Deadwood, Sturgis, Motorcycles and more Motorcycles

Some pictures of Sturgis and Deadwood. I heard on the news there were 100,000 bikes there, at least. We were surrounded by bikes every where we went. These pictures were taken from the truck since there was no way to find a place to park here. There were all sizes, all shapes and some that didn't even look like a motorcycle. Of course, we picked this Sturgis Rally week to be here.

Just pictures

Crazy Horse




















Crazy Horse
still in progress










Of course,
Mt. Rushmore




























Flags of every state

There is not much to say about Mt. Rushmore. It has been on my 'bucket list' for years and I was beside myself to see it. It was everything I hoped and more. It was bigger than I had imagined and it was beautiful. I am so happy we went there. The ride up to see it is in the black hills which is also beautiful. The Crazy Horse carving is still being worked on and seems it hasn't gotten very far in the years they have been working. It was also something to see along with the Native American museum next to it.

Montana

Sheridan Inn

The bar

Braqdford Brinton

Memorial Museum

World famous Mint Bar

Going to South Dakota

Sheridan, Montana was a great stop for us. There was lots to see there and we kept ourselves busy looking around. The first stop we made was to the Sheridan Inn. This is a place where Buffalo Bill used to come to drink, eat, sleep and auditioned acts for his Wild West Show. It is a beautiful hotel still in its original state. We had dinner on the huge veranda in front where Buffalo Bill used to sit and look at the acts that auditioned. Inside there are 2 bars that are the original bars. They came from England, a gift from the Queen. They were shipped here in one piece. In those days women were not allowed in the bar(with the exception of those doing a little business), but horses were. Buffalo Bill liked to have the horses come in and rear up. Sometimes their hooves would come down on the bar and put marks in the top. There is said to be a ghost in the hotel by the name of Mary. She rented a room and stayed there for about 40 years until she had to move due to renovations. She died 3 years later, her only wish was that her ashes be put in the wall of her old room at the hotel. They were and she is still there.

Downtown Sheridan has a rope makers store called Kings Ropes. They are known worldwide for their rope making and their saddle making. Beautiful saddles, and a sort of western museum.

Next we went to the Bradford Brinton Memorial Museum. It is a tribute to western art and culture. There is a collection of western art including works by Remington. Alot of Native American artifacts, rare books and documents such as a Lincoln letter and Washington documents. It is all in a wonderful furnished house way out in the country. Got to say at this point, I am westerned out.

Next we went to the Mint Bar. This bar has been around about 100 years. Local ranchers all put their brands on the wall and there is every kind of stuffed animal you can imagine on the walls. Myself, I think it is pretty gross but here in the wild, wild west, it's a normal thing, I guess.

Soon after we are on our way to South Dakota, the main stop for me. Of course, Faber luck, it is rally week at Sturgis which is right where we are going to stay.

So until then, Happy Campers signing off,

David and Carol

Another New Place

This morning we left Missoula, MT and headed East on our journey. We are now in Livingston, MT and headed to Wyoming tomorrow. We have seen beautiful, beautiful scenery. Some things just take your breath away. So many rivers and endless fields, mountains and open spaces. The weather has been perfect and we are getting to be pros at setting up and taking down.

Livingston is where they filmed A River Runs Through It. It is also where they filmed The Horse Whisperer. It is also only about 50 miles from Yellowstone National Park. The town was founded in 1882 as a place to set up the railroad to go into Yellowstone.

We will be spending 2 days in Wyoming and then on to Rapid City, South Dakota.
Of course, Sturgis is just down the road from there and this is the week of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. And of course, David wants to go. I'll go but I really don't want to, too many people.

Molly is doing fine. We put her in the truck and she wakes up in a new place. Of course it takes her awhile to smell all the new smells. She seems to like to travel so I guess thats good.

I'm hoping to be coming back this way so we can go to Yellowstone on our way back West...whenever that will be.

For now, still Happy Campers,
David and Carol

SMOKE, BEER AND WATER

Yeah, I look like a Smokejumper.

Hanging Parachutes

Plane that carries the Smokejumpers

Big Sky Brewery

Flathead Lake

Yesterday we went to take a tour of the Smokejumpers Academy. This is one of the places in the Western states that actually have Smokejumpers training. We got to look at the whole process. The information we learned was: You have to be between 120 to 200 pounds to qualify. You go through a training process that includes running for 2 miles with an 80 pound pack on their back, and be able to get ready and in the plane in 5-10 minutes. They take a sewing class because they make all their own uniforms, backpacks and jackets. If a hole developes in their parachute, they patch it themselves. They hang the parachutes after every fire to get rid of debri and smoke. While we were there, they got a call to go to Wolf Creek so we got to watch them get ready, board the plane and fly off. It was all pretty exciting.

Next we went to Big Sky Brewery. They have a tasting room so of course we had to taste. They make such beers as Moose Drool, Trout Slayer and Honey Bear.

It rained hard in the middle of the night last night but when we got up this morning it was clear. We took a ride up to Flathead lake. The lake is huge and the area and the lake look like Tahoe. It was a clear blue. It was a nice day so there were lots of boats and swimmers on the lake. On the way back we stopped at the Huckleberry Hut and bought some Huckleberry Honey, Huckleberry Ice Cream Topping, and Huckleberry Ice Cream. Yummy....

It was about 85 degrees when we got home. The Big Clouds in the Big Sky started coming in. Within 30 minutes the lightening and thunder started, then the rain. Wow, the thunder was really, really loud. Of course Molly was shaking in her boots. We had to medicate her a little. It is still raining as I write this. The sky here in Montana is very big and it is beautiful.

If at any time you would like to see more pictures, let me know and I will email them to you. On this program I can only post 5 at a time with each blog. We have lots more pics that are really good ones so let me know.

Well, goodnight for now.....

Very Happy Campers

David and Carol

A DAY LOOKING FOR JEWELS

Clark Fork River

Gem Mountain

A Hawk with a Fish in its Claws

Beautiful Sunset

And then later, beautiful lightening

The day before yesterday, we took off in the morning to go Sapphire hunting.

We went to a place about 1 1/2 hours away. The road there had some of the most beautiful scenery I've seen. The Clark Fork River runs for hundreds of miles and it is such a pretty river. In places it just meanders and in others it is a rushing river. We also saw lots of property for sale along the river. I would live there in a hot second but David says it's too remote for him.

We arrived at Gem mountain and started in on our jewel hunt. You get buckets of rock and strain it out a little at a time. Then you go through it with tweezers to find itty bitty stones. I think between the 2 of us we brought home about 14 carats of sapphires. Of course, they are pretty small but they are ours.

On the way back we saw a hawk fly right off of the river with a fish in his talons. David was able to get a picture. It was a remarkable sight.

When we got back home there was a wonderful sunset. It was very colorful. Minutes later, the storm came. The last picture is one David took of the lightening storm later that evening. The weather here changes in minutes which is really nice. It can be 90 degrees and the lightening and thunder will start. The sky gets black and then it pours. In a few minutes it's over.

I'm going to do another blog tonight just to keep caught up.

Happy Camping

David and Carol

Going into Idaho

Couer d' Alene Lake

Ending up in Montana

Our RV park in Missoula, MT

Nice huh?

Today is Thursday 7/23. We are in Missoula, MT. The ride here thru Idaho was really beautiful. There are alot of BIG hills on the way. Because we went thru the Idaho panhandle, it took us only a little more than an hour. There have been so many trees on our trip that it seems there is no end to them. Of course Northern Idaho is mostly all forest as is Washington and Oregon. As we came into Montana, you could see a real difference in the landscape.

So far this is what we see about Montana. The people here are as loyal to their state as Texans are to theirs. It is true, this is big sky country. Lots of rivers and lakes. The landscape is more large rolling hills and mountains. It seems to be alot hotter and dryer. Missoula has the University of Montana and is very liberal. The demographics here is very, very white. I think the internet said it is 98.5% white. Of course we are going into the mid west and that is to be expected.

The RV Park we are at is wonderful. So nice we have decided to stay a week and rest up a bit from the 1 night stands. We have the very best spot in this park, I think so anyway. We are on the very end, and away from other people. For those of you who know me, you know how I love that. We are in the pines with a little flower bed in front of us. Last night they had an ice cream social and some live music. Well, I'm not the social type but I do love music. Beside that David made me go. The guys that did the music were really good. LaGrande Harvey, the guitar player, sang some songs his brother in Nashville had written. One of the songs was Delta Dawn and the other was a song made famous by Kenny Rogers, Ruben James.

He also wrote the Montana state anthem. He has a website if you are interested. The other guy played mandolin and banjo. He is Indian and has been involved in alot of mediations between the tribes and the government. We ended up having a pretty good time.

Today we were supposed to go garnet hunting at a place an hour up the road but I slept in too late so we'll go tomorrow.

David is off exploring right now so I could have some alone time. He is thoughtful that way. Of course when I get alone time I have so many things I want to do that I end up doing nothing. We have decided not to go to Canada. Instead we are going to Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Wyoming, Yellowstone, etc.

We really are happy campers right now.

David and Carol