Sturgis and Deadwood, South Dakota

Monday, July 15th, 2013


It is very interesting to see Sturgis getting ready for their annual motorcycle rally. Tents are being erected for vendors, beer trucks are all over town and there are help wanted signs everywhere. It seems like the only thing that keeps this town economically flush is this annual rally. There are a multitude of bars with outdoor patios and tables with no patrons. In a couple of weeks it will be crazy. I’m glad we won’t be here then. The RV Park that we’re staying at has 160 sites that will be full during rally week. Currently there are about 20 RVs here with perhaps 10 Harleys. The noise created by a few Harleys in an RV park is deafening. I can’t imagine what it will like in two weeks with perhaps 200 Harleys in one RV park. It definitely will not be peaceful. Randy has been to this rally three times. He rides his Harley from Sparks to Sturgis with friends of his. That is a very long ride. It took us seven days to get here. I think they do it in three. They go together and rent a nice home for a few days and become a part of this whole thing. He comes back exhausted but happy. They’re not making the trip this year but I think they plan to come again next year.
Today the three of us took a short jaunt to Deadwood. Deadwood is one of the few towns in America designated as a National Historic Landmark. There are more than 80 gambling halls lining the streets of Deadwood. The town’s history included such characters as Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane and Poker Alice. The town looks the same as it did 100 years ago. We would have taken the Deadwood Trolley, however, we had Daisy with us so we walked up and down the street. It was very interesting.