In 1938 motorcycle shop owner ""Papy"" Hoel held the first rally with 19 racers. There is not one biker in the United States who does not know about Sturgis and everyone wants to go at least once during the one long week rally. The city by itself is not extraordinary, except for the small motorcycle museum there, that we found quite interesting, especially because of the old models which would be probably impossible to find anywhere else.
Serge, nous avons aussi pense a toi !
Our real reason to go to Sturgis is that I needed to have repaired a leak on the valve cover of my BMW. By the way, the employees of BMW dealer in Sturgis were very courteous and efficient. They fixed my motorcycle a day ahead of schedule, which was great as we wanted to head out as soon as possible.
While my motorcycle was getting repaired, we went to visit Deadwood, in the Black Hills Territory, South Dakota. This city is noted as Recommended in our Michelin guide. In 1876, 25,000 people had swarmed to Deadwood Gulch hoping to find fortune with gold. We walked through Mount Moriah Cemetery, past James Butler Hickok a.k.a Wild Bill's resting by Calamity Jane. Part of the Hickok legend was built on his ability to handle a pistol with either hand, becoming one of the first so-called ''fast guns''. He was shot from behind by Jack McCall during a card game on August 2, 1876. Calamity Jane set out on the road very young and found employment as a bullwacker and scout. This work involved cracking a whip over the bulls in order to get them to move, or move fast, in bull trains. There is controversy surrounding her story, but she apparently drank excessively. She died in Terry, South Dakota on August 1, 1903 of a combination of inflammation of the bowels and pneumonia. Her dying wish was to be laid to rest by Wild Bill Hickok. And there she rests, an official Deadwood legend.
Frankly we were disappointed by Deadwood as today the buildings are being used as casinos and despite the efforts of the city to make it lively, it is not very effective.
On June 24, 2011, we rode 500 kilometers to Greybull. Freeway first, then one scenic route but beautiful sunny day although tiring. We find a KOA and for the sum of 40 dollars we end up in a cabin.
We cannot figure out why, but Alain and I don't sleep well. Probably too much comfort on the mattress. We are used to our 2 inches Thick thermarest mattresses by now and we are too hot, compared to sleeping outside every day. Anyway, this KOA is great and even offers shelters for motorcycles... and we are only 50 miles away from Cody.
Cody, Wyoming
We decided first to go see the Cody Murals at the Church of Jesus Christ of latter day Saints. The Cody mural covers a domed ceiling 36 feet in diameter and 18 feet to the top of the dome. They were painted by Edward T. Griware. Elder Seymore gave us a tour and described the historical scenes from the first seventy years of this church. Alain and I did not know that the Mormons had contributed so much to the conquest of the West.
Out of about 250000 people who went West, about 70,000 people were mormons, fleeing all kinds of persecution. We had no idea, for example, that families had been sent to different areas of the West to start large projects of irrigation as it was the case in the Big Horn Basin. Their lives at the time were difficult but building the canals was a priority to be able to have a crop later on. Either you believe or not in religion, you cannot help marvelling at the work that all these people have done in the past, at their perseverance, at the sacrifices they have made all those years. Very interesting visit !
Picture of Patsy and Veldon Seymore after the visit
We arrived early at the rodeo. We are in the West. We had to go to one of them. We were impatient to see it started. You have the giant screen, the music playing and you can feel the tension of the riders as they are getting ready. While the rodeo goes on, the animator comments live what is happening. Before the rodeo started, Alain and I were surprised as the animator asked the public to stand up to listen to the American national anthem. We could not imagine this happening in France before a soccer game for example. Everybody takes their hat off and put his hand on his heart while the anthem plays. The show started right after. The riders have to stay on the horse or the bull as long as possible. It seems and is probably extremely difficult, but it's really exciting to see them ride the wild animals just for a few seconds, most of the time. Like any show in America, it's really noisy and the public has to participate by stomping their feet or clapping or cheering to encourage the participant. The kids under 12 also participated by going in the arena itself and try to catch some rubbans on the tails of some calves. There are also calf roping and barrel racing competitions. An excellent and fun evening. We loved it !
We decided to stay an extra day in Cody and we visited the Buffalo Bill Historical Center. Inside, we will discover the history of the American West, the ''Whitney Gallery of Western Art'' and the Cody firearms museum, which traces the evolution of guns and the Draper Museum of Natural history which focus on the greater Yellowstone ecosystem, and the relationship between man and the natural world. Just a few pictures of our day visit at the Center below. Lots to see and learn...Absolutely a must see if you go to Cody !
We are in Cody about 80 miles away from the Yellowstone National Park and this is where The Road will take us in the following days....On the Road Again...
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