Back in action August 10th, 2009

Finally an internet connection after 5 nights of camping

Greeting from Denver, Colorado. I know it's been a while, but I've been camping out for the past five nights.  Last you heard from me I was getting a flat tire changed in Waukon, Iowa.  The good folks at the dealership got me on the road minutes before they closed at 6PM and I started the trip up to LeRoy, Minnesaota.  I spent the night camping at Lake Louise State Park, but got in shortly before sunset, so I didn't see much of it. In the morning I was off to North Dakota.  I was told that there was a cheap honor system campground near town.  After having a a beer in a "quaint" bar (they were using broomsticks as pool cues) I found my camp site.  It turns out that it was just a town park in the middle of a residential neighborhood, in the middle of a frisbee golf course. 

The following morning it was of to sturgis.  I encountered a bit of rain squall as I entered a Lakota Sioux indian reservation.  Between the mud, the rain, the broken down cars, and the sloppy indians, it was a pretty depressing bit of the trip.  It was fun chatting with the other folks huddled in the Dairy Queen.  Being mid-week, some were heading to, and some from Sturgis.  I learned that I needed to buy gas in the next town or I wouldn't make it to Sturgis.  The weather broke on my way into town and it turned out to be a gorgeous day.  

I'm going to do another entry to cover the days in Sturgis, so fast forward to Denver.  It was pouring rain this mornin when I left Sturgis.  Things started to clear up about 50 miles South.  The ride ended up being 450 miles because I had to detour through Nebraska in order to check it off the list.  More fields, more cows, etc. etc..  There were some cool rock formations and pine-covered mountains in Nebraska, but then it got flat again.  I crossed over into Wyoming next and it was pretty cool to see all of the old western cities, like Cheyenne and Cody.  I was tempted to stop at the Sierra Trading Post outlet store, but was pretty determined to get to my friend's house at a reasonable hour.  It also got really hot after crossing into Colorado.  I wasn't expecting it to be so hot in Denver, so I'm looking forward to some cooler weather as I head up into the mountains tomorrow.  I'll follow this up shortly with a Sturgis entry.  Also, I posted photos in a few of my galleries.