Looking at the photo...

I just want to give a compliment to those motorists who simply keep driving when the streets are flooded. It is thanks to you that this nation stays afloat.

Yeah, I think I’ve pretty much crossed Sturgis off my bucket list.  Not a fan of big crowds and the reports coming out are very mixed.

When you were on I90 going through LaCrosse, WI and entered MN, you were very close to my hometown Winona, MN.  The main town is actually an island in the Mississippi River.  The main waterway on one side and a series of streams and lakes on the other side.  Taking Highway 61 “northish” along the river and bluffs is beautiful.  There are lots of eagles and osprey fishing the river.

Sade travels!  Enjoy!

Sunday afternoon update:

I just found the Sturgis Live Cams.

It is Sunday at 4PM - the streets are wet and most bikers are gone.  The traffic is cars and a few bikes driving through town - the sidewalks are mostly deserted.

Sturgis 2026 is over and done.

I watched a YouTube video from a fellow who has been going to Sturgis for years, and he had several comments about how it has changed.

He believes the prices are getting excessive and have affected attendance.  The opening day had attendance that was down only 3% - but by Thursday it was down 26%.  Weather was definitely a factor - but he also felt the $400-$500 a night hotel fees, $24 hamburgers and similar prices are just making it so folks can't afford to attend for more than a day or two.  Eating/drinking at the festival can easily top $100 a day if you buy from the downtown vendors.

Our stay in this area has revealed that there are plenty of places to stay and eat if you are willing to be 80 miles away from the event....the 1.5 hour rides to and from the event are wonderful roads to ride.

The number of Harleys on the road seems to be decreasing now that a couple of days has passed since the close of Sturgis.....it is amazing how loud some of these folks have made their bikes.  I just don't understand why they want their bikes to be so obnoxiously loud - they are not making friends with the general public (maybe that is their goal), and the folks who work in the park are glad they are gone for another 50 weeks!

Yesterday we took a long drive and visited Lead, Deadwood and Sturgis.

Lead was an interesting town at the top of a steep hill and was a town built to support the huge gold mine industry.  We visited the mining museum and learned a lot about the mining of the town.

At the bottom of the hill was Deadwood and we wanted to see the old part of the town and see if they had any fun stuff about Wild Bill Hickock or Calamity Jane - unfortunately there was a huge vintage car event and the main street of town was blocked off and the entire town was overwhelmed with cars and people.....we could not even find a parking spot and just drove out of town.

We then drove to Sturgis.  The town was all cleaned up from the rally and it is obvious that it is set up to be a "party" town.  The stages and floors set up for the bands and entertainment events were empty, there were a few stores that were huge and had all sorts of clothing and supplies for bikers.  There were many T shirt shops selling all kind of STURGIS related clothing.  We ate lunch at the Loud American and had a great lunch.  There is a Harley Davidson museum - unfortunately we did not know about it when we were in town and didn't go visit.

The roads were very scenic and nice - speed limits in the park are generally 35mph and there was light traffic while we have been here - roads outside the park are 45-60mph.  I have not seen a single Police Officer or any speed enforcement anywhere in the week we have been here.....however I have not seen anyone exceeding the speed limit to any degree, and everyone is driving at a relaxed pace.

It is a very scenic place, great for access to hiking, seeing wildlife and taking road trips through the hills and valleys and exploring history.  The roads offer nice scenic rides at a relaxed pace.  We will be visiting the Devils Tower and the Badlands in the next few days.

While in Sturgis Lily got a new Bandana!

The steer came right up to the fence and really enjoyed getting his head, neck and face scratched.  He would turn his head in order to get the scratching done in the spots that suited him most - I had to be watchful of those horns as they would cover a big arc when he turned his head and could easily cause some damage.  He was very gentle and enjoyed spending time at the fence - the others stayed in the field and ignored us.

darn... I didn't know you were this ugly.