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The truck was packed and we left for 3 long days on the road.
I slept, Tony slept, Pam slept and Ted drove and drove and drove. Truck stop breaks were welcome.
Lots of interesting things along the roadside. Statues, self named Ghost towns, sunflower fields and even a dinosaur.
We stopped at the Corn Palace, and ran into Tony's twin sister.
As we get to Sturgis we are met by the greeting committee. After paying the greeting fee we arrive at the Buffalo Chip.
We checked out the amphitheater and setup camp. The next morning was beautiful.
We had to go to the airport in Rapid City to pick up Kooch and the skies turned dark. The storm washed out the camp.
Tony's tent was the worst hit. We spent the rest of the day drying things out.
The next day Ted and Tony built the bar, and Pam, Kooch and I put labels on cups.
Later that day we went to one of my favorite parts of the trip, Deadwood.
We watched a shoot out in the street and spent the rest of the night in the casino playing the slots. When we got ready to leave it started to rain and the camp was washed out again. Tony had left the tent door open and his tent was flooded. He was not a happy camper (Tantrum time). It was 2 am by the time we got things dry and went to bed.
The next day we got some tarps and rope and secured the camp. The first is Kooch's tent, then Ted's tent, my tent and the last is Tony's tent. After the last storm Tony went ballistic and ripped the tent apart. It was never the same after that.
After getting the camp in order we took the rest of the day and went to Mount Rushmore.
It was a nice ride with an old town and a guy selling sculptures.
That night Kooch and I got together with some other campers and went exploring. We heard a band playing a ways off and went towards it. It was there I met Rupert Boneham from Survivor. We spent time together that week and have kept in touch since.
Up until now it has been rather quiet and calm at the Chip. However that was about to change. It has been 7 day since we left Florida and it is just now the first official day of the rally, and the first concert of the week. First up was Lee Rocker, a really good Rockabilly band.
The next up was The great Dave Mason. That night the crowds were small and made for a fantastic concert.
The next day was crash and burn day. Ted had let a sponsor set up a tent for his display ( see the white tent ) and a sudden storm came out of nowhere and twisted it up and blew it away. The people running that tent never came back so it made room for the Big Daddy Rat inflatable. Also that day a fast moving delivery truck ran Tony into the gate and put a gaping hole in the rear fender of the truck. All the travel, set up work, and walking caught up with me and I laid down to get a nap and slept right through that nights concert, Drowning pool, and Tesla.
The next day was better by far. I had an invite to be wined and dined at an AMD pre show party, but had no transportation. My old friend Cyril Huze showed up and said he was going to the same party and would give me a ride. Problem solved. Before we could leave Cyril had to cover a charity event where Pee Wee Herman was to make his entrance. Pee Wee had stopped by the Rats Hole trailer that day to sit on someones bike. You can see how excited Pam was at that.
After that Cyril and I left for town and the AMD show, and then back to the Chip because he left his glasses. He never found his glasses so we headed back to town. After standing in line for food and chowing down Cyril went to take pictures of the women and I checked out the bikes.
By this time Cyril had wandered off some where, but that was OK, he only promised a one way ride. So I wandered down Main street to find the stop for a tram service called " Da Bus ". I don't think I have ever been on a bus like this before. At least not on the public streets. It is a n old school bus decorated with colored lights inside and a big stereo blazin rock music. Everyone on board was drunk and havin a great party, while the driver also acted as bartender and sold beers out of a cooler by his side. It was a fun ride. We went through downtown and stopped at all the major clubs, Iron Horse. Broken Spoke, Monkey Rock, Full Throttle, and back to the Buffalo Chip. I got there too late and missed the concert for " The Guess Who " but was just in time for "Credence Clearwater". The crowd was small and fun, it was a sing-along.
One other thing unique to this type of event is that many of the people in the crowd are on their motorcycles and when they cheer for the band they fire up the bike and rev the engine and make a roar. Listen to the video.
It was finally Monday and the people that had been traveling all weekend to get there were starting to arrive. It was at that point that things started to get a little crazy. Helicopters were over head constantly. There was machinegun fire from the range across the road. Stunt shows were going on. By 2 in the afternoon the amphitheater was starting to fill with people waiting for the concert to start at 8 that night.
It was the first mega concert Buckcherry and ZZTOP. By concert time it was nutz! Except for Tony ( not a music guy ).
The engine roar between songs was deafening.
I took some time the next day to go into the Motorcycles As Art exhibit in the building behind the Rat trailer. More fantastic bikes to see.
That night Bob Dylan and Kid Rock were playing and the crowds were even larger and starting to get a bit stranger. Clothing started to become optional. Many of the women that were coming in were wearing nothing but paint. Some took their clothes off when they got there and had the airbrush guy next to us paint something on. Kooch had a naked woman standing right in front of him, but was so busy selling a cup to her boyfriend he didn't notice. Everything was over flowing. Tony ran into Ron Finch in the crowd and had a chance to talk.
It was Wednesday and it was a busy crowded noisy but pretty normal day. Film crews were shooting burnouts for something. I went up and saw the veterans memorial with the worlds largest flag. The calendar girl for the Chip got her photo on Ted's bike, and Tony took a nap.
The crowd that night was even larger to see Stone Sour and Motley Crew, with a visit of the guys from OCC to promote their new TV show.
The crowd was so worked up after the Crew played it was nuts all night. I sat in my tent in the dark at 2 am and shot this video. There is no picture.
I was now Thursday, the day for out Rats Hole Custom Bike show. We did something special and took on a celebrity judge for this show Lorenzo Lamas ( Renegade, Falcon crest ).
It was a pretty good show overall.
I found on Youtube a video from a helicopter of our show in progress.
That nights concert was Ozzy Osborne. It was the biggest crowd yet.
It was now friday, everybody is starting to get tired. That nights concert was Disturbed and The Scorpions. It was the best stage production so far. A new friend of ours Dave, went back stage and got his picture with the Scorpions.
It was now Saturday the last official day of the Black Hills Rally, and the last day for the Chip. The day was nothing special, making the rounds one more time and saying goodbye to the friends we made. But that night was the last concert. The concert I had been waiting all week for, The Doobie Brothers. This was one of my main reasons for even coming. People had been leaving early for the long trip home, so the crowd was smaller. There weren't any customers at the trailer so we closed up early so we could all go to the show. It was as good as I had hoped.
We decided to stay on one more day and relax before we took the long ride home. We got our packing done for the next day and headed for Deadwood. There was more time this trip to enjoy the town and see the sights.
While we were in #10 we found a picture of Tony's grandmother on the wall.
We got ourselves together early that morning and set out for the long ride home. I was even more crowded in the back seat since we had to give Kooch a ride to Illinois. We got as far as the Welcome to Sturgis and had to stop at the weigh station to be greeted by the Exiting committee. They were not pleased with our rig and after an inspection and a lecture and a large fine and an hour and a half we were back on the road.
The rest of that days ride was quiet. And so was the rest of the trip. Everyone was tired and ready to get home.
As far as next year goes,,,, When do we leave?