Our Ride to Home

There's fewer things in life that will have the forever memories of riding motorcycle with Kellie and Mark. Kellie is strong, capable and can handle just about every situation.
Mark is truly a go to guy. Therfore I allowed him the free reign of choosing where and how to get where we wanted to go. Successfully Mark exceeded my expectations without my input....(thank god I didn't have to be in charge of where and when to get to wherever we were supposed to be). It's hard to belive that as of today we've traveled 4,380 miles whithout getting lost, except those moments that we thought we new were we were going........
It may be difficult for some to understand the joy of motorcycling but for us the ability to negotiate weather, temperature, etc, only adds to the reason the moves us to this sport. I am so proud of Kellie. She's a true sport. No whinging, moaning or groaning. Get it done. And I must add Kellie's skill's in handling multilple challenges, such as extreme tempeature, losing contact w/ me, or visa versa. (I would stop to take pictures, but with communications, that had little idea of where I was....) I would eventually make contact via our radio communications and all was fine. (next year we'll have to get Mark his own Radio)
Some may think that this group could possibly have a test of patience but not to be true. The cohesive and positive attitude always prevailed.
At one of our stops Kellie wanted to adopt a really cute puppy but the owner showed up and that put a stop to that. I really don't think I had any room in my back tour pack for the dog. (was a cute pup)
We're closing in the final miles of this trip. We've taken many pictures that we'd like to share hoping we can put together an evening of this adventure. To date we're safe and sound. The venture is not yet done but I do not expect anything but normal activities.

Almost home

Well, we're nearing the end of our three hour tour. At this point in the game, I wish we were already home. I feel like we've seen the interesting parts of our journey, and now it's Ohio, Pennsylvania and NY, which is stuff we've all seen many times before. And all that's left is the driving, or in our case, the riding. The Badlands were absolutely amazing. And unbelievably hot. The people we've met have been funny and interesting, for sure. We stopped at a Harley dealership Iowa yesterday and they had the cutest golden retriever named Jodee. I was covered in fur after hugging her and finally felt dressed for the first time since I left my dogs at home.

I really miss Danielle and it feels like forever since I've seen her. She has had one busy and exciting vacation, though. Six Flags, camping, horse barn, sleepovers, High School Musical party, more sleepovers, friends. I think she's been busier staying at home than we have been on our trip. I also miss our dogs, Freak and Atticus. I bet they're fine with Michelle our neighbor. She spoils them. I heard the oil company ran into our stone wall this week. Can't wait to see that. ha ha.

Well, folks, thanks for coming along with us. We'll be in touch.

Danielle,
I love you a whole lot. I hope you had fun at Maddie's house and I hope the movie was excellent. I'll call you later. Miss you much. xoxoxoxoxox

Bovine Intervention

So what if one of those adorable little prairie dogs scared Bessie the cow through the fence and into the road precisely at the same time I am on said road in one of the moments that I am looking backward to get a glimpse of my beautiful wife? Well I suppose I would be writing this from the hospital and Bessie would be coming soon to a dinner table near you.

We've spent a lot of 'quiet' time on the road and you think about things like this....and everything else.
This is Badlands National Park and it was desert hot!! Breathtaking views - very awesome.

Next was Iowa which was filled with cows and corn. Now I (and Danielle) love cows - I love steak, burgers and wear my fair share of leather. Corn is my favorite vegetable by far - niblets, creamed corn, corn on the cob, corn salad, etc. So this would make Iowa my culinary mecca, but I am all set with seeing either of these for a while now.

Badlands Cactus.

I was practicing my rodeo moves. I stayed on that bull for at least 3 minutes - I think it was a record!

Elvis Death Candy.

Great end to a great day. Watering hole by some nice folks where we feasted on Ruben Balls, Sweet Corn Nuggets and Jalepeno Poppers! It tasted great for health food.

In Defiance, OH now and getting ready to leave. Hope to capture Ohio, a little Pennsylvania and get into Upstate NY today.

Much Love and Peace to All,

Mark

Winner, SD

Well, we took our time yesterday, and travelled approximately 300 miles. We stopped for the night in Winner, South Dakota. A very small town by our standards, but a very big town compared to the towns we drove through. For example, in Witten, SD they have a sign that says "business district", but there was only two buildings. hmm. We took Route 44 all day, and were able to see the Badlands. How amazing!!! We've got some amazing pictures that we'll post later this evening when we stop for the night. It was in the upper 90s yesterday, but even hotter in the never-ending desert. We saw prairie dogs and they make the cutest noises. Today it's supposed to be in the 80s, which will be a tremendous relief. Well, we'll post some more later, along with pictures. Have a great day.

D,
Love you lots. Will call you in a little while. Mommy

Leaving. Awwww

Spearfish Canyon was amazing. What a ride. Dad loved it so much he wanted to go back through it again, so we did after checking out Deadwood again and Boot Hill. I love Calamity Jane. Her nickname really describes her. Not that she was an upstanding citizen, because she certainly was not. But in spite of her vices and alcoholism, and among her sporadic forays into illegal ways of making a living she was a very caring and generous person, who always gave what she had and spent lots of time taking care of others. She did like to make up stories, though. One of her famous fibs was that she was once Buffalo Bill's sweetheart. Probably not true. Interestingly enough, though, was that her dying wish was to be buried next to him. And she was. She is buried right next to him on Boot Hill in St. Moriah's Cemetery. Huge climb to Seth Bullock's grave all the way at the top of Boot Hill. He is facing Roosevelt Mountain, as was his wish, as TR was a friend of his. He is buried with his wife Martha. People leave strange things on the graves. On Buffalo Bill's grave there are business cards and cigarettes and liquor bottles. On Jane's grave there are liquor bottles, cigarettes and even a girl scout pin. I sure wish people would stop being so disrespectful. On Bullock's grave there are lots of pine cones and rocks. Don't get that one.

Well, it's time to go. We'll be taking a different route back then the one we took out here. And we're giving ourselves a little extra time so we can really see and appreciate some interesting things on the way back. My right leg is still numb, but hasn't gotten any worse. Let's hope it stays that way.

Mark's right. This place does have a sad look to it now that it's deserted. Not quite the excitement or bustle that it had when we arrived. We'll blog from the road. I'm certain we'll meet some more interesting people and see some more interesting things. So far, it's been great. I wouldn't have missed it. Thanks to all of you for coming along with us on our journey, but keep checking, because it's not over yet.

Danielle, you're going to have such a good time at Six Flags. I can't wait to hear all about it. You've been so good at checking the blog and leaving us messages, it's so fun to hear from you. Miss you so much, can't wait to see you. Love, Mommy

Mom and Scott, thanks for taking the kid to fun places. You're brave to go to Six Flags. Scott, sure wish I was there to go on the big kid rides with you. You know Mom won't. ha ha. Love you both very much. Miss you. Kellie

So Long Suckas!

Well y'all we are packing up our crap and leaving camp this morning. We've had a wonderful time but have decided to leave a day early so that we may have a more relaxed ride home. We will post more pics and keep you up to date on our trip home as well. This picture here is Kellie (so excited!) taking pictures of Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane's graves at Boot Hill. Deadwood was really cool. Don and Kellie liked it better than Sturgis.
This was the ride I was looking forward to the most - it is Spearfish Canyon and it lived up to the hype. Winding roads, waterfalls and gorgeous scenery at every turn.

Don't go chasing waterfalls.... ha another great TLC song to stick in your head!

Peaches for Emily, Peaches for me!

That's our bikes and our cabin in the background. Sweet!

Last sunset we'll witness in Sturgis this year.

Sunsets were beautiful and Kellie and I saw multiple shooting stars with our new friend Wolfgang.

The other day I ran into a bee with my forehead at 60 mph - he apparently didn't appreciate that and stung me. It hurt like hell! By the time we got home I had this big bump swelling on my head. When I woke up at 4 AM to put the rain top on our tent with Kellie (because we were awoken by raindrops) I went to the restroom and scared myself in the mirror. My nose and eyes were also really swollen and it felt weird to blink. No pain though - I just looked weird. Not quite elephantitis - I am not an animal!

That is the third bee sting in two months and all have been while riding.

With everyone gone Sturgis has that hungover feel to it. That sudden let-down of hundreds of thousands of people invading this tiny town, partying like rock stars and leaving abruptly.

It's kind of like when the carnival leaves town and all that's left behind is the matted grass and trash. But we got great deals on tee shirts!!

Danielle, have a great time tonight at six flags. Tell Kaylee me and mommy say hello and remember to say 'thanks a lot' to Grammy and Poppa.

To Grammy and Poppa, Kellie and I really appreciate everything you have done to help make this trip possible. We love you a lot and look forward to sharing all the pictures with you!

My turn to shower and load the bike - will blog next from the road.

Peace and Much Love,

Mark

Buffalo Bob and his friend Charley

This is Buffalo Bob, he was just hanging out with his posse, chowing down on some of that sweet grass when we rolled up onto them. In his crew were some really big, potentially harmful dudes and also a lot of cute little fuzzy ones that you just wanted to run up to and hug. Fortunatley my synapses connected in such a way to prevent me from doing this as it certainly would have gained me the attention of the before mentioned big dude that would have tossed me about like a rodeo clown.

As were getting ready to mount back up onto our iron steeds I was concerned that the noise would startle and possibly annoy them. But not only were they comfortable with the noise but as we were trying to leave Bob here in the picture decided to take his sweet and slippery time crossing the road right in front of us! Then his friend Charley had to come along too!

It was truly awesome!

4 Dudes.

Teddy Roosevelt was included because he was responsible for the Panama Canal, a ton of wildlife preservation and National Parks. He won the Nobel Peace Prize and grew up in South Dakota. Knowing the sculptor didn't hurt either!

I must admit if you asked me where Mt Rushmore was a month ago I would be hard pressed to answer correctly. But I hope to always remember now. The lisence plates here say "Nice Faces. Nice Places."

This is for my brother Ken - it's a way cool street legal quad.

This is the Crazy Horse model in front of the largest sculpture in the world. It lets you see the finished goal. Interesting story and life of Crazy Horse who refused to live on a reservation and refused to sign the land treaties from the US government and was stabbed in the back by a US Soldier.

Main St Sturgis with bikes as far as the eye can see. Lots of great sounds, great people and fun times! We met some amazing folks from Germany, Australia, and all over the USA.

Going riding now through Spearfish Canyon. My maintenance issues are resolved - no thanks to Harley-Davidson that thought it was ok to not open on the last day of the rally to leave folks like me stranded. Fortunately the folks at J+P had what we needed and I got the repairs done last night. Hate to bash the makers of the best motorcyles on this planet but their merchandise has become ridiculously priced while being outsourced more and more. Kellie was looking at a cute tank top with about 20 cents worth of printing on it, made in Honduras and they wanted $34. Really?

I guess we'll just buy their bikes and let other folks buy the clothes. Sad though.

Going riding in 101 degree heat. Much Love and post again soon!

Mark