Spearfish Canyon & Sturgis, SD.

 

A visit to South Dakota and the Black Hills wouldn't be complete without a ride through Spearfish Canyon, part of the Black Hills National Forest.  It twists through the 19 mile  gorge where Spearfish  Creek lines the canyon floor and white limestone cliffs rise of each side of you.  Looking out the window, you'll see what looks like millions of spruce  Christmas trees  high above you, almost covering the blue sky.  From what I heard trout fishermen come to the creek all year long to fish, as it never freezes over.  There are a few waterfalls along the way which people were stopping to take a look at.  The problem was the trees and shrubs have grow so much, it's just not as picturesque as it could be.

 

Next we took a trip out to Sturgis.  Do you remember as a child watching "The Wizard of
Oz?"  Well, Sturgis is something like this.  For 50 weeks of the year Sturgis is a small town, with empty store fronts all along the street..     The total population is in the range of 7,000 people all year long.  

 

 But come August  and as in  the movie it comes alive and is hard to miss.  It's time to rev up for the 66th Black Hills Motorcycle Rally.   This is the grand-daddy of all rallies. Sturgis and other surrounding communities prepare all year for an influx of at least 400,000 cyclists, mostly Harley's I would bet.  This is a mega two week continuous party.  We have friends from Massachusetts that are coming here.  Have fun guys.  Travel safe.   Keep it between the white lines.