The Sturgis Bike Rally is an event I always thought about going to but never quite thought I would make but this year " The 68th Anniversary" I did and it was fantastic! Frankly I expected just another "bike week" with vendors and bars along with the TnA chrome and paint. Which of course is what it is but on a grander scale than others. I mean look at the line up of music playing throughout the

week; Kiss, Lynyrd Skynyrd, John Fogarty, Kid Rock, ZZ Top, Saliva, Alice Cooper, The Kentucky Headhunters, The Guess Who, Theory of a Deadman, Marshall Tucker Band, Kenny Chesney, 3 Doors Down, The Fryed Brothers Band, Finger Eleven, Pat Travers, Staind, Dan Lawson and dozens of lesser known groups, tribute bands and comedians including Larry the Cable Guy. Steven Tyler of Aerosmith was there promoting his new line of custom Red Wing motorcycles. Then of course there was every builder and manufacturer displaying their works and giving demos and pressing flesh with their peers and fans. It is impossible to see it all and get a good scoot in. Hell its impossible to see and do it all no matter how you slice it. But we managed to take in a good amount of the main street chaos and night spots like the Broken Spoke Saloon and Campground (where we made our home base) featuring the biggest bar and pool around. I swear you could fit 10 of my homes inside this saloon that features a lane made specially to ride through the building upon arrival. Also located in the same building are a cigar store a Tattoo shop a place to buy Broken Spoke merchandise and outdoor and indoor decks two stories up. Holy Crap is was awesome. You can eat, drink, rock, get some ink have a smoke buy a shirt and take a swim and ride about 2 hundred yards to your camper and crash! The Full Throttle Saloon was another big place however spread over several buildings and then there is Glenco camp/resort and the Buffalo Chip which is where Senator John McCain arrived on Monday to speak to the Vets. It was on this day we decided to bolt out of town and head for Yellowstone National Park. After a 385 mile ride that included me getting a flat on the rear tire of my Dyna (thanks to my buddy Ski we were able to do the complete repair on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere) we arrived in the town of Cody Wyoming. We were pretty shot and scorched so we ate shot the shit and crashed. Next morning with a fresh head we headed roughly 60 miles to Yellowstone. There are no words to express how intensely beautiful this place is. It is vast beyond comprehension and filled with all kinds of Gods creatures ranging from Buffalos (bisons) where one stopped two feet from me and stared me down on a small bridge and all I could think as I sat on my bike trapped in traffic was please don't charge the bike lol) bears and Elk to rabbits and prairie dogs running all over the place. The landscape is breathtaking and unique with all sorts of lakes and rivers and mountains and prairies. Then there are the geysers and hot springs and mud springs. Pictures can not really do it justice. Even if you can't do the bike thing take the family here at least once you will all enjoy it. After two days of riding through the park it was time to head back to Sturgis. We rode through Big Horn park and one of the bikes ran out of gas, So after taking care of that we stopped in the town of Tensleep for lunch and fuel. Thats when the fun started first my bike started spewing fuel from a loose line (I guess I beat the bike a little hard and it vibrated loose) and after a quick fix we were tearing up the roads again when one of the passengers pocketbooks fell from the bike after we found that, we were off again. A half hour later in the mountains one of the bikes starts shitting oil. After an hour and a jury rigged repair we were running again. Needless to say after we finally got back to Sturgis all anyone wanted to do was rest. After breakfast we went to Deadwood and hit the stores casinos and met some Playboy bunnies. Then it was off to some cave which was cool and lame at the same time. That night we went to the strip and had dinner at Mamas which had great italian food then around the corner to the Knuckle Saloon where I saw one of the best bands I have seen in a while. The Fryed Brothers are a group of on first site average grungy bikers. But man can they play and the singer Harry has an amazing voice and the harmonies were dead on with three albums and a DVD I kept wondering why these guys are not more well known. Maybe now they will be Wink! The next day it was off to Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse. Again you have to see it to get it. All in all we rode 1800 plus miles on two wheels and 3700 plus in the truck so if you don't mind I am going to put on some Kitaro and pass out. Oh did I tell you I dropped the bike on a dirt and gravel back road? Oh yeah Good times! On the air and in the wind, Fingers