Hang 'em High at Hullet!

                                 Spearfish Canyon

Tuesday, 10th August 2010

Part of the attraction of Sturgis is the fantastic rides & wonderful scenery all around the area. The plan today was to take a ride through the beautiful Spearfish Canyon, all twists & turns, with dramatic rocky walls towering over the lush green canyon floor. I coudn't help imagining how peaceful it must be there, when there isn't a constant stream of noisy motorcycles roaring through.

The canyon receded & the landscape gradually opened up, & we carried on our ride for a while longer, until we came to a stone building on a gentle mound, slap-bang in the middle of nowhere. There were loads of bikes outside, so we decided to call in & see what was going on. It had been a while since we left Deadwood, so we we thought everyone would be ready for a 'comfort' stop about now, anyway. We turned up the long drive, & while we were parking the bikes, I noticed Harry admiring a sort of Davy Crockett-style hat worn by another biker. Now Harry has been gradually 'going native' since we began this tour. He arrived in Las Vegas in T-shirt & jeans, looking like a regular sort of guy. But, as the tour progressed, he's bought an Indian-style leather waistcoat & ditched the T-shirts, some leather chaps, (& he got some flak for those, I can tell you!)  & next time I looked he's wearing the hat, & the other guy is walking away stuffing a wad of dollars into his pocket!

                                                         We're going to Hullett next, Harry! Wear the fox hat!!

The building we had stopped at was called the Stone House - quite appropriate I thought. It's a bar/restaurant, but the best thing about it was the loos! Away from the main building, which was quite decrepit, there was an obviously brand new wooden structure, all pale pine & spotlessly clean. I went into the ladies door, & it was just wonderful! Completely open to the skies, it had no roof at all, & a new stone floor, several wooden cubicles & proper loos. There was also a row of basins, gleaming in the sunshine, lovely handwashing lotions, soft paper towels - the whole place was posher than a lot of places I've visited, & totally unexpected.  So our 'comfort' stop turned out to be quite an experience!

Next, we were headed for a little place called Hullett. Hullett is famous for 'No Panties Wednesday'! Apparrently, way back in the day, all the bikers would converge in Hullett on the Wednesday, on their way to Sturgis for the rally weekend. Spirits would get a little high, beer would flow, & the bikers would get a bit  raucous. 'Course, it's all rather more low-key & PC now - but I made sure we went on the Tuesday, just in case!

Pat & Chris decided to keep their panties on - with dire consequences!

We had lunch in Hullett, & a little look around, & we came across a couple of mean-looking cattle rustlers who paid the ultimate price for their misdeeds. Funny though, they looked strangely familiar ... 

We decided to leave Hullett while we still had some of our group left alive, & headed off towards Devil's Tower, famous rendezvous point for the aliens in Close Encounter of the Third Kind. Devil's Tower Trading Post is also famous for wonderful ice-cream (well, it is with me, anyway), & I was so looking forward to a large helping of Praline Pecan as we approached the strange mound of rock. However, when we arrived at the Trading Post, it seemed that one or two hundred other bikers were of the same mind, & we couldn't even get parked, let alone get anywhere near the ice-cream counter. With deep regret on my part, we aborted the mission, & headed instead for Sundance, home of the Sundance Kid, & site of recently opened Harley-Davidson dealership, which was to be our new goal.

Devil's Tower - & Praline Pecan - far in the background

Later that evening, John & I, & Elaine & Dave, went to the Buffalo Chip, one of Strugis' famous campgrounds, to see Bob Dylan. What an experience that was! Bob was good, no doubt about it, but it was the crowd there that was truly entertaining! I don't have any photos to put on here, (just as well, I might get arrested!) but there were girls there wearing nothing but skimpy bikinis - well, skimpy bikinis just painted on their skin - they were actually not wearing a stitch! Others wore little shorts - real ones - with bodices or corsets painted on as tops, & they all loved to be stopped by the guys to have their pictures taken. Well, you know what they say about having it & flaunting it! Speaking of which, one very large lady had a lot more than most, & she flaunted hers in a string vest -very scary!