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Interesting Sights and Facts |
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Written by Susan Hollingshead
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Thursday, 12 July 2007 11:39 |
 Though the AVA rally is over, the good riding weather remains so this morning we went for a cruise along the Needles Highway to Sylvan Lake. Our ride took us through some crazy, tiny tunnels, in really beautiful country and on some very cool roads for motorcycling. Today’s pictures are of Sylvan Lake (I thought it was gorgeous and the picture just can’t capture it fully) and the other, one of the narrow tunnels along the Needles Highway.
Motorcyclists are this part of the world’s bread and butter and they are welcomed everywhere. As I mentioned earlier, the Sturgis Bike Week which begins next month, brings over a half a million people here and in actuality lasts for closer to three weeks. Everywhere we’ve been there have been dozens of RV parks and most seem almost empty. We’ve wondered how they stay in business and today we learned that many of them make most of their annual income in that three week period. Likewise there are businesses here that only open for one month a year.
We stopped in Deadwood, South Dakota’s version of Las Vegas, for lunch (every business has slot machines and card tables) and our waitress told us that during the Sturgis weeks, she sends her three year old away because “it’s no place for a child”. Every town within a 60 mile radius becomes a biker haven; the streets are filled with motorcycles and some towns ask auto drivers to stay away. Apparently there are tons of accidents; the National Guard comes in to set up alcohol checks every 25 miles and the whole area is just a huge party. Booking accommodation needs to be done a year in advance and restaurants stay open until people stop coming in. Though it would be fun to see it once (as a fly on the wall perhaps) I am glad we are leaving here before the place goes mad!
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