Arrived in Sturgis, SD

We had a pleasant drive from Casper, WY east to Sturgis, SD. Sunny although hot with temps in the 90's. We found the repair company, Mid States Campers, and got set up for the night. Nice to have a nice level spot with 30 amp power for the night!!

We got the A/C fixed first thing in the morning (same as last year in FL, a capacitor and the motor starter) and headed the 25 miles to our campground in Sturgis. This was our first time here but we had no problem finding our campground, Glencoe. Two of the other RVing friends from Escapees were already here and welcomed us.

As we got settled into our spot, our new friends headed out for a ride. Once we were settled in and grabbed some lunch, we did the same. We had planned to head to Rapid City to visit the Firehouse Brewing Company. But as we headed south the skies got darker...then the rain started. Since we have two weeks to visit here, we opted to turn around. LOL!

We did stop at the infamous Full Throttle Saloon across the street from our campground. Interesting spot. Can't imagine the craziness that will be there next week...it is billed as the world's biggest biker bar. Stu wondered how they got this semi in there.....

After we returned the third couple from Escapees arrived and got set up. They invited us all over to visit, swap stories and have some beers. I think we sat there for about four hours before everyone realized they needed to eat. The guys did take one sojourn out on the golf cart to see what they could see...seems as though they did see some sights, but most were ones they wished they hadn't. But I suspect there will be many more evening forays through the campground to see the sights.

This morning we all jumped on our bikes and headed to a breakfast spot in Nemo, SD (yes, we found Nemo...). They weren't busy (the main event starts on Monday so the crowds will really move in this week) and we enjoyed more good chatter.

By the time we were ready to leave the forecast was calling for severe thunderstorms, road flooding, hail...we opted to not go on our ride and headed back to the campground. We almost made it...we actually might have made it if we hadn't gotten stopped by a slow RV going down the hill on the twisting road. But our fearless leader Mike spotted a car wash and lead us in.....just in time. We hadn't been there 5 minutes when the sky really let loose.

The guys worked to close the garage bay door behind the motorcycles, the wind was whipping. Dave fired up the music on his bike and we all rocked out to oldies while we waited out the storm. We were there for at least an hour, watching the water come in from both directions, listening to the wind and hail and just generally being glad that we were out of the weather.

As soon as there was a break we boogied back to the campground. Stu rolled Big Red into the trailer (Twister was already up under the fifth wheel). We dried off and warmed up. The rest of the afternoon was spent doing laundry, napping and just generally relaxing.

Tomorrow? Who knows...we are really enjoying our time with these folks and know we will get in some good riding!

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Donna and Stu