Sturgis, SD, known for the motorcycle rallies, is another small town in the rolling grasslands, but on the edge of the Black Hills. The motorcycle connection began in 1936 when Clarence 'Pappy' Hoel purchased an Indian Motorcycle franchise and the Jackpine Gypsies Motorcycle Club was formed (and you thought it had something to do with Harleys!). The first rally was held in 1938 with a race with 9 participants and a few spectators. Over the years the rally grew until in the year 2000 the estimated attendance was around 600,000. I don't know what year this was taken, but there are a lot of folks! The town of Sturgis is just your typical small mid-west town, except for all the biker bars with their outdoor patios. Most are in a 'holding' mode, waiting for the annual rally. We went to the Full Throttle Saloon As you can see by the sign on the right, this is billed as the 'World's Largest Biker Bar'. We went right in. Click on the images below to enlarge. And more party space out back. We dropped in to the Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center and found the most delightful young lady there. She was so expressive and fun that we went back the next morning to have coffee with her and Ernie, an old guy who drops in every morning for his coffee. Just a few miles east of Sturgis is Fort Meade, established in 1878 by units of the 1st and 11th Infantry and the reorganized 7th Cavalry (following Custer's defeat at the Little Big Horn) to protect settlers and gold seekers. It was here that the 'Star Spangled Banner first became the official music for the military retreat ceremony, long before it became the National Anthem in 1931 (the wikipedia account does not mention this). Here is the parade ground. Movie versions of the mounted cavalry in those days show the soldiers riding up on their horses to save the day, and while that may have happened some, we don't realize that movement of army units involved much more than that. The photo below shows a photo of Custer's wagon train on a mission to find a site for a fort in the area that is now Ft. Meade. And since troops had to go on missions into Wyoming and other areas, they had to have a support force of supply wagons, etc. More than what meets the eye! After our coffee with our cute friend, Jennifer, at the Chamber of Commerce, we drove the few miles to the town of Deadwood, in Deadwood Gulch. Deadwood is famous in fact and legend. Born of the gold rush in the Black Hills, it was a rough and tumble town. Older readers may recall Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane. They were real people with connections to Deadwood. Wild Bill was not an outlaw, in fact he was a peace officer on occasion, and was fast and deadly with a gun. He was also a gambler and that's what brought him to Deadwood. While playing poker in the Saloon 10, he was shot in the head by a spectator named Jack McCall. Legend has it that he was holding the two black aces and the two black 8's (plus the 9 of diamonds) and that is now known as the 'Dead Man's Hand'. Calamity Jane was also rather wild, and was a friend of Wild Bill but nothing more. Her rough-riding, gun-slinging reputation is probably the reason she acquired the nickname Calamity Jane. One popular belief is that men were said to be "courting calamity" if they offended her. (See Calamity Jane). After her death, the newspaper reported that 10,000 people attended her funeral, but not one mourner. She and Wild Bill are buried in the cemetery overlooking the town. A short drive from Deadwood is the town of Lead, pronounced Lead, not Lead. OK it's pronounced 'leed'. Another product of the gold rush, it is (or was) home to Homestake Mining Company which operated a large open cut mine. The diagram at right gives an idea of all the shafts and tunnels below the open cut shown at upper left. The mine is 8000 feet deep with 370 miles of tunnels. Homestead closed the mine in 2000 and it was converted into a deep underground laboratory where scientists do experiments to explore the properties of subatomic particles called neutrinos. They are also looking for a mysterious substance called 'dark matter'. They say it's the dominant form of matter in the universe, but remains undetected (if they know it's so dominant, how is it that it's undetected? What's the 'matter' with them??) If you want to know more, look it up! From Lead we took the long way home via a scenic drive through Spearfish Canyon. Here is Spearfish Falls Which flows into Spearfish Creek That runs through Spearfish Canyon. To summarize, Spearfish Falls flows into Spearfish Creek, following the course of Spearfish Canyon and Spearfish Canyon Road, leading to the town of Spearfish at the base of Spearfish Peak. (!?!)
We retreated back to Sturgis to prepare for the next day's journey. Stay tuned.
3 Comments
Melody
7/6/2013 03:34:40 am
Go add that info to Wikipedia. I have my students do that as an activity. They will change it if it is 'deemed' incorrect information. Otherwise, you contributed to it! :) love your reports. Travel on....
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Melody
7/6/2013 03:35:17 am
Go add that info to Wikipedia. I have my students do that as an activity. They will change it if it is 'deemed' incorrect information. Otherwise, you contributed to it! :) love your reports. Travel on....
Reply
Love, love the pictures! You two are spectacular people and I will look forward to seeing you sometime again! Thank you so much for coming back to have coffee with Ernie and I :) I hope your stay was enjoyful! Let your dreams be adventurous and your travels safe!!!
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