Walk about 2021...

[LKEEL75 2,566]

5 hours ago, Davie said:

 

For a minute there I thought you parked by a corn field! Malachi is watching you....

Heck no.  Not messing with any of those children of the corn!!  hahahah  Welcome to the board!

[LKEEL75 2,566]

So I have now been to Fayetteville, AR and Lincoln, NE.  It is so different. For those that have not been to college towns outside of AU.... It is crazy how AU is not just a college but the whole city vs all these other schools are schools in a city.  I'm not sure if that makes sense to everyone but I don't know how else to explain it.  Here are some pictures of UN's stadium.  I didn't take pics of Arky because I assumed most here had seen pics of rival SEC stadium.  Not everyone has seen UN.  On to Black Hills tomorrow. Probably bore everyone with pictures in next few weeks.

[Davie 2]

On 8/11/2021 at 11:13 AM, LKEEL75 said:

Today's laundry (and likely the rest of the trip) is sponsored by my new friend Tom and his gracious donations during a new card game I learned called Bourré (Booray).  Thank you Davie and Mike for the new game!

 

 

[LKEEL75 2,566]

So I made it to the Black Hills of South Dakota on Saturday.  Trip went fine except the hills really did a number on my MPG.  Ended up around 9.6 for that section of the trip.  But the scenery was amazing.  Saturday was also the last day of the Sturgis Rally so most folks were already heading home.  I can't tell you how many bikes, campers & toy haulers I saw on the road.  I heard estimates of 800,000 people made their way for the event and I have no problem believing it.  All in all, it took about 9 hours to get here from Greenwood due to gas stops & such.

First couple of pictures below are of my drive.  I know.... I know...  Moron driving and taking pictures.  But seriously there was nobody around me on interstate.  The views were amazing.  I had been seeing these extremely long objects being hauled on semi trucks in NE.  When I say long I mean likely 120-150 feet long at least.  I kept thinking the only thing they can be is windmill blades.  Well sure enough as I came into SD I started seeing some windmills with these blades attached.  I never knew they were so large.  And for my dear cousin @Davie, they have farms with fields as far as the eye can see that are nothing but sunflowers.  It was quite a sight.

Got up Sunday morning and hit the road on the bike.  The only word I can use is  WOW.  Went through the wildlife look of Custer Park and then on over to the Devil's Tower in Wyoming.

So to put this in more story mode, I need to back up just a bit.  Last week I was loading my bike and ended up dropping it.  The ramp to load into the back of my camper is very steep and it bottomed my bike out.  Well there isn't enough traction on the door for the bike to push it's way in so I rolled back to get a better run.  When I rolled back, the bike ended up falling over and I broke 70% of my clutch handle off.  I bought a new clutch handle but after seeing the cost of the handle and the effort to put it on.  I decided that I would just return the handle and ride the way it is for today.  This will come into play more in a few minutes....

Driving around Custer Park was amazing.  Lots of pictures in the next post.  However, about an hour into driving around curves and such at 20-40 mph, I started to really think about my decision with the clutch.  The pictures below show some burros, rams and nice scenery.  The rock in pic below was like compressed silver.  I picked a piece and put in my pocket.  By time I got home the top layer had peeled off in my pocket.  It didn't break just peeled off.  I stopped at my first bar for the day as I came out of the park.  It was called Mt Rushmore Brewery.  The had several craft brews that I wanted to try so the responsible side of me just ordered a flight.  I also ordered an elk burger.  The beer was great.  The food was amazing.  I sat and talked with some guys from West Virginia while I ate and such.  They had just come in for the last couple of days of Sturgis and were going to be around a week.  Very cool guys.

Left there and decided to head to the Devil's Tower.  What an amazing ride.  Go from winding roads to LONG, flat, straight stretches.  It was very odd as the speed limit on these 2 lane roads was 70 so everyone is doing 75 or higher.  Cover a lot of ground in a hurry this way.  But still amazing scenery.  I wasn't actually sure about the Devil's Tower but the name alone caught my attention.  Turns out that it is a HUGE mound of lava.  There are conflicting stories about whether this was from a giant volcano that has eroded over the years or if it was just lava pushed out of the ground and created this formation.  They estimate that the lava is around 50 million years old and has only been exposed to the elements in the last 2 million years.  This seemed like a great spot to stop and have a beer at Devil's Tower Gulch.  They were very friendly and very kind to explain where the nearest gas station was.  Great luck that it was only 9 miles away as I was getting close to having to push.  More about this in just a second.

Left the Gulch and started on my drive back (124 miles).  As I am going along I came through a LITTLE town that literally had 5 houses and 2 bars.  My kind of place.  Of course I had to stop of a beer and see what the local life was about.  Sat down with Jeff and discussed his entire life history over a bottle of water and a single beer.  He had not been far from the area his entire life.  Never been outside of SD\WY area.  I asked about the 15 on the sign and he said he actually didn't live in town but said all 5 houses did have families living there, so 15 may be a little low.  BTW I can make friends anywhere I go....

On the road again.  Can't wait to get on the road again....  As I am about 10-15 miles down the road, I look down to see my speed and my speedometer says 0 and my odometer is no longer displaying anything.  Well this of course freaks me out so I pull over.  Being a computer guy, the answer is always reboot.  That did not fix it but the bike was at least running.  Now most people are probably thinking "whats the big deal".  Well as some who are reading this know, my gas gauge also doesn't work so the only way I know when to get gas is to keep an eye on my odometer.  I get about 150 miles to a tank of gas.  Anything over 160 and I know I am pushing.  Well I have no odometer, no speedometer nor a gas gauge now.  Oh and did I mention that my forearm is in spasms from using 1 finger to pull the clutch in all day.  All of this made for a very interesting ride back to the camper.  I think it was around 80 miles but who knows.

All in all...  Great day for a ride.  Was a very good ride.  Lots of new people, places and things.  Yes I had bike troubles but will hopefully get that resolved this week and more stories coming soon.  

Total mileage for the day: ~300 miles.  

Time gone from door to door of trailer: 10.5 hours

Pictures:

• Windmills and beautiful scenery
• Davie's sunflowers
• Packed campground I am staying at (it has since drastically cleared out)
• Custer Park - Wild burros; Rams; Some really cool rocks and more great scenery
  • People were stupid around these burros.  Just walking right up behind them and rubbing them without any disregard
• Mt Rushmore Brewery (and their keg toilet)
• More vastness
• Devil's Tower & The Gulch
  • First picture of the tower, I am 2 miles away from where the 2nd picture is taken.  2nd picture is still several miles from the tower.
• Aladdin, WY

 

 

Edited August 16, 2021 by LKEEL75

[McLoofus 35,182]

Man, your pics did a good job of capturing the vastness of the plains out there. 

Sorry your bike had issues but glad you didn't! (Besides the muscle spasms)

Can imagine folks have a lot of questions to ask you over beers when they find out what you're doing.

Hope there was some biker chick scenery from Sturgis you just chose not to share....

So funny about the guy who had never been far from home. I'll share another story from our trip to the Buffalo. Took out about 50 mi from where we put in. I left my car at the put-in, my buddy left his at the take-out. His car keys made it all the way down river with us, which was awesome. Only problem was he had had put a Club on his steering wheel and left the key to *that* in my car 50 mi up river. Well, where we take out is in the middle of nowhere at sunset, but the good news is that there's this couple sitting in their car right there by the river. They told us they like to go down there in the evenings and have a beer and watch the sunset. We told them about our predicament and they were more than happy to take me to my car. (Okay, so maybe I accidentally underestimated the distance to my car when telling them about it...) We're about 25 mi up the road- which I might have accidentally told them was how far my car was- when they start talking about how they'd never been "to this part of the state before". I couldn't believe it. Had lived there their whole lives. Had to be in their 50s at least. Incredibly nice folks, though. They didn't bat an eye when they had to drive me twice as far as I'd told them and absolutely refused to accept any cash for gas. Went to a nearby cave the next day. Got about a hundred yards in and looked up with the flashlight and the ceiling was carpeted with bats. We bounced. On the hike out, my buddy started screaming and trying to run backwards uphill. There was a cottonmouth sunning itself with its mouth open. Funniest damned thing. That night was when we went to that VFW I talked about in the bars thread. 

Stay safe and keep the posts coming!

[LKEEL75 2,566]

3 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

Man, your pics did a good job of capturing the vastness of the plains out there. 

Sorry your bike had issues but glad you didn't! (Besides the muscle spasms)

Can imagine folks have a lot of questions to ask you over beers when they find out what you're doing.

Hope there was some biker chick scenery from Sturgis you just chose not to share....

So funny about the guy who had never been far from home. I'll share another story from our trip to the Buffalo. Took out about 50 mi from where we put in. I left my car at the put-in, my buddy left his at the take-out. His car keys made it all the way down river with us, which was awesome. Only problem was he had had put a Club on his steering wheel and left the key to *that* in my car 50 mi up river. Well, where we take out is in the middle of nowhere at sunset, but the good news is that there's this couple sitting in their car right there by the river. They told us they like to go down there in the evenings and have a beer and watch the sunset. We told them about our predicament and they were more than happy to take me to my car. (Okay, so maybe I accidentally underestimated the distance to my car when telling them about it...) We're about 25 mi up the road- which I might have accidentally told them was how far my car was- when they start talking about how they'd never been "to this part of the state before". I couldn't believe it. Had lived there their whole lives. Had to be in their 50s at least. Incredibly nice folks, though. They didn't bat an eye when they had to drive me twice as far as I'd told them and absolutely refused to accept any cash for gas. Went to a nearby cave the next day. Got about a hundred yards in and looked up with the flashlight and the ceiling was carpeted with bats. We bounced. On the hike out, my buddy started screaming and trying to run backwards uphill. There was a cottonmouth sunning itself with its mouth open. Funniest damned thing. That night was when we went to that VFW I talked about in the bars thread. 

Stay safe and keep the posts coming!

Thanks for the compliments.  The vastness is quite breath taking at times.

I didn't get any actual Rally pics due to timing.

That is funny how some people travel all over the country/world while others never leave their county.

[SLAG-91 1,483]

The beer keg urinal was a nice touch...hadn't seen one of those before.

Aladdin, population 15...SAAA-LOOT! (Yes, I watched too much Hee Haw as a kid.)

[LKEEL75 2,566]

So let me start this update with a little bit about my week.  On Sun, Mon, Tue & Wed they had record high heat here.  On Wed I had a meeting and my AC fan blows right over the area where I sit to work.  So I turned the AC off while I was in this meeting.  It is roughly 104 degrees outside.  I felt like a TV dinner sitting in here.  By the end of the meeting I am sweating and hoping folks don't keep talking.  Then got up yesterday and the high was 72 with a wind that will cut through steel.  So I really was like a tv dinner: Scalding then too cold.

Took my bike in (for the broken speedometer & odometer) on Wed.  They didn't know how long it was going to take so I got an Uber back from there to the camper.  A little expensive because I am so far outside of town but they did it.  They call and turns out it was just some wires had been rubbing somewhere they shouldn't so all fixed up.  Now the problem is how do I get back there.  Well I tried all afternoon to get Uber or Lyft to come get me but no luck.  End up Thurs to get a ride from one of the crew men here.  Very nice guy who just also happened to be named Lee.  Remember when I said the wind would cut through steel....  Well it had no problem cutting through my sweatshirt & tshirt.  Very chilly ride back but was worth it since the bike was running.

Took the afternoon today to go for another ride.  Put on long sleeve shirt and threw my other thinner sweatshirt in the bag.  Because it was a 1pm and I was going to be back before dark so no need for leathers and all that....  Since I didn't get to see any buffalo I went around Custer's Wildlife loop again.  Just as I started into the loop there they were.  The jewel of the park.  But they were very far away (see first pictures below with phone camera zoomed all way in).  Kept goin and saw plenty of evidence in the road that the herds had recently come through there.  BIG piles of evidence.  Then all the sudden I see a ton of folks stopped.  I pulled up and turned the bike off.  Well I guess they thought that was their queue to cross right by me.  Sorry for the poor videography but apparently taking video with your phone sideways does rotate properly when viewing.  Anyways, they were passing all around.  I kept turning around because a couple of them wanted to sniff my bike and I wasn't really comfortable with that when they were behind me.  It was quite a scene.  I also didn't want to start my bike because it is loud and I didn't want to start a stampede.  So I sat there for about 15 minutes while most of them passed by.

As I came to the other edge of the park I decided I would take another scenic route that is top 10 in the country known as Needles Highway.  Goes through some amazing 1 car tunnels.  WOW did my bike sound good as I revved it up going through them.  hehehehe

Remember when I said I wasn't going to be gone long.  Well I wasn't in total only about 5 hours.  But I did not account for misting rain, and the drastic change in elevation.  I am guessing it was around 60 degrees at the elevation I was at and on a bike that feels like about 50.  Needless to say my hands were very cold.  But a beer or two later and then another at Crazy Horse Memorial and I was good to get on back.  Enjoy the pics.  Tomorrow is Mt Rushmore and then the Badlands on Sunday.

Pictures below: 

• First couple of buffalo I saw
• The herd that passes by me in the videos (again I am sorry for the poor videography)
• 3rd one really shows the difference in size of the bull vs the cows.  Those are all cows and calves walking around me in the video.  The bull had already crossed
• Heard of sheep with 1 Ram
• First tunnel I had to go through
• Next video is just how rough the country side is
• Narrow ass roads and Needle Eye Tunnel
• Crazy Horse Memorial and the bike they are raffling off Sept 6.  3 tickets for $50  crazyhorsememorial.org

More pictures and stuff after Rushmore & Badlands

[japantiger 4,051]

I have to do that road...where did that drive begin and end?

[LKEEL75 2,566]

1 hour ago, japantiger said:

I have to do that road...where did that drive begin and end?

There are several great routes around here.  This was a great time: 

https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1z9uUFffN5cZ1mPYHLQyLOT1q320z6h2j&usp=sharing

[LKEEL75 2,566]

Didn't do any riding Saturday so on Sunday I made a big route around half of S. Dakota.  I did like I normally do when I have a destination in mind.  I looked at google map found some back roads to get me where I wanted to go and took off.  I don't keep my map open during these rides because that is half the fun.  So I got about 30 miles from where I started and turned on the road I was expecting.  Well the problem was that it was loose gravel.  For those that don't know, Harleys are not built for off road terrain.  The slightest slip in a curve and you are picking gravel out of your butt.  Well I knew the general direction of paved road to get me where I wanted to go (Badlands) so I started turning that way.  After about 1.25 hours and 35 miles I finally got back on paved road and was thankful for it. 

I got to the Badlands and it was as I expected, nothing but desert scenery.  I drove around the loop and got back on the interstate to go to Deadwood.  I was running low on gas so I stopped on the exit as Wall Drug.  For those who have not been around here, Wall has signs for 100s of miles claiming their notoriety.  Actually they are just a large tourist trap.  Anyway I stopped and ate at this little place called Red Rock just down the road for Wall Drug.  It was really good.  Good food.  Good, quick service.  Oh and cold beer!

Got back on the road to Deadwood.  It was a cool little town.  Tourist city, but had some interesting history in most all the shops.  Stopped in Saloon No 10.  It was a nice little bar.  Had some guy with his guitar singing some random songs.  It was early enough in the day that I decided to go ahead and make the Mt Rushmore trip.  It is quite awesome.  Then took the last road that was considered "advanced" for bike rides back to the camper.  

• You can see the route I took here on this map
• This shows the gravel I was riding on as well as the desolation.
• This was an Elementary school I drove by next to the volunteer fire department.  I saw 4 houses (no exaggeration) in the 35 miles I was on the dirt roads.  So a 1 room elementary school seemed to fit
• Went through some National Forest "Grasslands".  Thought that was funny
• Some pictures of the badlands
• You can hear in the video just how much the wind was blowing
• The chair that Wild Bill was killed in
• And of course Mt Rushmore

[LKEEL75 2,566]

Well its about time for an update.  Huge storm blew through Wed.  I got video of it.  Thankfully it stayed about 5 miles North of me.  Found out Thurs that several campers and trucks got windows busted out and major hail damage.  Went to Sturgis on Fri. Man what a great ride.  Rested and relaxed Sat (code for re-coup from hangover).  Left out this morning for eastern edge of Yellowstone.  Unfortunately none of my pictures enroute look very good. Will post some to.orrow of my scenery I have for the next week.

1. Can anyone tell me what this is?  There were many fields of it

2. Time for a beer

[japantiger 4,051]

Great shots..the wife and I've got to get to the Badlands, Rushmore, etc...

[augolf1716 21,122]

That is sorghum grain its use to feed mostly cattle you store it in these type of silos. We grew sorghum on my Dads farm the picture below looks very much like my Dads layout we had one 80 ft silo with two smaller ones. You need to be careful working inside those silos because it can become sorghum gas and kill you as well as become stuck and covered up by the sorghum. One of my jobs as a kid would be to go to the top of the 80ft silo to level out the sorghum god I dreaded doing that stories I could tell

The second picture is sorghum at muturity being cultivated by a John Deere combine. That combine today would cost over a $400,000 farming ain't cheap

 

 

 

[LKEEL75 2,566]

Thanks @augolf1716.  I had no idea what that was.  Yeah it is funny what we had to do as kids, yet today would be completely frowned upon.

Here are some pictures of what I get to wake up to around my campground....

 

[Mike4AU 1,739]

@LKEEL75, thanks a ton for posting your travelogue!  I am really enjoying it. 

[LKEEL75 2,566]

And the view this afternoon is much different with smoke from forest fires.

[LKEEL75 2,566]

Let me just say that as you are reading this please know that you can't make this stuff up....

So I decide I want to go for a ride through Yellowstone yesterday.  I start by looking at the weather and realizing that it is almost 83 outside here in Cody.  The weather says that by 10ish then its only getting down to 69.  I first reach for my small sweatshirt.  I then think and decide it may be better if I just go ahead and grab my leather coat.  More about this coming up.  Well the biggest thing I learned is that Yellowstone is definitely higher elevation and much cooler.  As I am driving and enjoying the scenery, then I realize that the temperature is dropping quickly.  I become very happy that I brought my coat.  I get to Old Faithful just as the eruption is ending.  I decided to stay for the next eruption and get a beer.  I wanted food but nothing had sit down service except the Inn that had over an hour wait.  The Inn was amazing.  Don't know what the service or rooms are like but the lobby was amazing.  Now to the unbelievable....

So for some reason the routing would not download the way back to the camper.  Because of that I missed my turn a couple of times.  At this time, it is very dark, very cold, I am very lost, and starving.  All the sudden my headlight & fog lights go out.  I pull over and try a few things, but nothing.  My hazards worked and they actually put off a pretty good amount of in all the darkness of NOTHING around.  So I start easing along at 20-30 MPH.  Staring at the road and trying not to get mesmerized by the blinking.  I really thought someone would offer to drive behind me but as car after car passed I started to think it would be like 4 hours to get home.  I am really contemplating that, IF I get home then I am going to pack up and go home immediately.  Finally someone stops by and does offer.  I explained that I would not be breaking any land-speed records but I truly appreciate it.  As I am driving, they have their high beams on so things are pretty bright.  I was doing around 50 mph with no headlights, driving through YS roads that I know nothing about; oh and did I mention that the wildlife is everywhere.  I saw deer, buffalo and 1 elk/moose or just gigantic deer (honestly too nervous to look long).  Spoke with some locals and they all said that no locals ride at night due to wildlife.  Needless to say that I was a nervous wreck.  Oh and FREEZING.  The coat is good, gloves ok, but did not bring anything for legs.  Another car passed and that sped things up because I could judge where the road was.  So now I am getting up to 65 or so (again, I couldn't look because of nerves).  This went well until the front car pulled over and just as I was starting to the decent.  2000 feet in just a few miles of winding roads.  WOOOOO!!

I hope I painted the picture for ya.  I am hear to tell ya that I don't remember ever being that nervous of my own volition.  Between the nerves, cold, and nerves; I was soooo happy to be home.  It took me about 2 hours to calm down enough to attempt to go to bed and that includes with the use of my sleeping pill.  Enjoy the pics below:

• Video is of Old Faithful (obviously)
• Old Faithful not erupting 
• Old Faithful Inn
• The beautiful lake as I dropped over a hill.  Too bad the smoke didn't give way for a better vision.
• Some more of the Inn

[japantiger 4,051]

Glad you made it...hope you get your light issues sorted out before you hit the road again.  Glad you didn't see anything more dangerous than some high end venison....the predators like traveling the trails and roads at night; easier going for them.

 

And yes, the Inn is beautiful!

Edited September 1, 2021 by japantiger
added point

[Mike4AU 1,739]

Keel, made me nervous just reading that adventure.  

[LKEEL75 2,566]

20 hours ago, Mike4AU said:

Keel, made me nervous just reading that adventure.  

I wasn't sure that my true level of nerves was coming through or not in my words.  Thanks!

[Mike4AU 1,739]

27 minutes ago, LKEEL75 said:

I wasn't sure that my true level of nerves was coming through or not in my words.  Thanks!

Keel, you write very well!  I have worked with some great wordsmiths and you could hold your own with them. 

[LKEEL75 2,566]

I really appreciate the kind words @Mike4AU but after todays ride.

So I went out yesterday to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.  The ride home was going back over the same route I did without lights earlier this week.  This was a much nicer ride between being daylight, actually getting food, and dressing for the elevation.  Still haven't seen much wildlife.  A couple of mule deer and a couple of buffalo but no herds or anything.

Today was the "ride" I have been waiting for in this area.  I got to ride the Beartooth Pass.  I thought I dressed for the elevation again, but I was wrong.  Tops out at almost 11,000 feet.  The temperature was probably high 30s maybe low 40s so I really should had more layers on but it was tolerable.  Had all kinds of switch backs and twists.  What a great ride!

I have posted some pictures below of the canyon and the mountains today.  It really was so breath taking.  I really think a poet would have a hard time finding the words to describe the landscapes that I saw today.  I don't know that I have ever seen such beautiful landscapes.  I hope these pictures do it a little justice, but I promise they do not tell the whole story.  Enjoy!

[LKEEL75 2,566]

Moved on today to a new location.  I had to drive through Yellowstone to get to new home.  Had a traffic jam at one point in the route and I figured it was because people were stopping to see some wildlife.  Well I was kind of right...

• Traffic jam in YS due to a single buffalo deciding to walk down the road.  He had probably 20 cars creeping along behind him.  I just kept thinking it would be awful to be that first car behind him in case he gets pissed.
• Other pictures is my new view just outside the North gate of YS.  If you look closely, next to the river, you can see the ass of a moose.

More pictures later this week from North side of YS.  Hopefully see some elk & moose.  Still not sure I want to see a bear on my bike.  Just doesn't seem like a good idea.

[Mike4AU 1,739]

Adventure of a lifetime!