Sturgis, SD

We spent a couple of nights in Sturgis, South Dakota, most famously known for it's huge motorcycle rally in August.  We saw some interesting bikes and ate at The Knuckle Saloon. The food was great and there was plenty to see, including the longest bar in South Dakota. 

Even the McDonald's sign is proud to be in Sturgis.

No bones about it, this bike a sight to behold.

I would prefer this one in IH red.

All roads lead to Sturgis

Knuckle Saloon specialty: Beef Tips, breaded or unbreaded with mushrooms and onions.

They even have a radio broadcast studio in the saloon.

Geographic Center of the U.S., Belle Fourche, SD

We stumbled across this little town in southwestern South Dakota that claims to be the Geographic Center of the US.  There is a lovely sign there and a large granite map of the US with a marker indicating this town as the geographic center.  This place also had a nifty log cabin and a museum.  It was worth the stop for a half hour or so.

Devils Tower National Monument, Wyoming

Devils Tower National Monument in located in Crook County, Wyoming.  It is a spectacular butte rising 867 feet from base to top.  It was formed of magma or lava.  It is an unbelievable sight to see. You can walk on a path around the base and see all sides of the tower.  People are allowed to climb the tower and there were several doing so when we were there.

Three more states, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana

We are clicking off the states lately.  Here are three more.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Theodore Roosevelt National Park in western North Dakota is a park that was created to honor Roosevelt who is the founder of the National Park Service.  This area includes much of the land that Roosevelt hunted and explored while he was in North Dakota.  It also includes the land that was home to Roosevelt's ranch.  There are two sections that you can visit, known as the North Unit and the South Unit.  The terrain in these areas includes many rock formations known as "badlands" and much land that is useful for grazing, which accounts for the many bison that roam the hills of the park.  The remote beauty of the park is breath-taking.

South Unit

Maltese Cross Ranch House, moved to visitor's center from Roosevelt's ranch.

Two bison calves.

North Unit

More bison, at one point they were standing in the road.

Two world's largest in one state

Driving across North Dakota we saw two "world's largest" items.

We saw Salem Sue in New Salem.  Sue is the world's largest Holstein cow.  She is 38 feet high and 50 feet long.  She even has a song written about her, "Ballad of the Holstein"

We also saw the world's largest metal sculpture.  It is along interstate 94 and marks the beginning of something known as the "enchanted highway".  This sculpture is called "Geese in Flight".  There are 7 more sculptures along the enchanted highway.

On the road again...three more states.

We are traveling again. Left Indiana, drove through Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota and now we are in North Dakota, which is a new state for the two of us.  It is also the last state of the 48 for Dave.  He has now been in every one of the contiguous United States.

Sleeping Bear Dunes, Michigan

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore near Empire, Michigan is a beautiful place to spend a day. We went there back on August, but I realized that I forgot to post about it.  The scenery is unbelievable and if you are adventurous you can climb up the dunes.  It is named for a rock formation that looks (kinda) like a sleeping bear.  Black bears are plentiful in this area, so I can see why someone got that idea. 

The little grassy hump at the top of this hill is the sleeping bear

This is a 450 foot super steep dune that they discourage people to climb.  It goes down to the water but takes 2 hours to climb up.  If you need to be rescued on this dune, they charge you a fine of as much as $2000.  There are lost of other dunes there that you can climb instead.