It Was A Devilish Day

Yesterday’s trivia question answer: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln

Remember you or your friends as teenagers driving through Power’s or McDonald’s on a Friday or Saturday night? You might be looking for your friends or just showing off your car. Well, the Walmart Supercenter in Rapid City South Dakota could have been the same scenario last night. Hour after hour, motorcycles “cruised” the parking lot. We can only assume they were looking for their buddies. Maybe they all agreed to meet at the Rapid City Walmart. They certainly weren’t setting up camp as despite Sam Walton’s open arms for RV rigs, the Walton family isn’t embracing a tent city on their asphalt. At least, not yet. Not only did the motorcycles do the kindergarten round about, the RV’s did, too! We parked for the night around 5:30 PM, went inside and picked up some provisions. That included Walmart fried chicken, potatoes, coleslaw and baked beans. Yum. We sat in the motorhome, looking out our “picture window” watching the antics. RV’s would meet up, go inside and get ice, beer, etc. and they they would take off. Another RV party pulled out the barbecue grill, cooked up some grub and then took off. It was a circus and we didn’t even pay admission. By about 11 PM, things had calmed down and it wasn’t hard to get a good night’s sleep. It’s not like we had anyone to whom we could complain. We were after all, squatters ourselves and Walmart doesn’t post a “quiet hour” on their lampposts in the lot. Lol
We were on the road to Sturgis by 7:45 AM. It wasn’t too warm with the temperature gauge only registering 64 degrees, accompanied by some spitting rain.
Before we hit Sturgis, our eyes were drawn to a hill covered with green grass and perfectly aligned white markers. We quickly exited the freeway and drove towards what was undoubtedly a cemetery. Yes, it was the Black Hills National Cemetery. There wasn’t a weed to be had and the grass was beautifully manicured, paying respect to veterans who are no longer with us. The precision accuracy with the marker placement reminded us of Arlington National Cemetery in our nation’s capital.
We did a short drive through Sturgis. It was actually relatively calm and quiet, although it was early for the biking crowd. The whole town was in the spirit for the week, as evidenced by all the yard signs. “Showers, $5.00; Campsite, $15; Parking $5.00. Awh, entrepreneurs on every corner. I suppose if you didn’t have the bike rally spirit and you lived in Sturgis, you would have left town and gone on vacation. Even the U.S. Post Office is into the rally. We caught a glimpse of a postal truck with huge motorcycle decals, making it look like a bike. Several churches donned enormous banners, boasting all you can eat breakfasts. One or two also advertised evening prayer services. Even the local AA chapter had a sign announcing daily meetings.
After getting our fill of Harleys, we hopped back on the freeway, headed for Devil’s Tower in Wyoming. We stopped at the Wyoming visitors´center to pick up brochures and ask a couple questions. The center had numerous displays, including one that invited you to pretend you were a bronco cowboy. We both bit and had our pictures taken on the saddle. One of the center’s guides suggested we stop at a 110 year old general store on our way. Sounded like a plan. We followed the signs and found the historical establishment, located in Aladdin Wyoming. This town gives boondocks a new meaning. The population sign posted “15”. Oh how shocking, the parking lot was full of motorcycles! Dennis took a few shots, including one of two well-worn bikers sitting on the steps to the “bar wing” of the general store. The clerk ringing up purchases in the grocery section was multi-tasking as the barmaid. We continued on our trek to Devil’s Tower. We caught sight of it 10 miles away. It is imposing, to say the least. If you have ever seen a nuclear power plant from miles away, you get the drift. The skies look like they might cooperate.
Before we arrive at the national monument, we enter a tiny town called Hullett. Its population is 863 people. It boasts a very attractive Best Western and as we turn the corner in town we see another massive motorcycle array lining both sides of the road. It is a quaint town with lots of personality and they look thrilled to death that the bikers are shopping, eating and sleeping in their town. Even the local Amish people have a stand where they are selling homemade baked goods. Dennis posed for a shot laying upright in a coffin. The picture taking was free, but the establishment was asking for a donation. We obliged.
The sun was shining on Devils’ Tower as we approached and we hurriedly left the motorhome to cash in on the opportunity. While the tower certainly hadn’t changed, the approach to it had as well as the walk around it. 22 years ago it was dirt and the path was quite a distance from the base of the tower. Now, it was asphalt and much closer to the base. The close proximity made the walk a bit more arduous, with steeper inclines and declines, but it also afforded some better photo opportunities, especially with a wide angle lens. As we had seen years ago, we once again saw some repelling on the 867 foot “rock”. The tower is 1,000 feet wide at the base and the rock looks like it was a series of columns that melded together over millions of years. This is a holy and sacred place for the Native Americans and an ancient story tells, “Once the buffalo thought they were the most powerful creatures on Earth. Humans thought this unfair. So the humans, buffalo and other animals held a race. Since the humans had only two legs, four birds were used to represent them. The race was long and hard. The buffalo ran so hard that blood fell from their mouths and noses, staining the Earth red. Their hooves pounded the ground so hard on the racecourse sank and it pushed the ground in the middle to form the Black Hills. The magpie beat the buffalo for the humans. That is why the Indian people hunt and kill buffalo.”
Along with trail around Devil’s Tower, there are opportunities to see magnificent vistas of the surrounding Wyoming land. The Belle Fourche River weaves in and out and substantial farm fields gobble up the land. What a beautiful country we enjoy.
We heard a large group of people speaking Italian and Dennis asked one of the men a question in Italian. He shared with us that he and his family were from Rome and they were on a holiday in the U.S. They began their trip in Chicago and had visited the Grand Canyon, Salt Lake City, Yellowstone, and were still going to make stops in Denver and Miami before their return home. He shared that Chicago is their favorite city (he visited New York City many times for business but this had been his first trip to Chicago) and that Yellowstone was their favorite National Park.
Once back on the road, we head west towards Yellowstone. Dennis looked perplexed as he stared at the Garmin GPS. He was trying to figure out why it looked different. Something was missing from all the data it displays. He realized that the speed limit which is normally shown was missing. We were on a road without a speed limit! Oh yeah, we are in Wyoming. lol
We travel through the Big Horn Mountains on our way to Cody. We hit an elevation of 9,667 ft. and 47 degrees. Near the peak, we saw two cyclists laboring to reach the summit. Can you imagine?
We hope to be in Cody Wyoming late this evening. Tomorrow we will visit Wild Bill Cody, in the town named for him. We will be about 75 miles from Yellowstone.