The Road to Rapid City and Sturgis

Monday morning I was up with the chickens. The anxious feelings I was having had gotten the best of me and I think I was showered and dressed by 5:30 am. I went down to the hotel lobby and checked my e-mail and other internet things, waiting for Dan to get up and around. When Dan was ready to go we went to the hotel restaurant and ate our complimentary breakfasts. It was funny because on the menu it was titled the "Senior Breakfast". That cracked me up and I said to Dan that we were honorary "Seniors" for the morning. After breakfast we loaded up the bike, talked to a really cool biker from Ohio, and finally took off for Mecca!

First stop along the way was 1880 Town. We didn't pay to go through the museum but I did take some pictures of the bikers that were stopped there for gas and a little bit of rest.

There was a lot of construction this year on Interstate 90. I do have to give South Dakota a huge compliment though...they have really great roads. I don't think we experienced a bad one the entire trip. The next stop on the journey to RC/Sturgis was none other then Wall Drug. We ate lunch, picked up our free Wall Drug bumper sticker, and then went on a little exploration of the area we didn't get to last year. We forgot to see Wall Drug's Backyard.





We made it to Rapid City and checked into the luxurious Motel 6 for our 4 day stay. This year our room was cleaner so I didn't worry about bed bugs near as much. lol I convinced Dan to ride into Sturgis for a little while to check things out. I couldn't just sit in Rapid City knowing what was only 25 miles away. Thank God he agreed or I would have had to ask for a ride from another biker. As we decended onto Sturgis I was ready to sit in line to get into town for about a 1/2 hour. Nope...zip...zing...right into town. Found a parking place and made our way to Main Street. Our first stop was the Sturgis Webcam where I called my folks and waved at them. They kept telling me that it was really good to see us on the cam. After that we walked up and down Main Street and took a few pictures.








Going east on Main Street I noticed a black building. I was all excited when I realized that it was a mock club house from the Son's of Anarchy. I'm so excited for season 2 to begin in September. Should be a great one!





Dan and I were both very beat so we headed back to Rapid City. Went to Walmart and got some food for the cooler. Went back to the motel and relaxed with a couple beers and Dan smoked a cigar. It felt so good to be there again. We watched the bikers riding west to Sturgis. I felt at ease again. My anxious feelings had finally left me. I was finally there...finally in the place that makes my heart sing. Finally home with my fellow brothers and sisters that understand my wild heart and obsession for riding! Home Sweet South Dakota!

Day 3 Sturgis Continued...

After we had blazed around South Dakota a little we headed back into Sturgis. We figured we better get back into town early because Monday night was the night that Kiss played at Glencoe. Traffic was insane getting into town so being the smarties that we are we turned off on a side street and headed over to downtown. I was seriously excited because tonight was the night we were headed to the Broken Spoke to listen to and watch the Jasmine Cain Band! We walked around downtown a little because JCB didn't perform until 8 pm. Here are some more photos of the day.





We head on over to the Broken Spoke so that we could find a table up close.


Jasmine Cain and her band took the stage around 8 pm. Jasmine was wearing a bra, tiny panties, stockings, and a long black coat. She looked HOT! She's so tiny but her voice is a powerhouse. Her and her band rocked. If you make it to Sturgis next year you have to go and see this band. I wish she would have played more of her original songs because they are amazing but I understand that she has to keep the crowd entertained with cover songs too. Not everyone there knew who she was like obsessed fan IHG. LOL!



After the show was over there was a Miller Lite Girl contest. Thanks to Dan we have pictures of that event. LOL!




While the Miller Lite girl contest was going on I spent some time talking to Jasmine. I thanked her for doing the interview and told her how much I loved hearing her play. I didn't realize until later in the evening that Dan had bought me the new CD Locks and Keys and had it autographed. Too Cool! Next up that night were the Kentucky Headhunters. Remember the song "Feed Jake"? So we are hanging out waiting for them to set up the stage for the KHH show and I look over and OMG it's Sasha Mullins. Sasha has the blog Down the Road a Peace...she's been in a Discovery Channel Documentary about Women Riders...She is a singer/songwriter...and she wrote the book Biker Lady Living and Riding Free. She also has a new book coming out the middle of August. I head over right away to say hi. I remember saying to her...Hi Sasha I'm IowaHarleyGirl...I'm the chick that posts comments on your blog all the time. She totally knew who I was which was so awesome. She gave me a big hug and we talked for quite some time. She hadn't decided until the last minute to travel to Sturgis but Jasmine talked her into it, so they loaded up Tiger Lily...her Sporty...and headed to Sturgis from Tennessee. D-Day...I hope you get to meet her in Milwaukee! She totally rocks and is sooooooooo genuinely nice.


Finally about 10:30 or so the Kentucky Headhunters hit the stage. They were great...I have a story about them later that was kinda cool. :)



About 12:30 or so we decide that it was time to head back to Rapid City and hit the sack. It was probably good we were leaving because I think I was going to be going on my 5th beer...I'm not used to drinking like that...lol.

I need a writing break but keep checking back...there is more to come...

Day 3...Sturgis

Monday morning I'm up at the crack of dawn...showered and ready to get on the road. Where are we headed? Well to Sturgis of course. I can feel the excitement in my belly. We are motoring down the interstate with hundreds of other bikes and we are all going to the mecca of all rallies. When I finally see the Sturgis Next 2 Exits sign I throw up my arms again. My entire body gets chill bumps and I have the hugest smile on my face. I'm sure if you were following the stats of this years rally at all you have heard that attendance was down. I believe that it was somewhat because it was pretty easy to enter town that morning and we were able to ride down Main Street with ease. I'm going to post pictures from that day so that you can check it all out. It's hard to explain the feeling you get when you are an obsessed motorcycle addict like me. I truly felt at home again there in Sturgis with all of the thousands of other bikers who love the lifestyle as much as I do.








After we walked around downtown we decided to head out to Thunder Road and the Full Throttle Saloon. Progressive Motorcycle Insurance did an excellent job finding people places to park out at Thunder Road. They gave out silver bells for your bike and if you had your coupon you could get your free Sucker Punch Sally's t-shirt. Here are a few photos from Thunder Road.




We left Thunder Road and headed across the street to the Full Throttle Saloon. It was pretty early in the morning when we got there so there wasn't a lot going on.




We left Sturgis for a little while and just road through the beautiful country of South Dakota. More to come on Day 3...including Jasmine Cain and Sasha Mullins!