On Thursday the 3rd of July, we make the
pilgrimage to the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum and Hall of Fame.
It was well worth the trip. We saw
so many old and unusual motorcycles, including a number of Indians. And we saw some old familiar cycles too.
There were even a couple of sidecar rigs!
And even a wooden Harley!
And many others. Some fancy…
…and some plain.
We saw big bikes…
…and little bikes...
…and old bikes…
And we had a really good time.
After the museum, we went over to the Side Hack Saloon,
just because of the name and because I have a side hack of
my own. The burgers were fantastic! The saloon has its own side car outfit.
But I still like mine better. The ambiance (what there is of
it) in the Saloon is pure biker. The entire town of Sturgis lives for The Black
Hills Rally. I’m pretty sure it’s about the only thing that goes on there.
Sturgis is fairly small and the locals tell me the 20 minute trip takes over an
hour during the Rally. I think I’m glad we missed it, although we think it
might be fun to go one day just to see all the bikes. Hard core bikers, maybe
not so much. Most of the town’s ambiance is biker. They are already touting
rental spots for venders for this year’s Rally in August. It must be something
to see. The officials report that less than 10% of the people who show up for
the Rally bother to register. I guess their attendance reports are a guess.
After our tasty, juicy lunch we headed on our way to
Spearfish, to the D.C. Booth National Historic Fish Hatchery.
The witch who lives in the Garmin got us lost again. Not
really her fault, maybe, because the most direct road into the hatchery was
closed because it’s camping season and the road runs right through the
Spearfish City Campground. We found it anyway. The hatchery is in a huge
beautiful city park, and makes up only a small part of the park. This trip was
an indulgence for me, as I, for some unknowable reason, adore fish hatcheries
and Ray does not care if he ever sees another one, because I have dragged him to
every fish hatchery we’ve run across. I just love those little fish!
This is a
beautiful hatchery that in the past grew and distributed hundreds of thousands
of trout of all varieties all across the west. D.C. Booth used to catch trout in Yellowstone and haul them by wagons back to the hatchery to produce the next generation of trout. The old buildings and homes are still here, and the hatchery now sends out about 50,000 little troutlings a year.
The rest of the fish live in the hatchery ponds permanently. Not a bad life for
a trout.
Some of the trout have been at the hatchery a long time and
they’d make a great dinner!
The historic buildings are beautiful.
And everything is very well kept up, as you’d expect for a
National place.
There’s even an underwater viewing area where you can watch
the fish, but the view from the top isn’t bad either!
After this, we found our way home to a colorful sunset at
the campground.
On the 4th, we hung out at camp. The big flag was
a-flying in the wind and was beautiful. That flag is huge!
The 5th dawned clear and hot and humid. We made a
quick trip to a grocery for our contribution to the afternoon’s barbecue pot
luck. Only about half the campers turned out, but that is their loss, for it
was a time of good companionship and relaxation. No one here is from Here, but
we all call this Home now. We’ve grown fond of our little campground. There
were 5 couples from Washington State, more than from California. We had a nice
spot in the shade to set up chairs and the two picnic tables, and they opened
one of the big garages to set up trestles for the food. The sodas were cold,
and that’s a good thing, because it was 94 degrees and probably felt like 100,
when the breeze died down about 5:30. We were surprised to see it was 6:30 when
we got back to the moho, the time went by so fast. So we took Norm for his walk
and huddled up in the a/c. We hosed down after we cooled off and slept well, in
spite of the 2 am fireworks nuts.
Today we’re hanging out again. It’s fun to travel about but
it’s also fun to be home in the moho and just relax. It’s only 84 now, and so
we may go out and sit in the shade. The humidity is only 38% for a change.
Tomorrow, we will visit the Sheriff and the license plate people. And it’s
laundry day. Again. Tuesday fun resumes with a trip to the Crazy Horse
Monument.
10 comments:
Oh this just sounds wonderful! I hear the same thing....the the actual Rally is SO very different from what things are really like most of the time. Sounds like you have had a wonderful Fourth of July Holiday! :-) xoxo
First, let me acknowledge the spiffy changes you have made to your blog page. Very nice. Second, congratulations on being tourists. I was beginning to think your mantra would not allow mundane tourist things. Good for you. BTW, I like hatcheries too. And the old bikes are neat. The Sidehack Saloon sounds just like your kind of place. No doubt you brought the ambiance with you when you came in and took it with you when you left. Biker town, Ha!
Hi Weena! Nice of you to leave a comment! Yes, we did have a very, very good 4th Holiday. I bet the Rally changes everything in Sturgis. LIke, maybe there are more than a dozen people in town.
Bro Bear, We have been doing the tourist thing all along. And here I thought you read the blog. Tsk.
Side Hack Saloon came complete with a table full of evil-eyed tough bikers. THEY had the ambiance, not I. In fact, even after they left, the place still had biker ambiance. In spades. It surely wasn't Ray and I and our Grand Caravan, polo shirts and capris bringing the biker ambiance. Well, my capris. Ray does not wear capris, as you well know. Do not laugh at biker town. It IS a biker town. Always.
I do read you blog, almost every day. And it can go unchanged for Days, Weeks or even Months, so what am I to think?
As for your Sturgis Bikers, these days they are Dentists, Social Workers and Teachers on Summer vacation. You two are more genuine bikers than they are.
The ones we saw in the Side Hack were gimlet eyed, steely gazed, greasy fingered, real bikers. No orthodontists or doctors in that bunch. Unless you can get a PhD in bare knuckle.
Ya know, you guys have it better than Reilly. Yous go sightseeing for one day and then take a week off. Retired? Heck No. You weren't Tired in the first place!
And those guys at the Side-hack Saloon were actors, hired for ambiance.
Not actors. Guys eating and drinking and climbing back on their bikes. It's just that way in Sturgis.
Would you go back during the rally?
Oh, heck no. I've heard too many stories and I've seen too many Sturgis Police shows. I'm staying away from Sturgis during the Rally. No desire to spend the week with 600,000 other people and mostly naked women and drunks. Pass. Besides, the traffic is horrible. People who live in Sturgis flee town and rent their homes out for a fortune.
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