After the brewery, we made it to Devil's Tower.  Here are some really cool picture of Devil's Tower, AKA landing area for Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

I don't know what it is about this place, it is just a rock jutting out of the earth, but we were mesmerized by Devil's Tower. 

After a great nights sleep in the tent, we woke and did a 5 mile hike around the tower and couldn't take our eyes off of it.  This place is a definite must for any traveling in the area!  We got back to camp around 11am, broke camp, and was out of there around 12:30.  Our goal for this night is to make it to Sheridan, Wyoming (only 173 miles) were we hear there are many breweries there and on the way to there.  Speaking of which, here are the breweries on the way to Sheridan:

We made it to Sheridan with time to check out the local brewery scene there...3 breweries in this small Wyoming town!!

Wow...what a day...6 breweries visited.  The next day we got up SLOWLY with the goal of making it to Laramie, Wyoming (300 miles) where we hear there are a few breweries to check out...but wait...on the way we found The Wonder Bar in Casper, Wyoming where Wyoming State Brewing Company calls home.  This would be a perfect stop for lunch.

After lunch, we checked the directions to Laramie from Casper and saw a shortcut through the mountains.  We headed up an incredible road that kept getting smaller and rougher till it turned into a dirt road.  We took the dirt road a couple of miles until we finally decided that our road bikes weren't made for this so had to back track at least 45 minutes...we weren't happy at the time, but it was a beautiful road and was really worth it now that we can look back on it.

We made it to Laramie with plenty of time to check out the brewery scene there:

Numbers Games
Total States Visited: 11 (New ones: Wyoming, Colorado)
Total Breweries Visited: 15 (New one: Miner, Gillette, Prairie Fire, Clear Creek, Sanford, Black Tooth, Luminous, Wyoming State, Coal Creek, Altitude, & Library)
Total Miles Ridden: 2,937

We left Fargo on Sunday, 3 August with the thought that we would make it to Sturgis that same day...that was until we stopped for lunch at a really good pizza place in Bismark, ND and then realized that there was a brewery in town as well.

As we were ready to leave the brewery it started pouring, so another delay in getting to Sturgis.  Looking at the radar it looked like the storm was going to pass through pretty quickly...1 hour later we were still watching the rain fall from Laughing Sun's window (there are definitely worse places to be stuck).  Finally the heavy rain ended, so with a bit of a drizzle falling, we donned our rain gear for the first time since we left Florida 8 days ago...not too bad of a run!

Finally, after 300 miles of riding on I-94 we were happy to get off the interstate and head south on US-85...little did we know what was in store for us.  This road was made of concrete slabs with a gap between them that felt like we were running over a stick every few seconds.  Plus, the road was in the middle of wide-opened ranges making it very windy.  When cars, or even worse, trucks passed us head-on, we had to hold on tight and close our eyes because of the serious draft they made.  Needless to say, as soon as we got to Bowman, ND, 60 miles down that horrendous road, we were ready to stop for the night.

The next morning the weather was much better and with only 135 miles to go to get to Sturgis we were off.  A couple of hours later we made it to Days End Campground in Sturgis, South Dakota.  We setup the tent and headed straight downtown to experience Sturgis.

As they say, pictures are worth a thousand words, so here are pictures of what Sturgis is like:

The reason the Sturgis rally is better than any other rally's out there is that the area is AWESOME to ride around.  The Black Hills of South Dakota is one of the most beautiful areas I have every ridden...even if it rained every day we went out riding.  I did really poorly pulling off the road to take pictures of the "beautifulness" of this area, but I did stop for Mount Rushmore and Sitting Bull:

And of course we stopped for a few breweries.

After 3 days and 2 nights in Sturgis and the Black Hills area we decided to call it a day and head to our next destination of Denver to visit with family for a week or so.  We headed back to Days End Campground for the last night under rainy skies.  The dirt road that lead to our campsite left quite the mess on my bike and me!

Numbers Games
Total States Visited: 9 (New ones: South Dakota)
Total Breweries Visited: 4 (New one: Laughing Sun, Sick & Twisted, Knuckle)
Total Miles Ridden: 1,804

We had a very nice visit with Jodie, Clint, and Troy.  One of the best things was having my very own kitchen to cook in. I have no regrets on our decision to live a life on the road, but one thing I do miss is having a kitchen to cook in.  Breakfast was served promptly at 10 am and dinner was on the table by 8 pm.  Nobody seemed to care about the time, and nobody complained about the cooking, so all was good.  After 3 days of too much food, just enough beer, and not enough time with family it was time to head north to Fargo.

We left the cabin with the goal to meet our motorcycle club brothers in Mount Vernon, Illinois (420 miles) for the night.  We stopped in Tennessee, just 1 mile short of the Kentucky boarder for gas and lunch.  I thought I'd send a text to Birdawg letting him know our progress and figured he would see it when they stopped for a break on their motorcycle. 

The next day we rode 400 miles and landed in De Forest, WI for the last night on the road before hitting Fargo.  Finally, on Thursday, 31 July we made it to Fargo ready to have a great time with our US Military Vets brothers and sisters from all over the country.

Of course, we also had to check out the local brewery scene at Fargo Brewing Company.

The next day we were out of there and on our way to Sturgis, South Dakota for the annual Black Hills Biker Rally.

Numbers Games
Total States Visited: 8 (New ones: Tennessee, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota)
Total Breweries Visited: 1 (New one: Fargo Brewing Company)
Total Miles Ridden: 1,300

Yesterday was an awesome day.  We got to be there for our great friend Dave Grassie's retirement celebration after 27 years in the United States Air Force.  One of the very cool parts of his ceremony is his son's Ryan and Cody, both active duty Air Force, participated in the ceremony.

After a day of celebration, we are now ready to hit the road for our next adventure...8,000 mile motorcycle ride. We loaded up our bikes and left around 9:00 AM to head to Chatsworth, Georgia to meet my sister and family in a cabin for a few days.

After we hit the road I realized that I forgot to take a picture of my speedometer so we can see the before and after to show the total miles ridden. So, here is the picture taken 126 miles down the road at our first gas station stop.

WAIT...WHAT'S UP WITH THAT?!? Oh, did you just notice that I am only 174 miles from turning the odometer over to 100,000 miles!  Why yes I am.  And here is the big event:

Well...that was fun making that video while riding down the highway!

After a few more gas station stops and 441 miles, we made it to the cabin where Jodie, Clint, & Troy had arrived just before us.  We are staying here for 3 nights and leaving on Tuesday morning for Mount Vernon, Illinois where we will be meeting up with Birdawg and Mouse who we will be joining for the rest of the ride to Fargo, North Dakota.

Numbers Games
Total States Visited: 3 (New ones: Florida, Alabama, Georgia)
Total Breweries Visited: 0
Total Miles Ridden: 441

While rehabilitating in Denver after the Pacific Crest Trail backpacking attempt, Tim decided that our next adventure should be a motorcycle trip.  He mapped out the proposed route that came out to around 8,000 miles.  At this point he decided that his current motorcycle was not up to the task and he needed a new bike.  One month later, we are picking up a brand new, 2014 Moto Guzzi California 1400 Touring Edition.

And of course he needed a new helmet to go with his spiffy new motorcycle.

Me, on the other hand, will continue riding my 1995 Harley-Davidson Softail Custom with almost 100,000 miles on it.  To be fair, at this time, I wouldn't want any other bike. I bought this bike in 1996 with 7,000 miles on it.   Since then, I have ridden the bike over 90,000 miles and loved every mile of it.  Here is my favorite picture of me and my Harley taken in 2005 during my motorcycle trip around Lake Superior: