Saturday - we made it to Bozeman

DEADWOOD, South Dakota

Well, we will pick up where we left off yesterday to keep you all informed. Deadwood still has many brick streets and is bustling with people. It feels like a tourist town - lots of hotels, gift shops and stuff. It would make a great weekend trip so you could see and enjoy things.
This Bullock is the same as in the TV show. And the information center is really nice in the old depot.




STURGIS - the name brings into view hogs, black leather, biker babes, well - thats right. This year is the 68th annual rally. Lets just say - we want to come during rally sometime. It starts next Friday and venders and attenders are already showing up - setting up tents and making and spending money. In the early 1930's JC Pappy Hoel worked in the family business delivering ice to Sturgis and surrounding areas. With the increasing popularity of refrigerators, the need for trucking ice became obsolete so Pappy acquired an Indian Motorcycle franchise. He helped form a motorcycle club that became known as the Jackpine Gypsis. A year later they were sanctioned by the American Motorcycle Association and held their first rally and races in 1938. Nine riders participated in the first race and now there are at least a half a million people and in 2000 and 2005 over a million people who descend on this very small town over a 2 week period.
First we thought it was interesting that every morning they have a AA meeting first thing in the morning. Would like to be a fly on the wall for one of those. But besides the huge numbers - the entertainers are great! This year Steven Tyler of Aerosmith is on the cover of one of the booklets and will be there performing for 2 days also Olivia Jacobs - Sturgis Motorcycle cover girl, ZZ Top, Kenny Chesney, Lynard Skynard, Kiss, Kid Rock and lots more. Most of the riders we saw this week were about our age. The bikes are awesome and the pictures taken during past rallys is hard to fathom.









Anyway, we headed west on I90 this morning through Wyoming. Rolling hills, rock bluffs and the tallest snow fences we have seen. They also have gates that can be closed across the highway during the winter. We passed by Sundance which the water tower brags is where the kid got his name.
We started seeing Pronghorn Antelopes early and by the heat of the day I had counted over 200 just on my side of the road. We have now seen 2 highway patrol cars. Stopped at Gillette McDonalds where one of the locals told us it is the slowest in the world and has been on TV. We believe them.
Into Montana and we stopped at the Little Big Horn park. Quite moving to see all the tombstones. Did you know that it is a national veteran's cemetery and more than just Custer's last stand era vets are buried there? Nice museum and well kept grounds. Pictures to come on that. Started seeing snow capped mountains in the distance and they just keep coming.
Billings is the largest town in Montana - 50,000 people and in this state there are 6 people for every mile.
The rivers are fantastic and it is easy to see why A River Runs Through was filmed here. They meander and have little islands in the middle and are so clear.
Bozeman is a nice town. Just east of here we saw our first buffalo on this trip. Nice town and the view is of mountains all around the town. We are staying in the Bozeman Inn.Which has a casino attached. For those of you who live in Kansas and Missouri - hold your hats because up here from S Dakota to Montana there is a casino in almost every restaurant. Really - and Montana has NO SMOKING in restaurants and we were told they just passed one in bars too and you know what - they still have lots of business.
Tomorrow we are heading to Three Forks and start looping around Montana from there.
Hope everyone is doing well!