friend came to our campsite and we loaded up or stuff on his truck, so that climbing the hills to get to mount Rushmore would be easier on the bikes. We went there and checked out the mountain as well as the sculptors that preceded the actual mountain. Over 90% of the sculpting done to the mountain was done using dynamite!
Then we went to the spearfish KOA to set up camp before heading into Sturgis for the evening. My goal was to find one specific patch, and buy lots of others. Mission successful. There were thousands of bikes lining the roads, and tons of places to find cool stuff to spend money on. I restricted myself to one shirt so I could justify buying over 20 patches. Granted not all of them are for me, but I think I'm an addict. I still need to get some sewn on my vest, but I guess I'll have to find someone back home with the right sewing machine to do it.
Just to see if I can grow you out, today is my fourth day without a shower. I wanted to take one tonight, but I have to write this and it's late. Don't worry though. Tomorrow morning, I will be clean once again! Hopefully that will help revive my loveliness :)
Bye now, LB
Day 53
Day 53; still in Sturgis South Dakota
I'm a little bit conflicted tonight. Typically I talk about everything that happens in a day, but I've been told that Sturgis is kind of like Vegas... What happens here, stay here. I'll try to find a happy medium.
Last year, when I came with my dad and two uncles, Harley test rides were held at the Harley dealership in Rapid City. We went there today only to find out that test rides for Harleys are in Sturgis. Fortunately, there were a few vendors that my dad wanted to talk to about their products. Then we headed back to Sturgis.
My mom's cousin JR doesn't ever want to ride a Harley (something about having a reputation to maintain), so we went to the Indian and canam demo instead. Let me start with the canam. It may resemble a motorcycle with regards to looks, but drives completely different! The steering for me was stiff and touchy. You have to put force into it to turn, but then it shoots off in the direction quickly. You also can't lean into turns; making it harder to stay on. Back to the fun stuff, the bikes!
I had never ridden an Indian motorcycle until today. So when the lady asked which bike I wanted to ride, I had no idea. I told her that I wanted to go fast and she directed me to the Scout. It's 69 cubic inches (1133 cubic centimeters), which is a bigger engine than I have in my bike. The Scout is also about half the size of mine. Bigger engine on a smaller bike makes a happier Gregg! That bike has enough power to accelerate quickly in 6th gear going up a hill! Might be a future bike of mine. Then I tried the vintage (a bagger). Has a bigger engine, yet I was not impressed by its performance on the road. It was hard to maneuver and sluggish. I think I'll stick to the quick ones.
Then we went back to the Buffalo Chip to witness history. Doug Dangers (pretty sure that's a stage name) jumped 22 cars on the same bike that evil kenievil used when he attempted the same jump (and crashed). Dangers came screaming down the runway, launch himself through the air and almost went over his landing ramp! He probably could have jumped 24 cars and it would have been the perfect distance. JR got a great slow motion video of it!
After that came the concert! Dancers, fire breathers, and naked people... What's not to love? There is also a dog that does a great job being a cashier! I asked one of the vendors who to pay for some patches I wanted, and he told me to pay the dog. Are you confused too? I thought the guy was nuts (he kind of looked like it). I was on my way to ask the lady working there when I took out a 20 dollar bill. The dog (chihuahua) came over, bit my 20, and took it to the lady. I was in disbelief! What's even better is that she made change, gave it to the dog, and the dog brought it to me! Talk about being mind blown!
Bye now, LB
I'm a little bit conflicted tonight. Typically I talk about everything that happens in a day, but I've been told that Sturgis is kind of like Vegas... What happens here, stay here. I'll try to find a happy medium.
Last year, when I came with my dad and two uncles, Harley test rides were held at the Harley dealership in Rapid City. We went there today only to find out that test rides for Harleys are in Sturgis. Fortunately, there were a few vendors that my dad wanted to talk to about their products. Then we headed back to Sturgis.
My mom's cousin JR doesn't ever want to ride a Harley (something about having a reputation to maintain), so we went to the Indian and canam demo instead. Let me start with the canam. It may resemble a motorcycle with regards to looks, but drives completely different! The steering for me was stiff and touchy. You have to put force into it to turn, but then it shoots off in the direction quickly. You also can't lean into turns; making it harder to stay on. Back to the fun stuff, the bikes!
I had never ridden an Indian motorcycle until today. So when the lady asked which bike I wanted to ride, I had no idea. I told her that I wanted to go fast and she directed me to the Scout. It's 69 cubic inches (1133 cubic centimeters), which is a bigger engine than I have in my bike. The Scout is also about half the size of mine. Bigger engine on a smaller bike makes a happier Gregg! That bike has enough power to accelerate quickly in 6th gear going up a hill! Might be a future bike of mine. Then I tried the vintage (a bagger). Has a bigger engine, yet I was not impressed by its performance on the road. It was hard to maneuver and sluggish. I think I'll stick to the quick ones.
Then we went back to the Buffalo Chip to witness history. Doug Dangers (pretty sure that's a stage name) jumped 22 cars on the same bike that evil kenievil used when he attempted the same jump (and crashed). Dangers came screaming down the runway, launch himself through the air and almost went over his landing ramp! He probably could have jumped 24 cars and it would have been the perfect distance. JR got a great slow motion video of it!
After that came the concert! Dancers, fire breathers, and naked people... What's not to love? There is also a dog that does a great job being a cashier! I asked one of the vendors who to pay for some patches I wanted, and he told me to pay the dog. Are you confused too? I thought the guy was nuts (he kind of looked like it). I was on my way to ask the lady working there when I took out a 20 dollar bill. The dog (chihuahua) came over, bit my 20, and took it to the lady. I was in disbelief! What's even better is that she made change, gave it to the dog, and the dog brought it to me! Talk about being mind blown!
Bye now, LB
Thursday, August 6, 2015
Day 52
Day 52; Miller South Dakota to Sturgis South Dakota
Hello there! I can't believe it, but we made it to Sturgis today! For some reason, I remember getting to Sturgis a lot faster last year. Must be the last 42 states that I skipped in 2014... Let's start from the beginning of my day.
We got up, broke down camp, and had yogurt for breakfast. Then we got some pictures of the lake we camped next to on our way out. We did a little bit of backtracking because we desperately needed gas. Then we headed out on highway 14 which would take us directly toward Sturgis. By now you should realize that nothing we plan turns out the way we plan it. There was a ton of construction, so they had set up a detour. The detour never took us back to 14... We ended up going through an Indian reservation instead, but eventually meet up with my mom's cousin JR.
We coordinated with JR to meet at a gas station not far from the badlands. We got there slightly before he did, so we made lunch there on the sidewalk. When he arrived, we all took off through the national park. If you don't know what the badlands are, you should definately look into them! It's like a miniature mountain range, and looks awesome. It's one of my favorite national parks in the country. We rode through them (stopping occasionally for pictures) and out the other side in the city of Wall.
Wall is the home of Wall Drug. It is a huge store/attraction for people all over the country. (They have a life size Jackalope that you can sit on for photos!). A Jackalope is a cross between a jack rabbit and an antelope (think giant rabbit with antlers). We got ice cream there and then continued on to Sturgis.
We got in and set up camp just in time to make dinner in the rain. My cousin Clayton and his friend Jay met us at our campsite for dinner. The only catch was that we all had to eat outside in a thunderstorm (it's like we take normal processes and make them extreme). The six of us huddle behind someone's trailer for some protection from the wind and rain while we ate.
Everyone else went to a concert, but I really didn't feel like getting more wet, so I cuddled up in my sleeping bag for the night. I probably need the sleep for tomorrow anyway if I can get to sleep. The concert is so loud that I can hear it perfectly clear from my tent.
Bye now, LB
Hello there! I can't believe it, but we made it to Sturgis today! For some reason, I remember getting to Sturgis a lot faster last year. Must be the last 42 states that I skipped in 2014... Let's start from the beginning of my day.
We got up, broke down camp, and had yogurt for breakfast. Then we got some pictures of the lake we camped next to on our way out. We did a little bit of backtracking because we desperately needed gas. Then we headed out on highway 14 which would take us directly toward Sturgis. By now you should realize that nothing we plan turns out the way we plan it. There was a ton of construction, so they had set up a detour. The detour never took us back to 14... We ended up going through an Indian reservation instead, but eventually meet up with my mom's cousin JR.
We coordinated with JR to meet at a gas station not far from the badlands. We got there slightly before he did, so we made lunch there on the sidewalk. When he arrived, we all took off through the national park. If you don't know what the badlands are, you should definately look into them! It's like a miniature mountain range, and looks awesome. It's one of my favorite national parks in the country. We rode through them (stopping occasionally for pictures) and out the other side in the city of Wall.
Wall is the home of Wall Drug. It is a huge store/attraction for people all over the country. (They have a life size Jackalope that you can sit on for photos!). A Jackalope is a cross between a jack rabbit and an antelope (think giant rabbit with antlers). We got ice cream there and then continued on to Sturgis.
We got in and set up camp just in time to make dinner in the rain. My cousin Clayton and his friend Jay met us at our campsite for dinner. The only catch was that we all had to eat outside in a thunderstorm (it's like we take normal processes and make them extreme). The six of us huddle behind someone's trailer for some protection from the wind and rain while we ate.
Everyone else went to a concert, but I really didn't feel like getting more wet, so I cuddled up in my sleeping bag for the night. I probably need the sleep for tomorrow anyway if I can get to sleep. The concert is so loud that I can hear it perfectly clear from my tent.
Bye now, LB
Tuesday, August 4, 2015
Day 51
Day 51; St Cloud Minnesota to Miller South Dakota
For some reason, we always wake up before I would like to. That makes for a sleepy Gregg and today was no exception. Recently I've been pretty exhausted throughout the day and into the night (sleeping on the ground can make for some rough nights). My mom had a rough night also, so we stopped for breakfast at McDonald's and got her an iced coffee (her wake up call of choice). Then we rode.
We went about 100 miles between stops today (longer than usual), and rode roughly 380 miles overall. We don't have much family or interesting things to see around here, so we just rode. We knocked off two more states today bringing the count up to 42 states (only 6 more to go!). The cool thing about today is that I have now ridden my motorcycle through all 48 states because the last 6 I rode with my dad and two uncles last year on our way to Sturgis. (You would think my butt wouldn't get sore anymore... unfortunately, you would think wrong).
We stopped for lunch at a nice neighborhood park and made sandwiches. After eating seemed like the perfect time to take a nap, so I tried. Before finishing that thought, let me take you on a tangent. When I was 17, I went to church camp. Being in a room with 10 to 20 guys is difficult, so we made some ground rules. Stuff like respect everyone else's belongings, play nice, and most importantly... HONOR THE SIESTA! Now, back to before.
It's really hard to sleep when someone (mom) keeps asking questions about how to work her phone or whatever else. I am declaring on this blog post that honoring the siesta is now a road trip rule (you are my witness and I know she reads my posts). I'm thinking the punishment needs to be doing the dishes because I hate doing dishes :)
We had some pasta with tuna for dinner and played cribbage. For some reason, I win when we use my deck and dad wins when we use his deck. I can't figure this out, but he can't find his deck. Guess who won cribbage. Then the bugs started coming out, so we all are hiding in our tents. I think there is a frog underneath my because the bottom of it keeps moving... I hope I don't crush him.
Bye now, LB
For some reason, we always wake up before I would like to. That makes for a sleepy Gregg and today was no exception. Recently I've been pretty exhausted throughout the day and into the night (sleeping on the ground can make for some rough nights). My mom had a rough night also, so we stopped for breakfast at McDonald's and got her an iced coffee (her wake up call of choice). Then we rode.
We went about 100 miles between stops today (longer than usual), and rode roughly 380 miles overall. We don't have much family or interesting things to see around here, so we just rode. We knocked off two more states today bringing the count up to 42 states (only 6 more to go!). The cool thing about today is that I have now ridden my motorcycle through all 48 states because the last 6 I rode with my dad and two uncles last year on our way to Sturgis. (You would think my butt wouldn't get sore anymore... unfortunately, you would think wrong).
We stopped for lunch at a nice neighborhood park and made sandwiches. After eating seemed like the perfect time to take a nap, so I tried. Before finishing that thought, let me take you on a tangent. When I was 17, I went to church camp. Being in a room with 10 to 20 guys is difficult, so we made some ground rules. Stuff like respect everyone else's belongings, play nice, and most importantly... HONOR THE SIESTA! Now, back to before.
It's really hard to sleep when someone (mom) keeps asking questions about how to work her phone or whatever else. I am declaring on this blog post that honoring the siesta is now a road trip rule (you are my witness and I know she reads my posts). I'm thinking the punishment needs to be doing the dishes because I hate doing dishes :)
We had some pasta with tuna for dinner and played cribbage. For some reason, I win when we use my deck and dad wins when we use his deck. I can't figure this out, but he can't find his deck. Guess who won cribbage. Then the bugs started coming out, so we all are hiding in our tents. I think there is a frog underneath my because the bottom of it keeps moving... I hope I don't crush him.
Bye now, LB
Monday, August 3, 2015
Day 50
Day 50; Boone Iowa to St Cloud Minnesota
What is a road trip without engine trouble? I don't know either, but I'll go with not adventurous enough. I assure you, today made me realize how rough this trip has been on my motorcycle. This morning as we tried to leave the house, my motorcycle wouldn't start.
I turned the key and all I heard was a click. Again I tried, only a click. We got out the jumper cables and tried to get it to start... Still nothing. After about half an hour, we finally got it started. We had to fill up with gas right off the bat, so I kept it running while filling up because I wasn't about to turn it off.
Then we rode about 100 miles below having to fill up again. I made the mistake of shutting off the engine. When I tried to go park it, all I got was a click! I was frustrated to say the least. We knew it wasn't the charging system (the bike wouldn't have gone 100 miles if that were the problem). We took the battery out and all the cells were empty! Batteries disassociate H2O which turns it into hydrogen and oxygen. The gasses float away and you're left with nothing... well I'm left with nothing. My mother did a fantastic job of refilling the cells with water and it fired right up!
With the bike fixed, we hit the road. Now I told you I was frustrated. So much so that I forgot to put my vest back on before we left. It didn't want to continue on today's journey. Some nice folks saw it fall off my bike, picked it up, and chased me down to give it back. Whoever you are, I really appreciate that!
Finally back on the open road! We rode up into Stewartville Minnesota where my dad lived in the fourth grade. We met some of his cousins for lunch, and then set out to find the houses he lived in (we think we found them). He stayed telling us stories of when he was young, and how the town had changed in 45 years.
After that we took to the highway again until we arrived at our campsite. We had beef pasta for dinner (my mom's first camping meal of the trip), and we all turned in for the night to avoid mosquitoes. Minnesota is the land of a thousand lakes. I think that directly translates to land of a thousand mosquito breeding grounds. Anyway, it's time for bed.
Bye now, LB
What is a road trip without engine trouble? I don't know either, but I'll go with not adventurous enough. I assure you, today made me realize how rough this trip has been on my motorcycle. This morning as we tried to leave the house, my motorcycle wouldn't start.
I turned the key and all I heard was a click. Again I tried, only a click. We got out the jumper cables and tried to get it to start... Still nothing. After about half an hour, we finally got it started. We had to fill up with gas right off the bat, so I kept it running while filling up because I wasn't about to turn it off.
Then we rode about 100 miles below having to fill up again. I made the mistake of shutting off the engine. When I tried to go park it, all I got was a click! I was frustrated to say the least. We knew it wasn't the charging system (the bike wouldn't have gone 100 miles if that were the problem). We took the battery out and all the cells were empty! Batteries disassociate H2O which turns it into hydrogen and oxygen. The gasses float away and you're left with nothing... well I'm left with nothing. My mother did a fantastic job of refilling the cells with water and it fired right up!
With the bike fixed, we hit the road. Now I told you I was frustrated. So much so that I forgot to put my vest back on before we left. It didn't want to continue on today's journey. Some nice folks saw it fall off my bike, picked it up, and chased me down to give it back. Whoever you are, I really appreciate that!
Finally back on the open road! We rode up into Stewartville Minnesota where my dad lived in the fourth grade. We met some of his cousins for lunch, and then set out to find the houses he lived in (we think we found them). He stayed telling us stories of when he was young, and how the town had changed in 45 years.
After that we took to the highway again until we arrived at our campsite. We had beef pasta for dinner (my mom's first camping meal of the trip), and we all turned in for the night to avoid mosquitoes. Minnesota is the land of a thousand lakes. I think that directly translates to land of a thousand mosquito breeding grounds. Anyway, it's time for bed.
Bye now, LB
Day 49
Day 49, the day of many naps
Guess who got to sleep in! My dad woke me up at 11 for breakfast. We had eggs, sausage, and cinnamon rolls. It was good. Then I decided that since I was woken up prematurely, I would go back to sleep (this trip takes so much energy). Half an hour later I got up and took a shower so I could be nice and clean for our days adventure.
My dad is a huge fan of trains, and Boone has a locomotive from the 1920's that runs tours. Of course we had to go check this out. Now, I have been on reasons plenty of times commuting to school in San Jose, but none like this one. This one was old school all the way! Air conditioning? Yeah, open up the windows and stick your head out. We crossed over bridges and rivers where we saw turtles swimming around. The conductor told us that on occasion, when the river is low, people will go out on the sand bars and moon the train. We were fortunate enough not to see any butts.
We went into the train museum when we got back to the station, but it was only open for a few minutes after we got there. I didn't have time to read about all the fun facts about trains so I could share them with you. When the museum closed, we drove around town. When I say we drove around, I mean I feel asleep in the car as everyone else saw the town.
I got up when we stopped at DQ for a blizzard, and then stayed awake long enough to see a little bit of the town until we got home. Would you like to guess what happened next? If you guessed I feel asleep, you're right! My dad woke me up for dinner. We had braut burgers and beans. Now we are just relaxing, talking to our lovely hosts, and I'm feeling like it's bed time:)
Bye now, LB
Guess who got to sleep in! My dad woke me up at 11 for breakfast. We had eggs, sausage, and cinnamon rolls. It was good. Then I decided that since I was woken up prematurely, I would go back to sleep (this trip takes so much energy). Half an hour later I got up and took a shower so I could be nice and clean for our days adventure.
My dad is a huge fan of trains, and Boone has a locomotive from the 1920's that runs tours. Of course we had to go check this out. Now, I have been on reasons plenty of times commuting to school in San Jose, but none like this one. This one was old school all the way! Air conditioning? Yeah, open up the windows and stick your head out. We crossed over bridges and rivers where we saw turtles swimming around. The conductor told us that on occasion, when the river is low, people will go out on the sand bars and moon the train. We were fortunate enough not to see any butts.
We went into the train museum when we got back to the station, but it was only open for a few minutes after we got there. I didn't have time to read about all the fun facts about trains so I could share them with you. When the museum closed, we drove around town. When I say we drove around, I mean I feel asleep in the car as everyone else saw the town.
I got up when we stopped at DQ for a blizzard, and then stayed awake long enough to see a little bit of the town until we got home. Would you like to guess what happened next? If you guessed I feel asleep, you're right! My dad woke me up for dinner. We had braut burgers and beans. Now we are just relaxing, talking to our lovely hosts, and I'm feeling like it's bed time:)
Bye now, LB
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