Sturgis - where to stay? (aka "I've lost my mind!")

I think maybe I've lost my mind.  Read on...you'll see why.

People going to Sturgis, SD for bike week normally make the decision and reservations well in advance of the trip. Many book lodging for the next year while they're in Sturgis.  I decided to go just a few weeks ago, after I had received an email saying I was maxed out on vacation time (use it or lose it) so where to stay was a tough decision.

I checked for Hilton properties (with all my work travel I tend to accumulate a lot of hotel points).  A brand new Hilton Garden Inn in Rapid City (~30 miles from Sturgis) had rooms available ($240/night or 35k points/night - like a downtown Chicago hotel!).  There is a Hampton Inn (Hilton owned) in Deadwood, but their rooms were $400+/night - I didn't even ask them how many points/night. 


Five guys, one of whom works at the local Harley shop,  rented a house in the country just outside of Sturgis and they have an extra bedroom since one of the guys had to cancel.  I considered that but since I don't know any of them, I decided that sharing a house (and bathroom) wasn't the best option (although I'm sure they're nice guys).

So, I talked to a couple of friends to see where they are staying and found out they are camping just on the edge of Sturgis.  Hmm...camping.  Rain, wind, bugs, 90 degrees or 40 degrees...just a few of the downsides that come to mind, although the biggest is the trek I'll have to make to the "facilities" should I wake up in the middle of the night.


Well, camping won out over hotel.  Primary reason - less hassle connecting with friends if I want to join them for a ride as the hotel is 30+ miles from their campground.

Next decision - if I'm camping (not a new activity for me....when my sons were young, we used to camp a lot) what am I sleeping in? I like the guys going but wanted my own sleeping accommodations.  I called the campground and learned their cabins were all reserved AND the tent camping sites DO NOT HAVE ELECTRICITY!  What?  How do you charge your camera battery, cell phone, IPOD?  This could be interesting.

I checked out tents online and found one made to fit over the back of my Tahoe.  It arrived this week and Matt and Jennie came over last night to help me set it up (I figured I should practice before the real deal).
It was after we had taken it out of the box and spread it out on the driveway that I thought maybe I had lost my mind.


Just out of the box/bag



Out of the bag wasn't what worried me...it was this next step - when we spread it out on the driveway.  This is a big tent.

It gets worse....my son, Matt, is 6'3".  He had to step up on the tire to hook the tent over the back of the tailgate. 



It fits over the back of the Tahoe so you can sleep inside

 I'm hoping some guys (TALL GUYS) take pity on me and help me set this up.  And I'm hoping nobody secretly video tapes this and puts it on YouTube.  It will no doubt be a comedy.

Sturgis - ride or drive?

According to Mapquest, Sturgis, SD is 1010 miles from where I live and it will take 15hrs and 1 min to drive there - all interstate driving if I want to get there the fastest route. 

I asked several bikers for recommendations - most of them surprised me - they said trailer there and save your energy for daily, long rides once you're up there.  Seems kind of whimpy to me to trailer a bike when the whole purpose of the trip is to ride, but since the only people I know going are trailering, I decided to do the same. 

My friends from here have no room on their trailer for my bike, so where to get a trailer?  Buy one?  Borrow one?  Rent one?  Friend and fellow rider, Gwen, connected me with a friend of hers who isn't going this year and he said I could borrow his trailer. 

Next decision - where to stay.

Dawn Gibeau - thank you for serving our country! (hails from Custer, SD)

I stopped at a rest area coming home from Indianapolis and as I'm walking back to my car, I spot a South Dakota license plate.

I am my mother's daughter (she doesn't know a stranger) so, knowing I'll be headed to SD in a couple of weeks, I struck up a conversation with the young lady sitting in the driver's seat.

Dawn was enroute home, to Custer, SD (close to Sturgis and in the midst of some great riding...or at least what I hear/read is great riding).  Her parents live in Rapid City.  She is in the Navy (18 months) and just finished training in Virginia.  She'll visit home, then she's headed to the state of Washington where she'll board an aircraft carrier.  Her specialty is fire (OK, Dawn, I forgot you exact title...wish I had written that down!)  She'll join 5000 other sailors on the ship!

When I told her I'd be headed to SD for bike week, she shared some great tips (one tip - eat a buffalo burger).  What are the odds I'd run into someone from Custer, SD at a rest stop right before I head up there? 

Dawn, I hope you make it home safe and sound, and then on to Washington.  Thank you for serving our country!! I'll see you on Facebook.

Sturgis- is it time?

When people I meet learn that I ride a Harley, their first question is usually "have you been to Sturgis?" (actually that's usually the second question, the first is always "YOU ride a Harley?")


Me and my mom

 I've never been to Sturgis.  Mostly because I've heard so many stories about the number of bikers that show up (500,000+), long waits to get through a stop sign, inexperienced riders and "entertainment" geared more toward guys, not gals.

But, several weeks ago, when I got a reminder email that I was close to maxing out on vacation, I decided maybe it was time to make the big trip.

Two big decisions - where to stay and ride vs. trailer. More to come....

Got bag worms?

Sunday I noticed some brown spots on one of my evergreen shrubs (an Arborvitae). 

Upon closer inspection, here's what I found - bag worms.

Two years ago I almost lost a big evergreen in my front yard from these, so after seeing this I immediately grabbed a plastic bag and started pulling them off my 4 infested shrubs.  I'm guessing I pulled off more than a thousand.

A few of the bag worms I picked off a tree


Here's what they look like close up.  Notice they take on the appearance of a pine cone so, at first glance, you think they are part of the tree.


3 bag worms just plucked from an Arborvitae

 Its actually pretty gross pulling them off the shrub because inside each bag is a worm-like critter, and if its still in there alive, these little bags start wriggling around in your hand.  The photo below shows one of them creeping out of a bag after I had pulled it off the shrub.

Larva coming out of the bag (looks like a worm to me)

There's a reproduction cycle:  the female, while inside the bag, puts out a scent that attracts a male.  The male - from outside the bag - contributes to the fertilization process (how's that for G rated?).  The female can lay hundreds of eggs (one source says 800) in ONE BAG!!  The eggs survive winter in the bags and then become larvae in the spring

Here's the deal - you've got to pull them all of the shrub/tree and destroy them.  One article suggests burning them.  If you don't destroy them, they will crawl back to another shrub and begin feeding again.  I was careless and let some fall to the ground....and in no time at all, they had crawled right back to the same shrub.



Don't pick them off and throw them on the ground!  They'll crawl back to the shrub!

 Several sources recommend a systemic treatment of the tree to kill the bag worms.  If you don't destroy them, they turn into moths and start the whole process all over.  So check your trees!  Wear gloves if its a prickly evergreen because you've got to separate the branches and look on the inside, too!

New Navy Recruits - thank you for serving our country!

Yesterday I flew home from Baltimore.  I arrived at the airport early enough to boot up my laptop and download email so I hunted for an empty seat in the gate area.  Once I found a seat I noticed this group of young men and women seated together, all talking to each other in a way that made me think they were on a trip together.

The group includes:  Matt Kendall, Cecil Jonas, Macy Rakes, Courtney Roberts, Justin Vaugh and Travis Rice

I observed them for a while, enjoying their energy and upbeat spirit.  I noticed one had on a Navy ballcap and another had on a Navy sweatshirt.  Then it clicked - the flight was bound for Chicago.  These were Navy recruits headed to the Great Lakes Naval base.  I asked if that was the case and they all confirmed that was indeed their destination.

There was such cameraderie among them, I thought perhaps they were all friends and had enlisted together.  But that is not the case.  They had all met the previous day.

I asked them what their goals were in terms of serving in the Navy.  There were a variety of answers including:  Master at Arms, aviation airman, rescue swimmer, aviation ordinance, CTR cryptography.  One plans to become a Navy SEAL.  Two plan to become Navy Corpsmen.   (Side note: my dad was in the Navy for 20 years which makes me a "Navy Brat". He was stationed at Great Lakes when I was in kindergarten and first grade. I don't remember a lot - just the name of my teacher, lots and lots of snow and really tall snowmen. And I remember having a corpsman put stitches in my finger and my foot during separate trips to the hospital!)


Once in Chicago, they'll be transported to the Great Lakes Naval station, where they will complete 8 weeks of  "boot camp".  We talked about the fact that for the duration of boot camp they will not have access to phones or computers.  No communication with family.  One of my friends and co-worker has a son who completed his 8 weeks last year - its a tough time for moms! (and probably dads, too).

I hope to hear from them after they complete boot camp! 

A few facts about the Great Lakes Naval Training Center
-54,000 recruits complete basic training each year
-the base is 100 years old and underwent a $770 million renovation program (a 10 year project)
-almost all of the training is conducted indoors, including a 2 story facility for emergency sea rescue training

Airport Scanners - only useful during "busy times"?

USA Today is reporting that a new study is being conducted on the "backscatter" scanners.  (there are 2 types of scanners at airports - this is the one that emits small amts of ionizing radiation.  The other is a millimeter wave scanner and doesn't involve radiation)

Here's a confidence builder - apparently some maintenance records indicated radiation was 10 times higher than expected on several machines (19 out of 40 tested).  Rapiscan, the company that makes the backscatter machines, says their employees who tested the machines were "confused" about the forms they had to fill out, so there weren't really any radiation issues - it was simply "math mistakes".  (note:  there are 247 of these scanners at 38 different airports)

I remain perplexed about airport scanners.  At a cost of $170,000 each, and claims they detect more than the traditional metal detectors, one would think they would be used after they are installed.  Yet this week, I once again encountered a scanner sitting idle at an airport (Houston).  It wasn't a busy time at security - no long lines.  One scanner was in use, the second was not - instead, they were having people go through a metal detector that was sitting next to the scanner.  Ironically, there was a large sign as you entered the security area stating they were using "state of the art" scanning devices.  I forget the exact statement but something to do with safer air travel.


This is a view of the security area after you have gone through the process.  The larger, cylindrical scanner on the right is apparently one of the millimeter wave scanners (grayish white).  This one wasn't in service.  Instead, they were having people go through a metal detector which you can see behind and  just to the left of the scanner. 

In case you're wondering why this issue bugs me, I have a piece of titanium in my leg and if I go through a scanner I avoid the waiting around for a female TSA agent to pat me down and the debate that invariably ensues when they try to stack the bin with my coat, shoes and zip lock bag of liquids on top of the bin that contains my laptop!  When I have plenty of time to get through security, I'll sometimes avoid the backscatter scanners (I admit I don't trust the government's radiation exposure studies). 

A couple of scanner facts I've read in other postings:
-the backscatter, radiation emitting scanners are blue and have 2 walls
-the non-radiation scanners are greyish white (see photo above)
-reports I've read indicate the cost for operating scanners in the U.S. over a 10 year period is $6,000,000,000

If scanners are better at detecting potential explosive devices, guns etc, why aren't they being used?