Been a long time

Hey folks, sorry so long, no write. Been on the road, and nowhere to upload. Since I last wrote, we have been to the mayhem that was the Sturgis Bike (and RV) Rally, in Sturgis, SD. After the damage to Josh's bike was repaired, we arrived in Sturgis Wednesday afternoon. We camped at the Bulldog Campground. Nice place overall, and very nice people running it. We pitched our tents, then decided to go into town for a bite to eat and to see the madness. And what madness it was! People everywhere, although we were told attendance was down this year. We wandered around town quite a bit, and below are some of the pictures we took.

It was wacky, wild, and wonderful. The shot of the guys above are from the campground as we were getting ready to go into town. We saw some things that were pretty cool, and some that were downright strange.
We went to the Sturgis BMW/Yamaha/Suzuki shop, where I asked about fixing Josh's clutch. We were told it couldn't be done until the following Wednesday or Thursday at the earliest. So I took option number two. The shop had taken in a 1996 K1100LT, and I bought it. I traded the GS in pretty much straight across (they paid most of it off) and my out of pocket was just $420. My payments are actually about $15 less a month, and the bike has been well maintained and only has 40k miles on it. We will be picking it up Thursday, Aug. 14, and using it for the remainder of the ride. It will make a wonderful backup bike for me, if my bike needs to be down, and both my sons can ride it when they wish. Yeehaw!!


We left Sturgis Friday morning and rode down to Sioux Falls, SD, to visit Duane's dad and step-mom, Gary and Lori. On the way we stopped at Wall Drug, in Wall, SD, and had some free ice water (atrocious!!) and did some shopping. What a neat place! They have a restaurant, all sorts of collectible items, and even some historical (and hysterical) displays.



After Wall Drug, we went riding through the Badlands. Beautiful, absolutely beautiful. Stark, picturesque, astounding, astonishing -- add any more descriptive adjectives you wish. The sedimentary layers, the wildlife were all amazing.







We eventually arrived in Sioux Falls, and got to meet Gary and Lori. What wonderful folks!! Gary is almost 80, and Lori is 74, but you would never guess from seeing and meeting them. If I hadn't know Duane is over 50, I would be these two were just barely 60. They are so lively, wonderful, active and just fantastic. They put us up in their home Friday night, Saturday and Sunday. Gary pulled out his bike and took us around town. What a great city Sioux Falls is! There is a wealth of historical wonder here. The falls, the various old buildings and quarries; too much to mention.
We took Gary and Lori out to Ruby Tuesdays for dinner, and it was fantastic. I have never eaten at one of these restaurants, but I loved it! Great food, great atmosphere, great company. Duane insisted on picking up the $$$ tab, and wouldn't let anyone else chip in. Darn him!!
Sunday was a nice relaxing day, where we did some laundry and some shopping, then Monday morning we headed out.

Our next stop was in Bloomfield IA to visit one of Duane's old friends, Walter and Joan Scott. Walter writes a syndicated outdoors column, and also sells advertising. They also have the coolest underground house. Made of four interconnecting domes, the walls are 3' thick concrete, and covered by 4' - 6' of soil. There are skylights to let in natural light, and the front of the house was relatively conventional. And they are salt of the earth, wonderful people. They hadn't seen Duane in nearly 30 years, yet opened their home to him and his biker friends.

Their home is set on 40 acres, and is so homey and comfortable. It has absorbed the personality of these two fantastic people and their family, and radiates love, comfort and caring. Their home reflects their obvious love for each other and their children and grandchildren.
Walt also took us over to their 500+ acre ranch, where they have a cabin and a 26 acre lake, well stocked with fish. We started to dip some lines, but the light drizzle that had started became quite the downpour. We pulled in our lines and headed for the dry cabin, where we chatted and laughed and wished we had brought some beer to drink.
Heading back to their home, Walt took us to a decent little bar, where we had a bite of lunch, then went back to his place, after touring some Amish stores. Wow, what wonderful furniture and keepsakes they produce. Duane and I are thinking of importing some out to Chico, starting a shop called Almost Amish. Think it will go over?
We arrived back to their home, were we napped for a bit before dinner.
Walt and Joan outdid themselves for dinner -- prime rib, fresh corn on the cob, green salad and the best prepared cottage cheese I've ever had, along with a couple bottles of wonderful red wine.
Ahhhhhhhhhh.......... words cannot express the grandeur of that meal. Taste buds overloaded and the senses swirled and spun with delight.
Damn fine meal, folks.
This morning (Wednesday) we left bright and early, saying fond farewells to these two wonderful folks and promising to keep in touch. We headed out into a light fog, and soon were racing through Iowa back to Sioux Falls and Duane's dad's place. Tomorrow (Thursday) we head back to Sturgis to pick up the K1100LT, then on to Glacier National Park. I promise to write more whenever I get to another hot spot (thank God for Barnes and Noble!)
Best wishes to all, and remember, NOBAMA 2008.