Leaving KC behind, we drove 750+ miles over 2 days to get to the Sturgis Motorcycle rally. Even in KC, we were already seeing lots of bikers heading for Sturgis and as we got closer we saw an almost constant stream of bikes on the highway. They were going both ways so apparently thousands of Bikers only stayed for the first weekend of the rally.

Almost as plentiful as Bikers were billboards for Wall Drugs, which we also started seeing shortly after leaving KC. Wall Drugs is a famous tourist destination (Trap) located about 60 miles east of Mount Rushmore. It got its start in the summer of 1936 when the owners decided to give away free Ice Water and advertise with signs on Hwy 16A in order to bring in business. It's grown a lot since then. Today, it is sort of like its own little town, boasting a drug store, restaurants, a chapel, assorted gift shops and lots of interesting antique photos. They get upwards of 20,000 visitors a day.

Our home for the rally was Mount Rushmore KOA, 60 miles from Sturgis. We picked it intentionally thinking we would be away from the crowds and craziness we expected around Sturgis itself as well as being a little closer to some of the key area attractions (like Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse and some great rides). As we got closer to the RV park, we were surrounded by bikers going in every direction. Amazing! (To help you get a sense of it, tomorrow on your drive to work imagine that every car you see is a motorcycle and every motorcycle is a car. Not just on the roads but also in the parking lots). When we finally pulled in to the KOA, we were surprised to find it packed with toy haulers (similar to ours), motorcycle trailers, and tents surrounded by bikes. Apparently we weren’t the only ones staying so far from the rally.

Bill and I were both a little nervous about riding amongst so many hard-core riders. I guess since we only started riding after we met, we don’t have the assurance that people that have been riding all their lives have. We didn’t need to worry, we did not have any trouble at all and actually all of the riders were pretty cool. Everybody rode at a safe speed and distance and nobody tried to pass. It was like joining a group to go for a ride every time you got on the road. There would be motorcycles as far as you could see ahead and behind. We did come across several wrecks (there were 13 deaths and 150+ accidents reported at this years rally). I guess people taking curves too fast or drinking too much, but we felt really safe the whole time.

The rally was really spread out amongst a lot of different areas and towns. The roads in the Black Hills are awesome, winding through beautiful country, and everybody was enjoying the riding. When we went into Sturgis, it was crowded, but nothing like we expected (given the estimated 1M attendees in a town that is home to only 7000 people). We spent a day checking out the vendors and hanging out at The Knuckle and Easyriders Saloon listening to the free bands. We also went out to Full Throttle one evening, which was a wild scene. It was like something post apocalyptic, reminding me of Mad Max. Thanks to the rain, the place was a mud pit. I was glad to be wearing my boots. They had a zip line sailing across between two railroad trestle bridges, a burn out pit, a tattoo parlor, a bucking bull ride, a wrestling ring…you get the idea. It was a circus! I was crushed to discover that the night before we went, tech n9ne performed and I missed it, but we did get to see the Flaunt Girls perform (they are like The p**** Cat Dolls). (I’m sure I enjoyed the Flaunt girls much more than I would have tech n9ne).

Full Throttle wasn’t the only place that was muddy. It rained several evenings at Mount Rushmore KOA (including the first night), and it turned into a mess. Our bikes which Bill had spent hours detailing in the hot Kansas City sun got all dirty before we even got to ride them. We felt bad for all the people in tents – cold and wet isn’t the best way to spend time and if they were at all hung over ... This RV park not only had no WiFi, it had almost no cell phone coverage and the trees were so tall we couldn’t get the satellite dish to work either. Talk about first world problems (Dessa was definitely roughing it). Fortunately we did not get rained on while we were out riding.

We went to Mount Rushmore twice, once at night. It is an amazing creation in a beautiful setting. We drove over to the Crazy Horse memorial, but did not pay to go in. It was started in 1948 and it is maybe only 10% done. True it is a privately funded effort, but they charge $11 per person and they have had significant donations over the years but they are making very little progress (from what I could see they have made Zero progress since I was there in 2007). Much of their money goes to Native American education. Mount Rushmore by comparison took 400 men, 14 years to sculpt, and cost tax payers $1M. The do not charge to visit the memorial, but do charge $11.00 per vehicle for an annual parking pass.

We took the Needles Highway (a fantastic ride) to Custer State Park and rode the Wildlife Loop where we saw herds of Bison. One herd was only about 50 feet off the road so we got some up close pictures. They rolled around in the dirt and charged at each other a bit. There was one biker that went about halfway out to them and turned his back for a picture. I was waiting with video ready in case he got charged, but no such luck. We also saw prong horned deer, wild burros just standing in the middle of the road, and lots of chipmunks everywhere. The roads were very scenic and in several places we drove through short tunnels that were blasted in the rock to allow the road to continue. Our truck would not have been able to go through them they were so narrow.

We did not go out to Buffalo Chip, which is the campsite where I think the craziest groups hang out. They were charging daily rates of $70 and up just to get in, so we skipped it. It is private property, so anything goes, and they have some pretty big name acts perform there each night. We did stop at Rapid City Harley Davidson, which is a massive place. They probably have parking for a couple thousand bikes in their lot and it was half full on the last day of the rally. We stopped for dinner at a Perkins, which is not a very nice restaurant, but they had the best chicken potpie in the world. If you get a chance, try it. Coconut pie was damn good too.

We had a great time, and as usual…we will return.