Friday, July 19, 2019

Left this morning at 3 am and drove to Rapid City, SD.  I got here a lot faster than I thought I would. Met the other truck that was bringing the other half of this machine at the Pilot truck stop.  The guy from the delivery site came and met us there and took us in to where we were to unload Monday morning.  We dropped our trailers there and left.  He went back to the truck stop, I went to the Harley shop that was across the Interstate from the truck stop.  I rented a Harley Ultra Classic motorcycle (the black one) until Sunday afternoon.

I left there and spent the rest of the day on the bike.  Here is a map of the route I took.

I started off going to Mount Rushmore.  I didn't go into the park because I didn't want to pay the fee.  I had been there before and I could see it well enough from outside the park as you will see below.

A friend recommended going to Custer State Park so after leaving Mount Rushmore I headed that way.  It was an excellent recommendation!!  Great ride!!!  One of the best!!!  Here are some pictures I took along the way.

There were several of these one lane tunnels.

Look very closely in the center of this picture.  See it?

Here is a zoomed in view of the center of the above picture.

After I left there I rode over to Sturgis.  Everyone is getting ready for the 79th Annual Srurgis Motorcycle Rally.  It starts August 2 and goes till the 11th.  My first stop was The Buffalo Chip.

From there rode up to the Full Throttle Saloon.  This place burned down a couple years ago.  They relocated it to a larger place and rebuilt it.

Here is the inside.

From there I went into Sturgis and rode down Main Street. 

In two weeks there will be over 500,000 motorcycles here and it will look a whole lot different!  Wish I was going to be here for it.  From there I rode over to where a friend of mine from Florida works now.  He moved here a couple years ago.  He wasn't there but we talked on the phone.  Will probably get together sometime this weekend.  Then I rode back to the Harley shop in Rapid City where my truck is parked.

Thursday, July 18, 2019

Had to time when I left this morning so that I would get to Kansas City at 9 am when curfew ended.  I was perfect!!!  Entered the curfew area at exactly 9 am.  

Home of the Kansas City Royals

In Iowa, lots of flooded farm land.  All the photos below are supposed to be farms, not lakes.

This is an exit ramp. If you look closely you can see the Stop signs at the intersection in the water.

Went past the Sioux City, Iowa Airport.  That is the site of one of the most amazing plane crashes in US history.  Click here for more information on it.  I remember this very well.  The video below is excellent about it.

Continued on up to Sioux Falls, South Dakota to the Flying J truck stop for the night.  Went in for dinner to the Denny's restaurant.  Well, it happened again.  I was seated by the hostess and promptly ignored.  Sat there for a very long time before I left.  I ate someplace else.

I was lying in bed watching TV when the weather radio went off saying that there was a Tornado Warning in my area and to take cover immediately.  I got dressed and went outside.  The sky looked cool.  Saw a tornado, not a huge one.  Here are a few pictures...

Here is the same system trying to make another one, but it didn't happen.

Never a dull moment.

Wednesday, July 17, 2019

Left this morning a half hour after sunrise.  Just as I started to go up the mountain toward Monteagle, TN the heavens opened up.  I rained very hard all the way up and back down the other side.  On the way down passed a crash that just happened. Car going the other direction went into the median and half way through the cable guard rail.  By the time I got to Nashville the rain was pretty much over with.  In Illinois I passed another crash that just happened.  Car bounced off the "Jersey wall" and was facing the wrong way.  Other than that, it was a pretty uneventful day.  Stopped for the night at the TA truck stop in Forestall, Missouri.

Tuesday, July 16, 2019

My South Carolina permit finally came in just after 9 am and I hit the road.  Felt good to be moving again!!!  Was heading west on I-26 when traffic came to a quick stop.  I saw it and slowed down but the truck next to me obviously wasn't paying attention.  He did, however avoid a diaster.  Here is the video...

Here is the same video except zoomed in to see it better.  Sorry about the poor resolution.

Traffic was heavy going around Atlanta.  Lots of bumper to bumper on the north side. Made it through that without too much of a delay.  Stopped for the night at the TA truck stop in Cartersville, Georgia.

Monday, July 15, 2019

Went over to the Port of Charleston this morning.  Got there when they opened at 7:30.  Crane loaded a Crusher that came from France and is going to Rapid City, South Dakota.

After I was loaded and waiting for my South Carolina permit the cops came swarming in.  They were inspecting every truck in there, including me.  They went through the entire truck and looked at and in everything.  Finding nothing, they moved on.  I pulled just outside the gate and parked along the side of the road, as shown in the above photos, to wait for my South Carolina permit.  It did not come in today, so I'll be here all night.  Hopefully it will come in tomorrow.