2004 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally

Every August, the sleepy little Black Hills town of Sturgis, South Dakota experiences a tremendous transformation. Motorcycle enthusiasts from all over the country and world head to Sturgis for the rally. Every campground, hotel, and motel is totally full. Motorcycles can be seen everywhere in a 50 mile radius of Sturgis. The estimates are 100,000 to 200,000 scooters. Tents, travel trailers, fifth wheels and motorhomes are everywhere.

Alice and I enjoy riding our Harley and have been to Sturgis three times. We last attended the 2004 Rally. I had always wanted to get there early and stay late and did for this rally. After the rally ended, we headed toward Rapid City and set up a base camp. It was great spending a month in the Black Hills area. The area provides some of the best riding in the country.

The next several pictures will tell a little bit about the fun we had and the friends we met.

Alice being a biker babe and sporting her chaps. The other babes are Nancy Hagen (far right and introduced in the next picture) and Britany; Nancy's and Arlen's daughter. The guy in the sun glasses is Arlen, Nancy's husband. The bike is Arlen's Harley Davidson Ultra-Classic.

When we go to Sturgis, Arlen & Nancy Hagen meet us there and spend a few days with us. They live in Gillette, Wyoming. Arlen and I served together in the Marine Corps, back in 1971. They are great folks, even if Arlen is a 100%, full-fledged YANKEE who is originally from Minnesota. Arlen and Nancy each have their own scooter. Arlen rides an Ultra-Classic and Nancy rides a Heritage Softail Classic. Classic scooters for classic folks. Arlen and I were reunited about 12 years ago after losing touch with each other since '71. We always enjoy their company. Arlen is learning to say "ya'll", but has a long ways to go to say "fixin'".

Barry, Alice, Arlen, and Nancy visiting with our new friends, Kathy and Tramp (sitting to the left). Tramp is true scooter trash. We enjoyed meeting them and they are good folks. This pic was taken inside our motorhome.

Sturgis is a lot of fun. The bottom pic is Barry and Alice with Nancy

Why does Barry enjoy the Sturgis Rally so much?

Alice being a biker babe.

The Black Hills of South Dakota is one of our favorite areas.

I always thought the Badlands was named such because it was a haven for bandits. The Indians named it: bad lands because it is a barren desert with very unusual terrain.

One of the things Barry always wanted to do was to go to the Sturgis Rally early and leave late. This time we did. After the Rally we stayed in South Dakota nearly a month. We celebrated our wedding aniversary there. This is Hart Ranch campground. It was, by far, the nicest campground we had ever visited. Oh yeah, Kamper likes caviar too.

Introducing Kamper

This is Kamper, our second schnauzer. We had our first schnauzer, Gretchen, for 16 years. Gretchen rests, eternally, in the back yard of our former home in Richardson, TX. That was a sad day. Kamper is now 8 years old and hopefully will be around another 8 years.

Another Week-end Warrior

This is a pic of Alice guarding the Christmas tree at Ft. Hood. She is a nurse and reported that the tree's pulse and blood pressure was elevated.

More Utah Pics

I set up a tripod at our hummer feeder and used the remote to get this pic. This was taken at Zion National Park. It is truly one of the best places we have been. I don't have a digital camera, so I have to take pics and then scan them to my laptop. Obviously, some of the "crispness" is lost. Keep checking in, we are posting pics and stuff almost daily.

Hurricane Katrina Mission

Barry with Chaplain (Captain) Keith Rice and SGT Abe Laws. It was an experience escorting CH Rice around New Orleans. Meeting him and serving with him was a priveledge. The New Orleans task force on which I served will always be a cherished memory. Abe Laws is a new friend.

More Pics from Our Utah trip

Here's a couple of pics of Alice. One is preparation for the raft trip we took out of Moab and the other is Alice taking a breather during one our many hikes.

A Typical Day for Barry During Drill Weekend

Being a "week-end" Warrior is hard work. A picture speaks a thousand words.

Everything the Hiker Needs

This is everything the hiker needs. This is also from one of our best trips yet, southern Utah and northern Arizona.

Chaplain Kacela and Katrina/New Orleans

You may have noticed a comment from Xolani Kaceli. He is a Chaplain in the Air Force National Guard holding the rank of Captain. I had the distinct priveledge of being his assistant, for a short period of time, during my "little trip" to New Orleans to support the Hurricane Katrina mission. He is the epitomy of "An Officer and a Gentleman".

One of my duties was to drive the good Chaplain from point "A" to point "B" in a HumVee. There were actually two chaplain assistants on this drive, myself and SGT Abe Laws. It was dark and I was driving us back to the AO (area of operations). I was having difficulty with the dimmer switch on the Hummer; foot operated like the old days. It would stick and was hard to dim the lights. On this particular occassion, I decided to stomp the dimmer switch. Well, I lifted my foot in an attempt to stomp the dimmer switch. Keep in mind that there is NO light inside these vehicles. Instead of stomping the dimmer switch, I hit the brake pedal! It seems that the good Chaplain had dozed off, obviously comfortable in my ability to get us back to the AO safely. The result was Chaplain Kacela being thrown forward with quite a thrust and awakend with quite a start. He remaind the perfect gentleman that he is. Abe and I had quite a laugh that evening after dropping off the Chap. Just another good military memory added to my gray matter.

Chaplain Kacela, I salute you, SIR! Thanks for visiting my blog.

Your friend and humble servant,
Barry

Alice and Barry in Canyonlands National Park, Utah