DOC & BECKY HEMP'S (and our son-in-law ROB'S) 1997 STURGIS S. DAKOTA
HARLEY DAVIDSON TRIP!

This Page is a Day by Day Journal with Clickups
To Photos Throughout our trip!

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1993 TO 1996 STURGIS TRIPS!
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DOC HEMP AFTER 12 DAYS



Rough Draft - but very well may end up the only draft unless U leave the door open!!!!
This is for spellbound in Florida. Hee-hee!

This year Rob our son-in-law & myself rode the bikes over 4000 miles to Sturgis & back. Becky usually rides all the way too. This year she trailered her Sportster as she is more comfortable on the smaller bike back there in all the crowds. She rode the Heritage Classic all the way out & back last year well over 4000 miles! I rode my 1989 Springer Softail again this year.

Please click on any colored or highlighted print to go to that subject or area of our trip to view the photos! This year we really documented our trip with a journal & have mentioned more people we met on the way with their photos. Lots of scenery too! Great photos!

FRIDAY August 1 - We stopped at Paynes Creek (Pete Nelson's territory - see our tribute to Pete in the Harley Reading Room - he was killed 1/1/98) Stopped in Mineral CA for a soda. Stopped next in Quincy - had a cool picnic lunch in the shade under huge Oak trees on the court house lawn. We rode 400 miles to Winimucca .

SATURDAY Aug 2 - Left Winimucca at 6:30 am - Stopped at the border into Utah & took the helmets off. Felt good with all the heat going over the Salt Flat desert on the bikes! Stayed in Park City Utah = 400 miles = arrived at 2 pm. Small World! I ran into Allen Cain at the Standard station there! - he was a patient of mine when he was just a kid! He recognized me. Was on his way to Sturgis too! He is now a counselor at the prision in Susanville CA. His mother Beatrice Cain still comes in. below is a photo of him & Father John Walsh (who blesses the Harleys every Easter) - Really! My camera was back at the room so I asked him to send me a photo.
Becky went to a lot of different outlets to shop. We ate at a really quaint restaurant with a view of the mountain & golf course.


SUNDAY Aug 3 Left Park City at 9 am (Mt time) There were several hot air ballons up as we left. We took I 80 to 189. We stopped & took a picture in front of the first J.C. Pennys Store - the original one that started it all - in the small town of Kemmerer Wyoming. See the photo next under Jacson Hole Photo section.
We pulled into JACKSON HOLE WYOMING at 2 pm. We explored downtown, took Rob to the Cowboy Bar! Had a local brew! Was really good! Can't remember the name. Asked where the best steak in town was (mistake) was told right here in the Cowboy Restaurant downstairs. The steaks ARE GOOD THERE I'M SURE!! But at almost $30 for a 14 oz New York? ..... we walked down to the Silver Dollar Bar - did it again but this time - told the waitress I wasn't going for a $30 steak right in the middle of thousands of stampeding cattle!! Would kill one myself with my Harley first! Rob asked the most important question of our trip!! Where do the locals go for a steak here?? Lejay's Sportsmans Cafe we were told (BINGO!) right in the middle of town 1-2 blocks from the Silver Dollar down a side street on the corner of Glenwood & Pearl! $13.95 for a 16 ounce thick cut New York Steak! .. the best I have ever had anywhere!!!!!!!! Lejays is a 24 hr cafe - great salad bar. This is also where I picked up my new Nick Name for the rest of the trip anyway! When I walked up to pay, the cute little blonde waitress said "Hold your scarf on TURBO! I'm new here & don't know how to run a credit card yet!" Save the ambience for the Yuppies & Vegitarians! Or a shirt & shoes place back home - hee-hee!
We stayed in the Kudar Cabins on hwy 191 on the way out of town just 2 blocks from all the action. There we met 3 guys also on the way to Sturgis = stayed in the same cabin as our friends we met last year - I took pictures of them when we all stopped at the Cowboy Cafe in Dubois.

MONDAY Aug 4 - Left Jackson Hole headed for Casper, changed our minds after talking to a nice lady that owned the antique shop (a must visit place - old buffalo robes etc.) across the street from the Cowboy Cafe in Dubois, Wy. She told us about going to Buffalo via Ten Sleep up on the high peninsula through Big Horn County - We had done the Northern Big Horn County in 1995. It is a must thing to do too!
After eating breakfast at the Cowboy Cafe we shuffled off to Buffalo where we had made a reservation at another great set of cabins! The owner of that antique shop knew the owner of the cabins - & that's how we found that.
It was there that we made friends with a GROUP OF FIVE COUPLES All on Harleys, also on the trek to Mecca!

TUESDAY AUG 5 - Left Buffalo at 7 am. After leaving Buffalo we hit a BAD & wet storm, too big to wait out = put our head down - watched the white line & went for it!! Ducked into a small Moorecrooft WY Cafe to dry out & have breakfast - it is here we met Bob & Laurie Broten. They are really a nice couple. Bob is a marketing executive for Tenneco Plastic Packaging. (pictures included) They were also going through Sturgis by way of Newcastle - the way we went to go S East of the storm = we decided to go into Sturgis South & up through Hill City. As I said - I have appointments I hafta keep everyday all year at home - we had no reservations - although I want to thank Hogpainter for giving us some leads the day we left! We called but full! Now - I did call & get a campershell at Horse Creek Camp Grounds, know the owner, but with our typical luck as we were riding into Hill City out of the corner of my eye I saw a Vacancy sign at the Pine Rest Cabins. Locked up a little rubber, peeled around - flashed in & picked up a really nice large cabin with a couch, antiques, for the whole 3 nights! Was the only one available on a last second cancellation!
We pulled Beckys 92 Sportster out of the trailer, rode to Keystone, MT. RUSHMORE!, I took Rob up to see Mt. Rushmore that night to show it lite up. We took a photo of Keystone at night too. These photos are at Pine Rest Cabins, Spot is really the name of the cool Golden Lab! All the guests feed him!
We don't drink even one beer when we ride! And have only a few at the end of a long dry hot dust choked day! Beer replenishes electrolytes, and raises HDL's. It is really a necessary though bitter, poor tasting medicine! Yeah! Fur Sur Fat Boy!!!!

WEDNESDAY - AUG 6 - Rob & I rode the Softails to the car wash in Hill City early A.M. ! We pulled into a stall & WALLA! A huge stack of quarters just sitting on the coin box! Can you believe it - I walked out side & around the building to the only guy drying his Harley off & asked him if they were his. They were! But we got to met another nice Harley rider (Ken W. Black) from Texas! He said "Hey, you all shoulda gist used em up!" Ken is a Farmers Insurance agent in Dallas.
Becky, Rob & myself then rode the 60 miles into STURGIS S.D. 1997 BIKE WEEK for the day - we didn't take hardly any pictures there. But there are others from our other trips - sturgis never changes. In the late afternoon we rode Becky to the cabin & Rob & I headed back to Rapid City to go to the Harley Davidson Exhibit at the Civic Center! They had about 10 of the big Harley semi's there! I was happy to run into Joe Dowd - a long time Harley Exec. and friend of ours! Joe married his long time gal, Gwen he started dating when I helped him set up the Western Regional in Redding in 93. Way to land that big FLOUNDER on that 4lb test line Gwen! Joe bought a white & blue Heritage Springer like ours too! He has good taste in Harleys & women (huh Gwen?) Mike Keefe (another good friend) I missed, he had just stepped out! (prolly saw me lumbering in his direction!)
We went down to the Harley Exhibit they have every year there! Don't miss that whatever you do!!! It is the first public view of the next years bikes!!!! That's how we & Crusty Rusty got our Heritage Springers so fast last year!! Called right from the Civic & ordered mine in Chico CA!
You will see a pic of a most amazing person in the world we met at the exhibit selling his book! Dave Barr! Author of Riding The Edge! He has no legs, wears a prosthesis & set a "Guiness" world record riding around the world on a motorcycle. Click below on the Custer Park one to see the Sturgis Sign & Dave's pic. & the new Road King with the $1300 nostalgic paint job!

THURSDAY - AUG 7 - We left early at 6 AM & rode into CUSTER STATE PARK! from the Keystone entrance - it was great! No one else around at all, you will climb & go through narrow rock tunnels. We ran into a huge endless herd of Buffalo! They were shuffling off to Buffalo I guess, anyway they closed the road! It would have been an hour wait or so, not to mention needing a 4 X wheel drive Harley to get thru the buffalo shit on the road!! They save up just for the tourists! So, we turned around. We next came to the Games Keepers Lodge & had breakfast there! Fantastic = a MUST PLACE TO STOP - we already have reservations there for next year! Stop by & visit with us in the afternoon - we will do all our riding in the AM each day!
We then went about a half mile & stopped at the general store near there. It was here I saw a leather jacket laying on a motorcycle with a patch that got to me! In Memory of my Son Mathew 6/8/96. I talked to his parents the Ken R Hafners and they let me take their picture with the jacket - you can see it at the bottom of the picture page at Sturgis at the top of the page.
That evening we also stopped by Rockerville Ghost Town! (See the photo in the Custer group of photos) We left Rob Hanging out there! Hee-hee!

FRIDAY - AUG 8 - We left Hill City at 7 AM for the Devils Tower & on our way home. We traveled up past Sturgis, Spearfish, and turned off at Sundance to the DEVILS TOWER! We left & took the loop West to Moorcroft & West on I 90. We headed South on hwy 59 ( long construction wait) through Wright, Edgerton, & Midwest to hwy 87 to Casper WY. It was here I stoped & experienced ignition problems with the 89 Springer, couldn't restart it - sent Rob on ahead to run Beckity down with the trailer - I took everything apart - tightened all the wires on the coil, etc. I could = no go! They came back with the trailer, I said one more time! It started right up!!! Go figure!! So, I rode it all the way to Riverton WY without turning it off! Including 2 gas stops! As Beckity pulled into the Holiday Inn there I could hear the metal on metal of the front brakes! Great! The next day was Saturday! Who would be open for the brakes? A Harley Shop for my loose wire somewhere or MCI Single fire ignition? We all crashed after a 12 hr day on the road - took showers & had a nice dinner at the Holiday Inn there! I remember Rob & I had a couple Fat Tire beers.

SATURDAY - AUG 9 - Sat & Sun mornings the Holliday Inn in Riverton has the BEST BREAKFAST BUFFET you will ever eat!!! And only at $5.50! At 7 AM I got on the phone after talking to 2 security gaurds that recommended Baily Tire & Auto Repair! Lorie Templin the secretary was great! (Lori's Dad Darrel Wentworth is a famous old time motorcycle racing champion! Harleys, Triumphs, etc.- will add more when he e-mails me.) Everyone was so helpful I can't say enough about them - got me in at 8 AM - Bob Turley & Eric did the front brakes & turned the rotors. Mike the owner did it all for $113. (think we'll move to WY)
They sent me to Strokers HD Plus. Stroker, the mechanic there found the broken wire. Put a new tire in for me too. It was there I met Bart Thompson (a Harley mechanic at Night Train in Hailey Idaho) & Greg his friend looking for a 6 volt coil & battery - etc. they had been going as far as possilbe with enough charge on the battery as they could & wait for it to charge up again. We left, went back to the room - they weren't able to get anything they needed as the Shop we all stopped at is new with very little inventory.
Ridding into Dubois WY I spied Greg, Bart & his girl friend Judy Wheeler along side the road, knowing them & what the problem was I swung the bike around & offered to haul him in the trailer to Jackson Hole & on to Hailey the next day. (should have gone on to Hailey that night! - we hit the biggest storm of the trip the next morning on the bikes!) We pushed the bike a collectors 1951 Panhead! Into the trailer & Greg rode up front with Becky as the rest of us rode our bikes on to JACKSON HOLE WY AGAIN! Greg opted to call his wife to come over & camp with them for the night & trailer him back to Hailey in the morning.
Becky, Rob & myself went to guess where to git another steak! Lejay's Sportsmans Cafe! I walked in & told the waitress "TURBOS BACK"! We stayed in the same cabins again too.

SUNDAY - AUG 10 - We left Jackson at 8:30 AM - Filled up at the Texaco - started to rain! Was just the start of a huge storm - we made the mistake of riding up & over the Targees when we found out later we could have ridden around them in the valley on hwy 26. We went up & over many passes & finally down into hwy 26 anyway! We rode about 80 miles in constant heavy rain. Was icy on top - started snowing just after we went through & left a lot of slush on the road we heard! Still raining at Idaho falls we put the bikes in the trailer to get through Idaho Falls - We ALWAYS get lost trying to get through there!! Nothing marked! Didn't want us seperated like Becky & I were for a while last year! Even with all of us in the rig with a blow up map of the area we had to turn around twice to get on hwy 20 toward Hailey & Ketchum ( Sun Valley Idaho). We met WolfMan & gang (saw his bike at the Cowboy Bar! Is a customize 1997 Heritage Springer with Wof skins etc.) at Butte City getting gas. We rode the bikes through Craters of the Moon & on to Hailey! The sun had come out before Butte City. But just a head of us loomed the largest, blackest thunderstorm I have ever seen. Lots of lightening! We holed up in Bruce Willis's Bar, Resturaunt, Pool Hall, Theater "The Mint!" We stop in every time through - He hasn't had a chance to meet me yet! Hee-hee! We had one of the local brews since we had a while. We met a couple young Harley riders in there playing pool. Told us the storm would be completely gone in an hour - it was!
We then rode the short distance to Ketchum - I showed Rob around, we got pictures in front of the SUN VALLEY LODGE! They had re-opened Galena Pass over the Saw Tooth Mountains to Stanley Idaho, so we RODE ON! We passed a beautiful Redfish Lake heading up the valley toward Stanley after coming back down from the other side of the Sawtooths. We rode into & around STANLEY IDAHO! for a while - went about a mile away to Lower Stanley to get the best pictures of the Sawtooths! You will see them under our Stanley photos.
We left Stanley before sunup! Mistake! The wind chill must have been around 15 degrees! We had more of the Sawtooth passes to go over. We were quite COLD! It was heaven to pull into Idaho City & see the Clamity Jane Cafe!!!! A ton of HOT COFFEE & the BEST DAMN BREAKFAST YOU WILL EVER FIND! The waitress is Carla & the cook is Mark!
We rode on through Bosie, Ontario, & across the desert thru Wagon Wheel. We met up with another Harley Rider that rode with us into Lake View OR. Where we stayed Sunday night. The fellow we met was Ralph Frid, he rode a new Sportster 1200. He works for Hewlett Packard. We all ate dinner that night at a fine resturaunt the Eagles Nest in Lake View. I would recommend it to anyone!

MONDAY - AUG 11 - We left Lakeview & the Hunters Lodge (very nice!) & headed for home!!!! We rode in about 4 PM - washed the bikes. Tuckered out!!

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