Day 14 Sept. 16, 2008 Tuesday

This trip originally had three destinations: the V-Rod homecoming rally in Kansas City, Mo; the newly opened Harley museum in Milwaukee, Wi; and a ride thru the Black Hills, S.D. with attendance at the nighttime lighting ceremony at Mount Rushmore. The bad weather forced me to skip the new Harley museum, but Keystone, S.D. is only a days ride from North Platte. Keystone is only four miles from Mount Rushmore, and right in the heart of the Black Hills. My wife and I drove thru the whole area about this same time of year three years ago. Harley riders are quite familiar with this area because Sturgis is at the North end of the Black Hills. A pilgrimage to Sturgis during the second week in August has attracted up to 600,000 bikers. It is a tradition that started some 68 years ago. Now, that many bikers, most of them on Harleys, tend to be a noisy bunch. The party goes on 24/7, so sleep is often not an option. Those of us that require 8 hours of sleep every night tend to sneak into Sturgis after all the vendors go home when the party is over. So I arrived in time to get moteled, and go to the lighting ceremony at Mount Rushmore. The ceremony is one of the finest tributes to democracy I have ever had the privilege to attend.