HISTORIC DEADWOOD

Friday, August 13
The town of Deadwood South Dakota emerged practically overnight following the discovery of gold there in the 1870s. Tradesmen followed the gold miners giving rise to a boom town famed for gambling, girls and gunfighting. Devotees of the Wild West esteem Deadwood as the town where Wild Bill Hickok was killed, though local lore insists he was assassinated. We passed a couple of colorful hours touring the main street, restored as a perfect tourist attraction, replete with saloons, slot machines, and souvenirs. As Americana it's notable that the politics of purity has somehow overlooked Deadwood, where the elementary school is situated just down the street from the notorious brothels and gambling dens.

NEEDLES CANYON

Wednesday, August 11
A popular canyon run near Rapid City, SD is Needles, so named for its unique rock formations. The road to Needles takes you through several tunnels carved through mountain walls of rock. It's a thrilling ride for the very sharp hairpin curves and the views.

Approaching a tunnel

Entering a tunnel

The rock formations called "Needles"

The intrepid photographer takes a break after a hairpin curve

Waving after the hairpin curve

MT. RUSHMORE

Wednesday, August 11
Mt. Rushmore is just a brief ride from Rapid City, SD, where we are staying during Sturgis. It's a tourist favorite and despite the picture postcard connotations, a startling sight to see. The monument was a WPA project, carved from 1928-1934. Several crusty western bikers referred to it as "big government art." I did not ask what their families were doing during the depression.

A well designed museum presents Glutzon Borglum's models, and a fine series of sequential photographs of the mountain being carved.

Though most people are familiar with the monument, there are unusual angles of observation available when up close. I only regret not finding a good angle on Jefferson's nose.

George Washington seen from a crevice

Abe Lincoln from beneath his beard

STURGIS

Tuesday, August 10
At last we're in Sturgis, on a blistering 95 degree Tuesday morning. The town jumps, bikes are everywhere, and the characters are out in force. These photos need no explanation. The whole town is one big party for a week. Bought our souvenirs and hit the road.

Sturgis live, noisy and fun

The bride on the ride

What was the joke about horney bikers?

No, and she couldn't explain it either

A B-1 Bomber flyover. The ground shook and the Harleys went mute.

RIDING THE BADLANDS

Barbara's camera work. She's becoming quite good at riding videos. The curly loop in the upper right is due to a camera defect. Subsequently contacted Canon, and swapped out the defective camera for a new one. Video files are huge and require long upload times. We have so many beautiful video clips it would require days to upload them all. I'll have to edit them into a coherent movie in the future, but for now, no more movie posts. Just pictures.

BARBARA AND HOWARD IN THE BADLANDS

BORN UNDER A BAD SIGN

Monday, August 9th. Zooming west on I-90 from Mitchell, SD to Rapid City. We stop at Murdo for lunch, desparate for an hour of air-conditioned relief from the heat. All around us are bareheaded, bare-armed Harley riders who glow passionate shades of pink and red, none without a case of sunburn. A slim woman sits on the concrete stoop of the diner, holding her bandanaed head and moaning, "I can't take this. I want to be indoors!" The only visible sign that someone understands the danger. It occurs to me that no 19th century cowboy would have crossed these rolling prairies without sun protection, including a hat and bandana. Somehow Harley riders believe that the brand confers immunity from the lesser dangers of the road, or that redliness is next to manliness.

Soon, signs signal our approach to the Badlands of South Dakota, so named not for desperados, but for the French explorers who though them "bad lands" for their lack of water. Eroded out of deep sediments from the ocean that covered the western US 60 million years ago, these jagged, pointed, encrusted canyons offer up a severe beauty in the sun.                                                                

Badlands in the distance