I headed off to the National BMW Motorcycle Rally in Gillette, WY, and had a great ride! I spent some time near and around Gillette and then riding around the Black Hills of South Dakota. I managed to bypass Sturgess where the town was getting ready for the a huge Harley weekend.
Gillette is a boom town that supplies the nation with coal. Four new mines are opening and a power plant is also on the horizon.
If you saw "Close Encounters" you'll remember Devil's Tower. This place is awesome!! Out in the middle of nowhere, this huge tower of rock rises tall. The indians believe that several small girls were playing when a bear started to attack them. The girls prayed to the gods to save them and the ground rose up to put them out of reach of the bear. Of course the bear clawed and clawed to reach the girls, leaving the existing pattern on the side of the tower.
There were over 5,000 attendees at this year's rally, most camping. I took this picture the night before I left and when most of the neighbors had already left. The first night of the rally we had to endure a drenching downpour and lighting that shook the ground.
On the way back I went up North and just South of Montana to the Big Horn Mountains. Great scenery in this part of the country! Moving South I went through several small towns including Thermopolis whose claim to fame is the largest natural hot springs in the world.
