Sturgis - Days Inn

... He gave me some strong antibiotics so I hope to be back to full health in time for tea and crumpets on the front lawn.

With a new found respect for life coursing through my veins, I headed to Mount Rushmore to see four giant faces in a row. And I wasn't disappointed. There were four of them. They were giant. And strike me down if they weren't in a row.

Just down the road was Crazy ...

... br>I rode more th*n 1300 miles over the 6 d*ys I w*s st*ying *t Sturgis. I went to * lot pl*ces in the *re* *nd I still b*rely scr*tched the surf*ce. My f*vorite ro*d w*s the Needles Highw*y *nd Iron Mount*in Highw*y. On the little color-coded "Skills R*ted Ro*d M*p" of the Bl*ck Hills, these were the two most difficult ro*ds. There's 270deg corners, 5mph-r*ted corners, blind one-l*ne tunnels, etc. The ro*ds *re imp*ss*ble by c*rgo truck ...

... ever done it the one time). His was a huge 12 man tent and by the end I was pleased to discover I had my own wing within it!

Entering the stage area of the huge field with its log cabin bars and shops all round the perimetre made you really feel this was more than just people coming together for the one concert. It felt like a little mini festival. We met up with Shauns friends and waited patiently for the main attraction to begin.
During this downtime I ...

... the wood stove’ I heard there is a farmer near downtown Sturgis who plows under his field, puts up a few porta-potties, and invites bikers to pitch their tents stake-to-stake, and charges $180.00 PER PERSON - and gets it!

Don’t worry, Aunt Edith, the hardcore partying starts later in the week. And our cute Fish ‘n Fry Campground, in Deadwood, works hard ...

I went back to Badlands National Park in the morning for a bit more of a look around before heading off towards the Black Hills area of South Dakota and the old western town of Deadwood. I had watched the Deadwood TV services back home and had to make sure I visited the town itself.

On the way to Deadwood, I stopped at Mt Rushmore and also the Crazy Horse Monument. I am not sure why I bothered with the Crazy Horse Monument. They are still along way from ...

... was. We could have taken ourselves through more carefully.

Once through the road works we didn't have much further to go before we re-entered Wyoming and then left it again about 20 miles later to cross the state line into South Dakota. Another 15 miles or so brought us to the town of Belle Fourche and a very bizarre situation. Proudly displayed in Belle Fourche is the "Geographic Centre of The U.S. Monument". The bizarre thing is that ...

Started from home in Urbandale, IA. Target Black Hills, SD. We made stop in 1880 Town. Overnight in Wall.
Tomorrow reached Rapid City where we made "base camp".
For next 5 days we visited Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse Memorial, Custer City, Deadwood, Ho Spring, Tatanka Museum, Devils Tower, WY.

On our way back home we visited Sioux city.

... a course in in town we decided to google courses across the U.S so that we could hit them up as we drove across the country. 3 things define the road trip, the first would be frisbee golf (Frolf), we played in every state we drove across. We played so much that I tore a rotator cuff in my shoulder. As you may notice I have inserted frisbee pictures in almost every entry because we really did play all the freakin time! The second ...

... and Steve and Cath are coming up from Cornwall, and I can't wait to see them all again - they have been brilliant handling logistics in England as it hasn't easy trying to organise everything this end when we are 7 hours behind you. I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their phone calls, messages, emails, cards, prayers etc etc. I simply don't know how I would have coped without the ...

... in for. Having spent one winter in Iowa already, he knew what snow was all about. But having never shoveled before, I don't think he fully appreciated how heavy the stuff can be. Or how cold it can get. When you grow up in a coastal tropical climate, any kind of snow is a bit of a system shock, I think. What a way to start the day!