Buffalo 2021

Today is September 9th, almost a full month after returning from our annual trek out to South Dakota. We dove right back into life after our return from vacation, as we all do, and it’s taken me this long to spend the time putting it into words. I hope you enjoy the trip as we relive it.

The above picture is from outside the Motel 6, in Avoca, Iowa, our new halfway stop.  At our old hotel, the Super 8 in Walnut, Iowa, we took an annual picture on the grounds outside, on every trip out to Sturgis. Now that the motel is closed due to a fire several years ago (you may remember that rant of mine – they didn’t bother notifying their guests) we’ve started a new tradition. Note the size of the trees in the background above my head. It will be neat to see how much they’ve grown in the years to come. (I know, I’m weird and think of things like this.)

We still stay at Chris Campground in Spearfish, South Dakota, to meet up with our friends. We go a week before rally, when things are a bit tamer. When rally starts, we head out and stay on our beloved land. The above photo is after we unloaded the bikes from the trailer and some of our gear.

I have been coming to this campground since 2004, our friends, several years before that. I remember when these trees were freshly planted saplings.

Now they hold hammocks.

The next morning, we rode with our friends from Iowa, Kim and Troy, to the Spearfish Perkins. It’s near and dear to us now, not only are there no Perkins in Michigan, we’ve come to know the staff on a first name basis and have watched some of the younger staff grow up.

On Tuesday, we went on a road trip with Kim and Troy to Medora, North Dakota. If you’ve never been, put it on your list!  We bought tickets to the pitchfork steak fondue dinner and the Medora Musical!  Here we are checking into the Medora Campground.

Our rustic campsite was across the road from what I suspected was a river based on that embankment. I would have to explore that later.

We set up the extra tents we brought for this occasion!  Similar to the road trip we took to Beartooth Pass a few years back.

And, like the trip to Beartooth Pass, our air mattress would not fit in the tent we chose to bring. This time it lifted the tent off the ground!

After setting up at the campground, we rode to the Medora Musical and I stopped to take a panorama of the landscape.

The venue for the pitchfork steak fondue dinner was outdoors and the weather was perfect!

Steaks on pitchforks!  We went through the buffet line of beans, baked potatoes, salad, fruit, veggies and dip, coleslaw, garlic bread, and then received our steak.

Everything was delish! I am a huge A1 steak sauce fan and it didn’t even need it!

Live music during dinner!

After dinner, we made our way down the escalator to their amphitheater for the Medora Musical and the show began!

Behind the set, the Medora sign glowed from the hillside. Bill caught a pic of a reindeer in this same frame.

Later, I caught a glimpse of the final performance from the side, it was a little less people-y.

The next morning, my curiosity got the best of me and Bill and I took a walk down a path to what I thought might be a river.

It was the Little Missouri River!

I had to grab this pic of the dry riverbed.

I took out my phone and (yes, I had a signal!) took a screen shot of Google Maps to record our position.

I close my eyes and I’m still there.

A great selfie opportunity with friends!

Before heading back to Spearfish, we returned to the town of Medora for breakfast and to nose around town, particularly the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame.

So much history!

It was a long, hot ride back to Spearfish that day. The next day at Perkins (again!) we spotted these bikes in the parking lot.

This time, we were joined by more friends, Greg and Leslie! They are longtime Sturgis goers and we were fortunate to be able to spend several days visiting as our trip itineraries crossed.

Soon it was laundry day and we found the NICEST laundromat in Belle Fourche, which is between our land and Spearfish.  ATM, change machine, restroom, wifi, vending machines, soap for purchase and wheelie carts. Super nice and clean. Oh, and built in USB ports in the walls. They thought of everything.  I think we found our new laundromat.

After a week in Spearfish, it was time to head north to our land. Work began on our 26 x 40 concrete pad and we were tickled pink. Here, our concrete guy began grading the area and installed the forms. The concrete was scheduled to be poured on August 10th, our 11th anniversary!

Our neighbors horses gather at his cattle guard. I have several pictures like this over the years and I love how it looks like they are posing for their picture. When really they are thinking, “Who the hell are you?”

Waiting for our concrete, we spend the next few days riding around our land. We were in Heaven.

Our beloved town consists of 350 people. This is our H & L SuperValu grocery store. Complete with creaky wood floors. I absolutely love it. The Groceries sign overhead sways with the wind and sounds like an old swingset. Tumbleweeds blowing down the street and the scene would be perfect.

I’ve been wanting to visit the Northwest Regional Library and we finally did!

Our librarian was super friendly.  We nosed through the small collection and it was neat to see cards again in the front covers of the books!

I found another one that was dated March of 1979.

Not to mention some classics.

Bill shared with me this book, through the shelves.  I’m glad we finally took the time to stop in.

So here we are, on August 10th. No concrete. Delays with the supplier. We were hoping at this point it would be poured before we left but it was not looking good.

The next day we took a ride out to the Slim Buttes. I’m so glad we did. We can see them from our land, but this gave me so much more appreciation!

Here is our view  of the Slim Buttes from our land. Now, when I’m home and look off in the distance, I’m reminded of their beauty.  <3

Our concrete dude returned to install the rebar. We would not be seeing concrete during this trip, unfortunately.

On one of our trips back home, we spotted this group of antelope. It’s common to see them off in the distance.

Tuesday, August 10th, our 11th anniversary.  We spent the day riding our dirt bikes and having a ball on the dirt track and hills of dirt our concrete dude made with his Bobcat (also known as a skid steer, I learned that this week).

Though we can see the the little dipper from Michigan, I miss evenings sitting out and gazing up at the milky way.

Until next year, my dear homestead.