Usually, when I work a Ride-In™, I'm at the event site the entire time. Thankfully, due to schedule changes over the years, I had a free day to go play and do stuff in the area.
So I returned to Wall Drug, SD for the first time in 17 years but with a friend this time. 😂
Tana earns her "Where the Heck is Wall Drug" bumper sticker just as Eleanor did those many years ago.
I guess meeting up with a fellow WOW Orange County Spirit Rider means riding nearly 1800 miles to the start point.
Couldn't quite replicate the jackalope ride due to maintenance...
National Park Service: Do not hug the fluffy cow.
Me: Rides to South Dakota and HUGS FLUFFY COW 🦬 🤗
It's behind us, isn't it? 🦖 Not pictured: the very confused Amish family watching the animatronics.
Updating the Sheriff with my other trip antics.
"I'm from Los Angeles. Of course I know how to use a rifle."
This Buttercup is smaller than that jackalope on Route 66, but there is still fuckery to spread.
Yeah this is a much nicer foray back to the Ride-In™ 😌
-----------
Been on the road for a while, so I needed a fuzzy fix since I left all my personal fuzzies at home.
Thanks to a billboard on I-90 returning from Wall Drug on Wednesday, I found out that there was a #catcafe here in #RapidCity. Originally, I had planned to visit after the Ride-In™ festivities were over, but Rebecca wanted to join in so it turned into a quick ride. Or so we thought...
So we rode over to @coffeeandthecats.sd and enjoyed delicious breakfast sandwiches (for lunch) and awesome coffee drinks. All of the drinks on their menu are named after varieties of cats. I got the "Ragdoll" which was a mocha with graham cracker flavoring and toasted marshmallows placed right in the drink.
Their cat room is completely enclosed with their own ventilation system, and you have to spray your shoes down before coming in. You pay admission to enter the room ($5/30 minutes) and interact with the kittehs. The adoptable ones come from the local humane society, and one of them is a permanent resident who just hangs out and does his own thing. The place has lots of play room for them and seats for the hoomans so the lap cats can join you.
After that, we headed over to @blackhillshd to acquire a rainsuit for Rebecca and was hit with an absolute downpour on the way here. Rebecca's prosthetic leg was wrapped in a trash bag and masking tape so it wouldn't get wet during the ride, but I wasn't spared. Of course, once she was fitted in the right rain suit, it stopped raining and the clouds parted. 😐 That's how it works, right?
On a similar note, the rats at home are fine because my volunteers are taking care of them so it's all good.
Today's my "off day" before leaving tomorrow morning to journey toward Seattle/Vancouver by way of Montana. It's so fitting that my first extensive motorcycle ride since 2013 retraces the journeys I took before my personal life went into a tailspin at the end of that year, which jumpstarted the chapter of my life that's actually turning out pretty cool now.
-----------------
WOW Orange County Spirit Riders (CA) 🤝 WOW Arctic Foxes (AK)
One last ride before we went our separate ways. Jaunts to Sturgis to see the H-D shop and public art along with a little shopping before heading to Devil's Tower just over the border on Wyoming. We ran into some WOW Ohio friends in Hulett so we all ate lunch together at Red Rock Cafe. The Cowboy Burger was pretty tasty.
I had custom silicone bracelets made for @southbayrodentrescue, and they arrived before I left for vacation so one ended up on my bike. I passed it on to my Alaska friend, Patti, so it'll continue roaming the country with her on one of her bikes. I have more where those came from.
We split off at Devil's Tower, with myself returning to Rapid City. I did a nerdy thing and stopped through Belle Fourche, SD to visit the Geographic Center of the United States before zooming back to ship my camera gear back home and do some laundry.
No comments:
Post a Comment