Black Hills continues ... 

Sheridan Lake is quite large. It is a popular fishing spot and enjoyed by many different style of water craft including pontoons, jet skis, power boats and row boats.  Not many people swim in the lake  - but then came Trevor!!

As part of the rally week Trevor and Ron helped out
with the Lions breakfast at Three Forks on Saturday
11 August.  Each day of the rally Hill City Lions
provided breakfast at Three Forks.
Many other organisations also provided breakfasts
for bikers in a number of places around the Black Hills.

Margaret and I went to Three Forks for breakfast and caught a bit of the action!!!

We were also invited to a hay ride with friends of Ron, Rod and Marion. 2 wonderful horses were harnessed up to a large hay dray and took our party for a ride in the hills.

And then there are the usual everyday jobs that just never go away!!

A man of action ... it's a hard life!!!

And there's more ....

During our first 10 days in South Dakota, the Black Hills area was taken over by motor bikes - mainly Harleys - here for the Sturgis rally.  This year was the 72nd annual rally. The rally proper started on 6 August with the Mayor's Ride the proceeds benefiting the Sturgis Volunteer Fire Dept.
The first rally was held on 14 August 1938 by the Jackpine Gypsies motor cycle club - it was then called the Black Hills Classic and consisted of a single race with 9 participants and a small audience. The focus was originally on racing and stunts.
In recent years the revitalization of motorcycles has led to increased attendance to the point that Sturgis, population 6442, swells to in excess of 550,000 in the week of the rally.
In fact Sturgis lasts much longer than a week for many bikers come to Black Hills days (even weeks) before the rally to enjoy the Black Hills before they are taken over completely by the huge numbers that eventually gather in Sturgis.




They say that the Black Hills is one of the most beautiful places to ride a motorcycle - scenery, great roads, wide open spaces and incredible views.

On Thursday 9 August we went to Sturgis with Ron and Margaret.  It was quite something.  I have not seen as many motorcycles in one place before!  We parked the car about 11 blocks from the centre of town and walked in.  Our route was lined on both sides by motorcycles and then 2 rows in the centre of the road for about 8 blocks!  Have a look ...

Yes - we wore the t shirts - thanks to Ron.

There were visitors and bikes from Australia. We saw several bikes with an Australian flag on the back ... even a couple of boxing kangaroos!!!



Just a great day - my ears are still throbbing!

Continuing the Black Hills ...

As soon as we arrived in South Dakota we made inquiries into the registration and formal transfer of the motor home. From our research  before the trip it had not appeared to be an issue.
In Alabama we were advised to do the registration etc in South Dakota as that is where we have our postal address.
Imagine our concern when we discovered that to register the motor home we needed to have either a US social security number or a South Dakota drivers licence - each of which requires one to be a US resident!!
Ron made inquiries - thank you Doyle!! - who advised us to contact the Driver Licensing Program in Pierre (capital of South Dakota).  The outcome was that we needed to first be cleared by the Federal Govt. to apply for a South Dakota drivers licence - so copies of our passports and visas were faxed off to the powers that be.
Trevor was 'cleared' to make the drivers licence application ... I am still awaiting clearance!! Thank God!
Once we had notice of Trevor's clearance we immediately went to the licencing office. We thought that Trevor would be 'given' a drivers licence!!!! No!!   He was required to sit a written test and do a driving test!  Much nervousness as it happened right on the spot.  And - he passed!!
So off to the court house in Rapid City with all the papers and Trevor the proud owner of a South Dakota drivers licence - we could not have been happier to pay the 3% sales tax and registration. Our new South Dakota number plates are on the RV!   What a guy!!!!

That all took about 10 days.
Then Jim the RV guy came out to the lake to look at the levelers only to find that we were out of hydraulic transmission fluid.  But when that was corrected the problem still persisted so we had to have a part sent out from the Tiffin headquarters in Alabama.  That was fixed last Friday (17 August).  Jim also noticed a couple of issues with the sway bar and a spring on one of the front levelers  was catching.  He recommended we have those things  seen to so we  booked the RV in to Eddies Truck Centre and had those problems attended to.

Have a look inside our new home.  It is very comfortable and has everything that we can possibly need and more.  We are still finding new buttons and gadgets that we didn't know we had.

In the mean time we were enjoying all that the Black Hills has to offer.

Bob, Ron's cousin, took us south one day to Hot Springs and beyond.  We went through Buffalo Gap - as you would remember from wild west movies. Bob and Margaret (Ron's mum who also came with us that day) shared many memories of their days in those parts of the Black Hills.  On our way back we went through  Custer State Park and got close and personal with some of the wildlife.

21 August 2012

Well I was up to day 5 and now it is day 25 in the RV and  one month since we arrived in the US!!
We had intended to stay in South Dakota for about 2 weeks... an opportunity to see our friends who live in the Black Hills and get ourselves a bit more organised in the RV after our fairly long drive from Alabama. We needed to register the motorhome and transfer it into our names; outfit and stock up with essentials and attend the Sturgis rally while we were here. We have done so much more than that.  Here is a bit of what we have been doing for the last  3 weeks.

Our friend Ron Rossknecht had a lake side site at Sheridan Lake waiting for us. Unfortunately our power lead was too short and no matter how we tried, the sewer pipe also fell short!! So began a 3 hour exercise in trying to make it all fit together. We had a number of enthusiastic helpers including Ron's son Trevor (yep!) who was working at a KOA camp in his summer holidays. The RV was moved to a fairly unlevel spot and then the lower side was propped up on wooden blocks. I thought it was a bit too unstable and said I wasn't happy to sleep in it like that!!! So the blocks were removed and the wheels on the higher side were dug in to the ground.
 The next day however we moved the RV back to level ground, filled in the holes dug out the night before for the wheels, bought an extension of sewer pipe and borrowed a length of 50amp power lead.  We then found that the hydraulic levellers were not working! We booked Jim the RV man who could not come out until the following Wednesday.  But we were comfortable; everything else was working well and we were settled. Ron gave us the use of a motor vehicle and also offered his office in Hill City whenever we wanted. There is no service at all at Sheridan Lake which is really part of the beauty of the place - and it is beautiful!

There followed a pattern to our days of walking (for me) in the morning before breakfast, Trevor would join Ron and Mason our neighbour for coffee, then chores - very few - before we were off on another round of
hunting and gathering things together for the rest of the year.  We have bought a bike each; a wonderful coffee percolator (a Bialetti ); 2 outdoor chairs; not to mention floor rugs, doona and more kitchen utensils.  Trevor is a terrible shopper! He starts yawning the minute we enter a store and races up and down the aisles so fast that I end up saying - lets go!  I am not sure how we have done as well as we have.
A few mistakes - we have already replaced the can opener and the corkscrew - it doesn't pay to buy the cheapest.

We also dined very well - a dinner at Steve's; fun evenings at the lake when Margaret, Ron's mum came to stay and great times with Rod and Marion