Featured Touring 3,113 Miles Across The American West - With A Nip Of Sturgis Mixed In

Day #7: Deadwood through Spearfish Canyon to Sturgis and back to Deadwood
Total Miles: 70

We're based in Deadwood for three nights so it was nice to sleep in a wee bit then make a plan for our day in the Black Hills. Steve and I planned to ride together today and we checked in with Russell to see what his plans included. We met up at our favorite coffee joint in Deadwood, The Pump House, an old converted gas station that is now half coffee house/sandwich place and half glass blowing studio.



This was my view from the patio while sipping my latte.



Russell planned to have breakfast with our buddy, Chas, who had trailered his bike from Tucson and was staying at Chris's Campground up the road a few miles. The three of us had coffee together and then walked to the place they were to meet for what Chas calls "the best raspberry french toast in the world". Note: I had it last year and have to disagree with his assessment. Which is why I had my breakfast at The Pump House.

A couple of the old, lovely homes on Deadwood's upper Main Street on our stroll to the Gold Country Casino restaurant.





Well, as we arrived the restaurant was closing up which was really odd since there were people inside still eating and it was only 8:45AM. I was a bit suspicious of the kitchen in terms of safety and cleanliness last year so, hmmm.... Anyway, while we were waiting for Chas to show up, I looked around the parking lot and saw this interesting bike artwork. This type of design is known as a Sugar Skull.

Google:
Sugar skulls are brightly decorated, edible ornaments used during Mexico's Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebration to honor deceased loved ones, representing the deceased's personality and the joy of life and death as part of the life cycle.

You see lots of sugar skull artwork around the American Southwest



A look at the other side of this bike revealed that the owner had a turbo charger on it. He walked up as we were looking at it and I asked him if it was a Trask turbo. Yep! The owner was from Minnesota (next door to South Dakota) but Nick Trask is a well-known builder in Phoenix just up the road from Tucson.



Steve and I excused ourselves while Russell and Chas and a couple others in their group hemmed and hawed about what their plans were. We were eager to get on our bikes and ride through Spearfish Canyon and on to Sturgis! Our route for the day. We did it clockwise so went through the canyon then on to Sturgis to walk around and see the sights.



There's typically a photographer stationed along the road in the canyon and this year was no exception. I thought we might have been a bit early since we were riding the Monday before the rally's start on Friday. But, yep, there he was! And here's the photo he took. You can just plus in www.sturgis.com and a link is there to look for any photos based on the date and time of day. The bummer was that there weren't any photos of Steve for some reason. But here's the one of me and my Street Glide. Well, you'll have to believe it's me since you can't see my face behind my orange face shield.


Spearfish Canyon is beautiful and I love riding there along the canyon walls and next to the stream running along the road. Here's a bit of information about this lovely route, thanks (again) to Mr. Google. These days is seems it's starting to be Mr. AI.

AI generated
"Spearfish Canyon Road from Cheyenne Crossing to the city of Spearfish is approximately 20 miles long. The drive is a scenic byway along U.S. Highway 14A and can take about 30 to 60 minutes to complete, depending on stops.

• Distance: About 20 miles.
• Route: The drive follows Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway (US 14A) through a narrow, 1,000-foot-deep limestone canyon
• Starting Point: Cheyenne Crossing.
• Ending Point: The city of Spearfish.
• Estimated Time: 30 to 60 minutes of driving time, but allow more time for stops at waterfalls and viewpoints.

• Waterfalls: Bridal Veil Falls and Spearfish Falls are popular attractions along the route.
• Canyon Walls: Experience towering limestone palisades and ancient rock formations.
• Wildlife: Look for mountain goats, deer, and eagles.
• Recreational Opportunities: Pullouts and trails allow for fishing, hiking, and closer views of the creek and waterfalls."

The day was overcast which was nice because it kept the temperatures cool. In fact, almost too cool! I should have brought a lightweight jacket with me. Silly I didn't since I have two big saddlebags! The perils of unpacking for several days...... We easily found a parking place on a street just off Lazelle Street. Lazelle parallels Main Street in Sturgis and is where the majority of the big dealers (Harley and Indian in particular) and vendors set up shop.



I couldn't resist taking a photo of this business! With the Sturgis sign in the background.



Day #7 continued in my next post

 

Day #7 continued: Spearfish Canyon to Sturgis

Here's the Sturgis hillside sign again with the Indian Motorcycle setup in the foreground. It was interesting to see both Harley and Indian folks hard at work setting up their vendor areas which each encompassed nearly a full city block! They had tents and displays and demo bikes and setups for demo rides. It was really quite impressive how much work goes into all this prior to the first day of the rally!



One of the VERY blingy bikes in the H-D vendor area. This is a Low Rider ST like my blue Low Rider but with a quite different pain job!



The corner of Lazelle Street and Harley-Davidson Way. Note the dark clouds that were rolling in.



Steve and I had several specific destinations in Sturgis that we wanted to hit. One of those was the Sturgis Harley-Davidson store. This year was the first year that this dealership was actually a true dealership--selling motorcycles and not just motor clothes and parts. The display they had set up in the parking lot was quite impressive. And they seemed to be selling a lot of bikes even this early before the rally start. That's Steve ogling a 2025 Road Glide with a tourpak. He has a 2021 Road Glide with about 30K on it now.


There were numerous bikes for sale with custom paint jobs, many of which simply had a "replacement" tank badge--the word "Sturgis" painted in script like this one.



This "throne" made from motorcycle parts was positioned in front of the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum. My kind of throne.....



This restroom sign inside the Cycle Gear store was certainly appropriate to the event and it made me laugh! It was only on the men's room, though. What the heck!?



On Main Street



Another of our destinations for the day was this place, the Stinger Saloon. George Ganem and his partner (dang, can't remember his name) own this place. George owns a very successful jewelry store in Phoenix and his offshoot jewelry business is called Night Rider. Steve and I have a number of Night Rider jewelry pieces and always check out the Night Rider store which is right across the street from the saloon. We did look around in the store but were more interested in hitting the saloon this year.



This is the wall behind the bar



Day #7 continued in my next post

 

Day #7 continued

This is the "logo" for the DOBERS, a group that George started when he got interested in heavy silver jewelry which appealed to a certain subset of bikers. DOBER stands for Dirty Old Bastards Enjoying Retirement (or Riding or whatever R you choose to use). Steve is a DOBER so that really was the initial connection. Steve has a big silver ring that's this bald hairy cigar chomping guy.



Some "artwork" in the Stinger Saloon. No disrespect meant (I assume) to Mt. Rushmore...



One of the bartenders told us that George was out back so Steve went back to say hi. When he returned to the bar I said I was going to go say hi, too. Well, as usual, I wound up pulling up a chair and jawboning with George, his partner, and another guy we met here in Tucson at a local event. His "name" is Big Tow.

From left to right: Big Tow, George, George's partner (I think he actually goes by Stinger) Those rings on George and Big Tow are the DOBER guy.



After departing the Stinger Saloon, we wandered down the street and found a place to get lunch. The weather was looking a bit suspicious so we decided to ride back to Deadwood to wander around closer to our hotel and with the bikes parked in the (covered!) parking structure.

This stream runs right along our hotel and then disappears...under the street! Somehow it's routed right underneath the town of Deadwood.

Back in Deadwood.........





Main Street Deadwood. I thought it was pretty busy for being four days away from the start of the rally! I think more and more people are doing what we're doing--arriving early to beat the crowds and the escalated prices.



Not all motorcycles at the Sturgis Rally are Harleys!



Or big... This Honda Rebel is just like what I did my learner class on!







Day #7 continued (and concluded) in my next post

 

Day #7 continued

Steve and I just love wandering around in Deadwood as if you hadn't figured that out! Evening was setting in so we started back towards our hotel but the best was yet to come for this day. And that's saying a lot!

There's a small park area in Deadwood that's called Outlaw Square. Its location on the corner of Deadwood Street and Main Street is the former site of Deadwood's City Hall and the Deadwood Theater. Different events are held here during the rally. This evening, movies were being shown and folks sat on blankets on the ground or portable chairs they'd brought along. The movie showing was perfect for the occasion--that's Nicholas Cage in "Ghost Rider"!



And here's me with my drinking buddy, Calamity Jane



This woman back-parking an off-the-charts chopper was definitely a show stopper!



When we walked back into out hotel, who should we run into but our buddy, Craig aka "Raw Sewage"! He was right there in the casino in all his glory. He and I had texted prior to our trip to see if we'd be in Deadwood at the same time so we could reconnect. Craig is from Tennessee near Nashville. If you saw my thread from last year, you'll remember this character. We thought we'd miss each other this year, but he was so sweet. He came a day early so we'd be sure to get together! This is us a bit later in the evening after a few tastes of the moonshine bourbon he'd brought with him.



After our "reunion" in the casino we walked out to the parking structure so Craig could show us what he'd brought with him this year. On our way to his car (no, not bike...there's a story to that), we saw this contraption. NOT Craig's! Although if the shoe fits.....



Last year Craig rode his Harley trike to the rally and had several duffle bags stowed in his bike's trunk for delivery to his Black Hills friends (including George Ganem). Craig and Steve and I originally met in 2019 at the rally and then again last year because of Craig's DOBER patch on his vest. I love how motorcycles connect people. Bourbon seems to do that, too. Now we're friends for life and connect over that.

Anyway, Craig showed us the main reason why he drove his SUV to the rally this year rather than riding. He had lots (and I mean lots) of bourbon mason jars with him this time. I'd mentioned last year that we'd definitely be in the market for a jar of our own if we met up again this year and he was happy to oblige. But before we traded bourbon for bucks, we found ourselves in his hotel room (same hotel as us) again like last year, sampling the goods.







While we sat drinking and chatting, Craig told us the story behind how he came to be in a music video. I've attached the YouTube link here. Craig lives next door to a singer named Eric Lee Beddingfield and the two have become good friends. Well, Eric was making a video down in Georgia about a moonshiner named GeeChee. Eric invited Craig to com down and watch the process. When the producer saw Craig, he wound up letting the original Geechee character go and hired Craig on the spot. I think he made the right choice. Check this out! And it's a great song, too. Craig said there's another video in the making and he's been asked to be in that one, too.



Stay tuned for Day #8!
For those of you following this thread, thanks for your patience. I'm trying to get my posts in in between my work stuff. Which I'm bringing home far too frequently right now.

 

For those of you following this thread, did you notice yet another DOBER ring on our buddy, Craig, in my Day #7 report?

 

Day #8: Cruising (with legs not wheels) around Deadwood
Total Miles: 0

Steve and I decided to leave the bikes in the parking lot for the day and explore Deadwood by foot. Russell joined us early on at our "hangout", The Pump House. I included a couple of photos of this place previously from the outside. Here's a shot of the interior. That's Russell 2nd in line in case you didn't recognize him.



Russell had other plans after breakfast, and Steve and I decided to check out some side streets that we'd never seen before. That turned out to be a great choice!





Although we were only a block off the main streets of Deadwood and didn't know what to expect in terms of sights, we hit the jackpot! This is a place that fabricates parts for and restores old Indians. It was really cool and they also have 85 employees in the nearby city of Rapid City. The right half of the building was a beautiful showroom with lots of old Indian memorabilia and the other half was a working shop.















Day #8 -- Cruising around Deadwood continued in my next post

 

Day #8 continued

Steve had heard about a place called The Adams House which was only a few blocks from Jerry Greer's. Our walk to get there was through a cool, old residential neighborhood. The Adams House definitely stood out from the much smaller homes in the neighborhood, though.



This house was home to two families, both of whom were quite wealthy for the day and also quite influential in the community of Deadwood. The Franklin family built the house and two generations lived in it. The Adams family owned the house later.





This was our wonderful tour guide. He was extremely knowledgable which made total sense when he told us what his "other job" is. He is a high school history teacher and is working on his Master's Degree and will also teach at a local college. He grew up on the family ranch in the nearby town of Hammond, Montana, a town we rode through on our way from Red Lodge to Deadwood.



All of the furniture in the Adams House is what was in it when the last owner inhabited it. It stood empty for 53 years and the interior was still in quite good shape when a group decided to turn the place into a museum. Our guide told us the exterior needed much more work and some it looks fairly different from the original. But the interior is "original" right down to the dishes displayed on the dining room table. The silverware, glassware, and dishes were found stored in a safe in the wall in the dining room!





That "box" on the right is one of the first electric refrigerators in the United States.



Here are a few more photos from our off-out-beaten-path exploration of Deadwood.







Day #8 continued in my next post --- back to Main Street!

 

Soooo fun to see your photos from the same places I just was, too, @Bikerman!!

 

You're welcome, @learningtofly! I'm slowly but surely adding our trip days as I'm able. Thanks for hanging in there with me!

I'm struggling with my new job in terms of efficiency and time. And last weekend we spend Friday--Monday in Ohio for a family celebration on Steve's side. Weekends are when I have the time to add posts. I am finding that when I go through my photos to post about our Sturgis trip or if I'm catching up with the latest forum news, I get some (blessed!) relief from obsessing about work.

 

Thank goodness, @Bikerman! I'd have been really bummed out if I spent time posting then the photos didn't "take". One of life's truisms these days. When in doubt, "reboot"!

 

Day #8 continued. Hanging out on Main Street in Deadwood

The Wild Bill Hickok Saloon. Bill was allegedly shot and killed here during a poker game. More on that later in this post...



There's a lot of art on Deadwood's Main Street. Some of it is beautiful and some of it is more along the lines of creative and unique.



And some of the art you can ride! Yee-haw, Russell, riding in his Tevas.





Our moonshiner buddy, Craig, has a bit of a job each year that he attends the Sturgis Rally. There's a clothing and sundries store called Madame Peacock's that also has a bar in back. (Which seems like a good idea to me!) Craig used to spend so much time there that one day the bartender on duty asked Craig to man the bar while he ran an errand. It went so well that now he works there every year. Steve and I stopped in Madame Peacock's to see if he was on duty. Sure enough, yep. There he was in all his glory!



He told me to come behind the bar for a photo and handed my phone to one of his regular customers to snap a pic of the two of us.



There's a well-known artist in the motorcycle world (especially Harley world) named Scott Jacobs who has a gallery on Main Street. He also owns the restaurant where Steve and I ate our first night in town.



This year Scott's art was featured on the official Sturgis Rally Guide. This display was in the gallery when you walked in the front door. Scott's art has a very distinctive style as you will notice in my next several photos.



One of the coolest things about this studio is that it also has a number of vintage Harley-Davidson motorcycles on display.





Day #8 continued (and finished) in my next post