Mt. Rushmore

Mt Rushmore is about an hour and a half south west of Wall SD, and the next stop on our trip.  It was a bit overcast so the photos aren't as nice as if there had been a nice blue sky with a few white clouds scattered around.  Jane said George Washington winked at her.  I didn't see it but I told her he was known to be a bit of a flirt, she said no, his eyesight is just not what it used to be and he probably thought that she was Martha.

Wall Drug - Wall SD

As you might guess from the previous group of photos, Wall SD is located close to the Badlands, actually just a few miles north of the wall formation.  Wall SD is a small town of less than 1,500 inhabitants, but Wall Drug is visited by folks from all over the world.  Back in the 30's folks traveling through the area were enticed by the offer of 'free ice water' to get off the road for a little while and relax at Wall Drug.  Today Wall Drug covers an entire city block and offers souvenirs, western wear, western art, ice cream, home furnishings, old photos, and just about anything else a traveller might want, including free ice water.  There are stainless steel buckets filled with ice, scattered all through the facility, right next to water dispensers and stacks of plastic cups.

In The Badlands - South Dakota - cont'd

These photos from the Badlands National Park show why this area is called the Badlands, these lands don't appear to be good for anything.  The formation, caused by hundreds of years of erosion is referred to as the wall.  It extends for about 60 miles.  Temperatures in the afternoon as we travelled through were in the high 90's.

In The Badlands - South Dakota

Traveling across South Dakota on I-90 can be difficult on a motorcycle.  We had a 25-40 MPH cross wind most of the day.  On a motorcycle you lean to the left to turn left and lean to the right to turn right.  If you want to go straight you just don't lean.  All that changes when you have a cross wind.  In a cross wind you have to lean into the wind to go straight.  This gets old real quick, but we had to do it for the better part of the day This photo gives you an idea of what our horizon looked like for most of the day. 

Corn Palace - Mitchell SD

We took a couple of pictures of the Corn Palace.  All the decorations on the front of the building are made of corn and other crop materials grown in South Dakota.  The theme and all the vegetable material is changed every year.  If you look closely you will see that the large panel on the left side of the building is only partially completed.

The Arch in St. Louis

We got off I-70 long enough to get a couple shots of the Arch.

COUNT DOWN TO DEPARTURE

This duck takes Wing on August 29, 2008 for it's next adventure. This duck is our second generation rubber duck traveling companion. We acquired it on Mackinac Island in Michigan about four years ago and it started traveling with us in the fall of 2005 when we purchased our Pearl Yellow Honda GL1800 Gold Wing. It rides on our antenna and looks over Jane's left shoulder and keeps an eye on all that happens.

This trip starts in the Chattanooga Tennessee area and goes all the way to the northwestern corner of Oregon and back. We will be spending a little more than a week in the state of Oregon, traveling north to south and east to west to see a much as possible. We will be spending a day in Reno Nevada to watch the Reno Air Races and then return via a southern route to visit relatives in Shreveport Louisiana on the way home.

Our intention is to post photos from time to time along the way to allow friends and family to enjoy some of the sights we are enjoying, from the comfort of their easy chairs.

Our first duck started traveling with us about five or six years earlier, compliments of a hotel in Roanoke, Virginia. It traveled with us all over the U.S. and the eastern Canadian provinces on our 1993 Candy Apple Red Honda GL1500 Aspencade.

We're not weird about rubber ducks, or Gold Wings or anything else for that matter, but the rubber ducks and the Honda Gold Wings have been great traveling companions. They never fuss about the weather or anything else for that matter and they have neither one ever let us down.

Jane and I have been doing a two week motorcycle trip almost every year since 1994 when we purchased our first Gold Wing. We logged 126k miles on that bike in 11 years and then sold it and replaced it with our current ride which you will see later. We have traveled with other couples some and traveled by ourselves some. We also do day trips and weekend trips as time and weather permit.

Since you have taken the time to check out our blog, we thank you and we hope you have enjoyed it too.