Featured Touring 15 Days, 11 States, & 3,660 Miles: Sturgis And A Wedding

Wessa · Feb 15, 2025 at 10:28 AM

Keep the reports coming @Sandi T .

Helmut Visor · Feb 15, 2025 at 11:23 AM

Sandi T said: ↑

Ok, don't tell Russell I said this, but the raspberry french toast was a total let-down. Not the best ever. Not even something I would order again IF he could talk me into going to that restaurant again. Which is highly unlikely.

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Russell strikes again

learningtofly · Feb 15, 2025 at 4:13 PM

What a wonderful trip, and the most epic of epic write-ups, Sandi. It seems to me that you had a pretty idyllic upbringing - great to see, and also to "meet" your extended family.

Thanks for taking the time, and looking forward to more.

Vulpes · Feb 16, 2025 at 11:28 PM

Sandi T said: ↑

Day #10 continued -- the Black Hills

Here's a bit more information about Mt. Rushmore. It's hard to imagine that it was built nearly 100 years ago without today's technology and equipment!

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At the end of our time at Mt. Rushmore everyone's tummies were starting to growl so we agreed to ride to the town of Hill City for lunch. Pete and Tammi had been there several times before because they have friends from their church who retired and moved to Hill City. The ride between the two places was fairly short but it certainly wasn't short on beauty. When we arrived, main street was packed with motorcycles. And the rally wasn't even scheduled to "officially" begin for another three days!

Here in front of our lunch restaurant are the bikes of those of us on today's ride. Russell wasn't with us because he had ridden to Chris' Campground where he stayed last year. Some other friends of ours from Tucson were staying there again this year so he spent the day with them. However, my brother, Ted, and sis-in-law, Karen, were in our convoy in their rental SUV tailing us from the back. Much of the time they also had Margo with them. She's not all that interested in riding but her boyfriend, my nephew Eli, is at least partially responsible for that. Let's just say he could have done a better job of getting his bike outfitted for a passenger! He did purchase a new Saddleman "Road Sofa" while at the rally so Margo was much happier after that seat went on the Street Glide.

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It was great fun to get to ride with my brother and sister-in-law as well as one of my nephews and his girlfriend. I never imagined the day that I'd be riding motorcycles with my family! Soooooo cool and very special.

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After leaving Hill City, we headed through the heart of the Black Hills on some small back roads since 385 wasn't an option. We headed to Sturgis where Margo hopped out of Ted & Karen's car and hopped on Eli's bike. Steve and I opted to ride to Deadwood after gassing up our bikes so we could check in, unload our luggage, and relax for a bit before meeting up with my family and with Russell for dinner later on.

Deadwood is one of Steve's and my favorite towns. In fact, this year when we go back to the Black Hils, we're planning to spend three nights there rather than the one night we stayed this year.

Here's a photo of our hotel, the Deadwood Mountain Grand followed by (thanks Mr. Google), here's a bit of its history.

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"The Deadwood Mountain Grand is a casino and resort hotel in Deadwood, South Dakota, situated within the former Homestake Mine Slime Plant, a historic structure that once processed gold ore from the nearby Homestake Mine, a key part of the Black Hills gold rush in the late 19th century; the hotel's design incorporates nods to this mining past, with the renovated building now offering modern amenities while maintaining its original industrial aesthetic as a testament to Deadwood's gold rush history."

Deadwood's Main Street

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After parking our bikes in the parking garage (hurray...covered parking!), we got situated in our room. I headed back to my bike to check on a couple of things and then--poof!--one of those "magical motorcycle meetings" that happens more than coincidentally happened.

My bike, Steve's bike, and the trike that's connected to the magical meeting.

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As I was checking on my bike, the owner of the trike and I struck up a conversation. He had also just arrived in Deadwood but was going to be there for 10 days! He explained that he had ridden in today from Tennessee and came to the Sturgis Rally annually. I told him we were from Arizona and--sadly--only spending one night in Deadwood. At some point he had his back to me and his black leather vest had a patch with this design on it. I recognized it immediately and said to him, "Oh, you're a DOBER!" he asked me how I knew that and I told him my husband was a DOBER, too. FYI, DOBER stands for Dirty Old Baster Enjoying Riding.

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Well, Steve has a big silver ring with that same design. A guy named George Ganem started the DOBERS. George is a jeweler in Scottsdale, Arizona who turned to making beautiful heavy silver "biker" jewelry. His company is called Night Rider. Some of you may recall photos I've posted of Steve's and my King and Queen's Keys which we always wear when we travel together on motorcycles. Anyway, the trike owner asked me if we'd seen George yet. George owns a fair amount of real estate in the town of Sturgis including a Night Rider jewelry store and a bar called The Stinger Saloon.

Trike rider (I still hadn't gotten his name) said that he'd just come from Sturgis where he made a "special delivery" to George. When I asked him what the delivery was, he said, "Let me show you." Hmm, now my curiosity was killing me! He opened the trike's trunk and pulled out two duffel bags and set them on the ground. Then he asked me if I liked whiskey, bourbon in particular. Well, hey, is the Pope Catholic?! He then pulled several mason jars with handwritten descriptions from one of the duffels while telling me about his friend who makes moonshine bourbon that he ages in the Tennessee hills. Now I was practically drooling. He selected one of the jars, unscrewed the lid, and passed it to me to take a whiff. Heavenly! Then he asked if I'd like a taste. Yes, please! I'll tell you, I've had a lot of great bourbons but this was one of the best I've ever had. It was an 18 year bourbon. So then he selects a second jar and does the same thing. Even more delicious! And older, too, at 20 years.

At this point I realized that we'd met this guy before--back during our first Sturgis trip in fact, and in this very same hotel. What are the dang odds?! I told him so and he actually remembered when I fleshed out the details. That meeting had culminated in Steve, me, and our buddy, Larry, drinking (Tennessee bourbon, of course) with trike guy and his friend in their hotel room. And that meeting also came about because of the DOBER connection.

We finally shared our names. His is Craig but his motorcycle "handle" is Raw Sewage. I kid you not! He even had some "coins" made akin to collectable coins that MC dealerships give out and he gave me two for my collection. Here are the front and back of both of them.

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Craig asked where my hubby was and I said he was relaxing in our room. I offered to help him carry his duffels and other gear to his room. He agreed on the condition that Steve and I join him in his hotel room for a bit more bourbon and a chat. As we passed through the hotel, it was clear that Craig was a regular at the Deadwood Grand as nearly all the staff greeted him by name. After dropping his gear off at his room, I went back to our room and Steve was as amazed as me at the "coincidence" of meeting the same guy we'd met five years before! So off we went to see Raw Sewage and his bourbon.

These lovelies were laid out on the dresser in his room when we arrived.

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Continued in my next post.....
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Whenever I read "Deadwood" Ian McShane immediately comes to mind... Great trip report!

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Featured Touring 15 Days, 11 States, & 3,660 Miles: Sturgis And A Wedding

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Featured Touring 15 Days, 11 States, & 3,660 Miles: Sturgis And A Wedding

Wessa Cruising

Helmut Visor Only dead fish go with the flow Subscriber

learningtofly He’s not the Messiah, he’s a very naughty boy! Subscriber

Vulpes Confused Member

Touring 3 States, 4 Friends, 9 Days, 1800 Miles, And Countless Smiles! Our Annual Tour Of The Southwest

Touring Three Days Touring Southern Arizona: A Mother Nature "inspired" Change Of Plans

Triumph Trip… Back In The Days… 2018

A Few Days Away On The Bike

Our 4-day Utah Trip: 2 Days Of Adventure And 3 Days Of Misadventure

Share This Page

Helmut Visor Only dead fish go with the flow
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learningtofly He’s not the Messiah, he’s a very naughty boy!
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