Backtracking to 164th Avenue

164th Ave. Field, 8x10

WE SPEND THE NIGHT in Sturgis, home of the giant motorcycle rally, and in the morning, we decide to backtrack east of Rapid City, to a field we saw before our days in Custer State Park. The sunflowers could be gone by - but they might be in good bloom, and who knows how many more sunflowers - if any - we will find! 

Happily, the the field we remember is in even more glory than when we first saw it. And when we pull off the highway onto 164th Avenue - which is as rural as you can get - we see not only that field but another huge one beyond it. 

It's quiet as I paint. The sound of the highway drifts over from time to time, and during the hours that we are there, one pickup goes by. Aside from that, we hear only the wind, and the occasional  honeybee. 

South Dakota is one of the least populous states in the country. Wyoming has the fewest people, with 581,000. South Dakota is not far behind, with 846,000. By contrast, California - the most populous - has 39 million. Virginia has 8 million. 

I love the big empty spaces in South Dakota. The plains have always called to me, and that probably goes a long way to explain my love of the Eastern Shore - it is like the Midwest but with water. 

And while much of South Dakota seems like the Midwest, a good chunk of it feels like very much the West, with mountains, western-looking towns, horses, ranches, and even the occasional cowboy. 

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The Caboose

The caboose

IN STURGIS, we stay in a caboose at the Hideaway Campground. It is just as cute as can be! There's a queen bed and a bench that turns into a comfortable single, right next to the bathroom. No range, but a microwave and coffee maker, and a delicious breakfast cooked for us in the morning by Tami, who runs the place with her mother and brother. 

In addition to the caboose, there is a variety of fun, funky buildings (?) where people can stay. One - Aladdin Nights, I think is its name - is in a former tank. Another looks like a chicken coop. Still another is a renovated sheepherder's wagon. 

There are many tent sites, as well, and a variety of showers, bathrooms and laundry facilities. There's even a telephone booth! 

Tami says that during the bike rally, 70 people stay on the site. 

Carol enjoying a quiet time reading, above. Me, remembering telephone booths, below. 

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Sturgis

BIKE WEEK - or, formally, the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally - turns out to have been a bit of a disappointment this year, according to a number of people we speak with. Attendance was down, the bikers didn't stay as long as usual, and they didn't spend as much money as they generally do. 

And to the people of the Sturgis area, all of this is vitally important. The event generates upwards of $800 million in annual revenue, with the town of Sturgis getting more than $270,000, or 21 percent of its annual budget. Lots of money goes to local charities, as well. 

The event started in 1938, to show off Indian Motorcycles in stunts and races. Since then, it's grown exponentially, and has become associated - at least in my mind - with Harley Davidson, though according to everything I read, all types of bikes and bikers are welcome. 

About 500,000 people generally attend the rally. The 75th anniversary Bike Week, in 2015, drew 700,000 people. 

At one point, a few decades ago, the town of Sturgis contemplated stopping the event. It had become marked by violence and left the town filthy and damaged. But instead, people tell us, Sturgis rallied and figured out how to monitor the event peaceably and effectively, and get and keep the streets and area clean. 

Still, there are issues. Native American tribes in the area have protested the amount of alcohol consumed during the event. More than $250,000 worth of bikes are stolen every year, and, in addition, many stolen bikes are recovered at the event by authorities. 

And bikers are getting older. At our hotel in Rapid, the week after the final weekend of the rally, we speak with a number of bikers in their late 60s and 70s. Some are riding trikes, a few are on bikes with sidecars, and others are hauling trailers that contain their motorcycles. 

Mick, our waitress at the Knuckle Saloon, says that with fewer older riders, young ones dominated the rally this year. She derides them as being spoiled, entitled brats, and shakes her head at what she sees as the demise of the event. 

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Dog of the Day

It's Willow, who spends a lot of time at the Hideaway Campground. She barks and barks and barks until she gets her frisbee - and we begin to throw it. She is relentless, a great catch and a thoroughly fun and amusing little doggie. 

The Annual Sturgis® Motorcycle Rally™ turns our town of 6,800 into a city of over 450,000 each year.  In 2015 we hosted the 75th Annual Rally with an estimated attendance of 739,000!