Devils Tower Work Day

I decided that today would be a Devils Tower work day as it is overcast and rainy.

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Work Days

I work day is different now than before I left on my adventure. My previous job consisted of getting to the office at 6:30 am. The highlight of the day was the 9:30 coffee break. The rest of the work day consisted of sitting in an office looking at a computer screen. This would be occasionally interrupted by grief for something I didn’t do, or did do, or should have done. At 3 pm I was out the door and headed to Starbucks. Then it was dinner, some TV, and then bed. It was OK. Comfortable I suppose. And Victoria is a great place to live.

A work day now consists of finding a place with WiFi, preferably a Starbucks :-), downloading my photos and video from my camera, uploading them to Flickr, adjusting a few on PicMonkey, and then writing posts for my Daily Journal. My next priority is posting to social media about my adventure. Lastly, to do a video. As you have noticed, I haven’t gotten around to the videos yet. I need to slow down on my traveling to be able to do this. I hope to take a week off here and there as I make it to the south. Things are a lot cheaper there.

My other “work days” consist of riding my motorcycle wherever I want to ha ha. That is the part I really enjoy!! I don’t have a specific plan on where I will go. I have an idea of where I might go that is subject to change. Usually it is the day before that I decide exactly where I will go. It all depends on the weather and climate, events in the area, people I meet, things I hear about, places I learn about, and what I feel like. It also depends on my motorcycle.

Tires

I am at Devils Tower just outside of Sturgis. The wear bars on my rear tire are showing. Technically I suppose, I have a bald tire.

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But I just bought the things. I can’t afford to be replacing tires every few weeks. So I need to stretch their usage as much as possible. I know some people have gotten as much as 12,000 miles out of their Heidenau tires. There is only have about 5,000 miles on mine! Blackfoot Motorsports in Calgary told me I already needed to replace them. They said my load, and riding on gravel, wears them out faster.

The decision is to whether to replace them in Sturgis, or stretch them out to Minneapolis.

I decided to wait until Minneapolis.

Route for August 11, 2016

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Big Horn Byway

The Big Horn Byway is another amazing ride.

Before leaving Red Lodge I put the coordinates of my next stop into my GPS – Devils Tower KOA. This was the closest campsite I could find close to Sturgis that had vacancies.

My GPS showed the fastest route. All freeway 🙁 I would rather take a back road than an interstate highway any day. I consulted my paper map and saw that while the interstate headed north and then down to Devils Tower, Highway 14 headed south and then up to Devils Tower. Highway 14 was not a interstate or freeway. And it was marked as a scenic route too. Sold!

I knew nothing about the route. But boy was it nice. Not Beartooth good, but still pretty good. Amazing views with sweeping curves. Just what every motorcyclist wants in a ride. When I saw the motorcycle tour groups I knew it was good.

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Sturgis

After the nice ride it was back to the interstate for a short ride to Devils Tower KOA. The closer I got to it the more motorcycles were on the road. They were all heading to one spot – Sturgis.

Devils Tower KOA

I thought Devils Tower was far enough away from Sturgis that it wouldn’t be effected much. I was wrong.

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As it turned out, the KOA is right at the entrance to Devils Tower. The place was packed with motorcycle riders out for a day’s ride.I pushed my way through all the motorcyclist hoping they weren’t all staying at the KOA.

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Turns out they weren’t. I registered for the night. They placed me in a 15 acre parcel of grass where you could pick any place you wanted! I found three trees close together and pitched my homestead.

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The view out of my tent was Devils Tower.

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The KOA has a nice cafe packed with Harley riders dressed for the Sturgis Rally. Good people watching. And the swimming pool was one you can relax around.

I decided to spend 3 nights here.

Route for August 10, 2016

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