Patriot Guard Mission to Aitken and Deer River Legion Riders to Ely

Friday August 22, 2008 I went on my first Patriot Guard mission. You may remember that the Patriot Guard came about because of some people claiming to be Christians protesting at funerals of soldiers killed in Afghanistan and Iraq. Some veterns and non-veterans said we will not allow those people or any other groups that wish to disrupt the funeral of a fallen American soldier. Their plan was to form a wall of supporters with American flags to shield the family and others from the pathetic protestors. There were allegations that the protesters were really doing it to provoke someone to attack them so that they could sue the municipality for not protecting them and their right to free speech. Are you starting to boil alittle here??? The response was overwhelming and The Patriot Guard is now a national organization represented in every state. You do not need to be a veteran to be a member of the Patriot Guard. It is a great way to support the troops with something tangebile rather that a bumber sticker, magnet or yard sign.

In its early days there were many missions for the fallen from Afghanistan and Iraq and then requests came for the Guard to attend funerals of veterans from all wars. Our mission to Aitken was for a former Marine who was killed in a motorcycle accident. His family requested a mission and the call went out. It was a last minute request during the time of the State Patriot Guard Gathering in Rochester. My calendar was clear and I had yet to go on a mission.

I met a group of bike riders and cage drivers (I drove my cage cuz it looked like rain) numbering around 30.

There was a veteran of Korea who had both legs frozen in the Chosin Resovoir in Korea and a young man who was a Combat Medic and wounded in Iraq. Guess what his nickname was?????? Yup, Doc!

The Guard was led by the bikes with the flags on them. At the funeral home we then stood in a flag line for two hours as people arrived to pay their respects and attend the service. Doc didn't have a flag so I gave him mine and became relief man and held their flag while they took a break. The family came down the flag line and hugged every Patriot Guard and shook their hand and thanked them before the service. Plenty of tears to go around when a veterans goes down.

Semper FI Donald "Duck" Smeby. 6-24-62 - 8-22-08. Thank you military service from a grateful nation. RIP

Staurday, August 23 a group of about 30 riders led by the Deer River Legion Riders Chapter #1 headed to Ely and The Veterans' Resort on Fall Lake, actually closer to Winton than Ely. For some reason when we met in the GR L&M parking lot the metric bikes parked seperately from the Harleys.

They were a great bunch of people and it just seems that riding on a mission for veterans brings out the best in everyone. One young couple from Stillwater were on their second ride to Ely and told me how they had become a part of the ride. A coule of years ago their battery died on the side of Hwy 38 and while they were wondering what they were going to do Mike and Candy pulled over and offered to help. They ended up taking them into town to get a new battery and then staying over night and becoming best friends and participants in the ride..ROOL 62 is don't take yourself so damn serious...a message from a friend of Bill.

This year the Legion Riders from Deer River raised over $3200 and the couple from Stillwater over $1800 for the Veterans' Resort.

What a beautiful facility and staff. They have a full service resort for all veterans and very reasonable in price.

Next year I am booking a cabin and staying for the Ely Blues Fest. Thank you from a grateful veteran for your support. God, I love this country. PS Overheard conversations. After the service people were thanking the PG people on the flag line and the man next me was thanked by a couple and he replied "My privilege!" and I thought how appropriate. It reminded me of another recently overheard conversation on "The Run For The Wall" in Jackson MS where we were greeted by three men who had been awarded the Medal of Honor and one person was talking about how what a honor it was to be addressed by three Medal of Honor winners and a retired Sgt Major was walking by and he said ever so politely "Gentlemen these men did not win the MOH, they were recipients of the MOH, it's not a contest."

Sundance, WY Burnout Contest

My favorite Wyoming Wednesday event is the Dime Horseshoe Saloon Burnout Contest in Sundance and yes that's where "The Kid" got his name. Actually the Street Drags in Beulah, WY was my favorite. The last year they held the street drags a guy on a bagger was racing all day. He gave a lot away because of the weight, but he had a big motor in it and he managed to win quite a few. Win or lose he would turn around and do a giant wheel stand with sparks flying off the fish tails. It did start to get a little out of hand though when the races were close. The idea was to be the first one to the bridge, but some guys would just stay in it and go out of town for the the top end. It had all the elements required, speed and danger because "if it isn't dangerous you ain't doin it right."

I saw my first Sundance burnout contest in 1996. First prize was a beautiful leather jacket. Only four or five bikes entered, but afterwards guys were doing burnouts all over the streets. The first guy to go in 1996 had been sitting waiting for water for his burnout and he was adamant that it be water and not beer, guess he was a purist. He finally got his water and fired his bike up and and started his burnout when all of a sudden the front brake let go or it just hooked up and took off with people jumping out of the way literally. As the crowd parted he noticed the flimsy wooden barricade blocking the end of the street less than a hundred feet away. He laid the bike down to avoid going through the barricade and the highway going through town. The bike went one way and he went another. When he and the bike stopped the crowd helped him to his feet and picked up his bike and he jumped back on and went back to the starting line and said with blood running down his arm, let me try it again, I can do a better one this time. They did....he did.

Last time in Sundance for me was 2001 and it was a great one. They had an abundance of bikes and at that point people were still using their street bikes for the contest and didn't go all the way until the tire popped. Two memorable contestants that year. The first one was a Hamster with his "chopper" and he couldn't get the tire to spin and he kept killing the motor. The crowd was starting to heckle him and finally he got the tire to spin but then immediately dumped the bike and the crowed went wild and started dumping their beers on him, it was disgusting and a terrible waste of hops.

The second rider was from Florida and had a way cool Heritage two tone cream and mint green that was slammed (lowered) to the point of impracticality. He had side by side fish tails and did not use the kick stand... he could just lean it over on the exhaust. This guy was good and had done a few burnouts before because he immediately started smokin the tire and then got off the bike and stood beside it and went through the gears smokin that tire through every gear. He didn't win the contest but he won a place in my heart.

We had stopped earlier in the day at the Dime Horseshoe to find out the starting time and wouldn't you know it the young woman said her mother lived in Minnesota and so we were talking and she apologized that the Saloon had raised their prices for the day to $3 per drink/beer. A bottle of water in the San Francisco Airport cost $4.

One thing I noticed was that the burnout contest was no longer on the street but on an especially made stand. It did take away the danger element or so it seemed. The first contestant installed flame throwers on his bike just in case anyone thought this was going to be easy to win. He fired up and got her smokin and stayed in it until the tire popped and it took an especially long time, maybe he had a fairly new one on and it actually got boring it took so long to pop. Timing is everything.

Everyone who entered today stayed in it till the tire popped so that meant you must do something to top that and everyone had their own little show. It was performance art in the truest sense. A pattern started to develop and it went like this: get the tire smokin, set the throttle lock and jump up on your seat and surf until the tire pops.

Then another contestant when his name was called started his bike and started spinning the tire and drove it like that through the crowd and up the ramp and into the wheel lock leaving a skinny black patch all the way. Yeah, they lock the front tire in a clamp so it won't take off and go through the crowd. He popped his tire and it killed the motor so he fired it up and got the shredded tire spinning and it started ripping his fender apart (fiberglass) and eventually shredded the tail light too sending pieces out into the crowd. They must have different liability laws in WY because if this would have been most any other state there would have been more than a passel of lawyers at the scene.

The tires can last so long before they pop that the motors get pretty hot so they have a garden hose and spray the cylinders to cool them down. The guy who won last year blew his motor and it cost him $4000 to rebuild it and he was back with his new motor and determined to win again. He is from Gilbert, MN area and should have won but he got robbed because they wouldn't let his bikini clad girlfriend stay on the bike with him.

It went to another level when one of the male contestants lifted his t-shirt and flashed the crowd and that inspired one of the later entrants to have his "ol lady" flash the crowd from the back of his bike during the burnout and he did eventually win. I was astounded at the willingness of people to destroy stuff to win $750 first prize...just down a couple of blocks a guy is set up to put new tires on for you and that is usually about $200-$250, but to blow up a $4000 motor is crazee.

Another contestant from MN did his burnout on the bike he rode out so he didn't pop his tire and then after he rolled down the ramp he looked at the tire and said what the heck might as well pop it and so he went back up the ramp and popped his tire.

The next event after the burnout contest was a wet t-shirt contest so we got the heck out of there because there is no danger in that unless you take pictures and your wife or girlfriend sees them. Besides that was when the evil squirrels started trailing us just waiting for their chance to steal our nuts.

DJ & JJ"s Most Excellent Sturgis Adventure

Monday afternoon we arrived in Murdo, SD our first stop. We stayed at the Super 8 and while we were sitting outside relaxing a young man walked by and looked at our bikes and noticed my KAXE sticker. He was a student at UMD at one time and had a friend from Grand Rapids who turned him on to our station and he loved it. He was working with a threshing crew or is it combine crew?

Tuesday morning we made the first stop for most everyone going west to Sturgis, The Badlands of South Dakota, yes there are The Badlands of North Dakota too. My favorite time to see the Badlands is at night and under a full moon. The shadows and stillness make it seem like a lunar landscape. Of course after traveling through The Badlands the next stop is Wall, SD and the most famous tourist trap in the U.S. and maybe the world, Wall Drug. We stopped at a local watering hole, it was 90+ that day, and noticed again an unusual phenomena, for us anyway, Russian waitresses. Young girls with very little English working in South Dakota!!! Also South Africans!!! They are temporary workers and we're not sure why and for how long because we don't want to pry and they speak and understand very little English.

Wednesday during Rally Week is Wyoming Wednesday and several little towns in WY put on special events. On the way we stop at Beulah, WY site of the famous street drags down main street, well actually there is only one street. The drags have been shut down for years by the Wyoming Highway Patrol because that main street is also Hwy 16. The drags were even on an episode of Cops. Here at the Dime Horseshoe Saloon we check out the time for the Burnout Contest in Sundance, WY. It starts at 4pm so we head to Devil's Tower.

Traffic is beginning to build and it is 90+ again and we take some free ice cold water from this young man who has for years been preaching and giving water to thirsty people. I just noticed the irony of The Cross and Devil's Tower in that picture.

Next stop is Hulett, WY for the Ham n Jam. It is also "No Panties Wednesday" in Hulett. I don't know if this is only during Wyoming Wednesday or every Wednesday, but it is a quaint custom nonetheless and hopefully restricted to just Wyoming Wednesday. Thankfully there are porta potties everywhere because Hulett's normal population is just a few hundred people and the thousands that are there for the fun would swamp them literally. We parked our bikes on the outside of town and walked in across the bridge and looked around and it was time to head back to Sundance and the burnout contest.

On the out skirts of Sundance we ate at the Chop Shop and I ordered a pork tenderloin and got something less than I was expecting, but it was cheap and hot and they also had lemonade. You need to keep hydrated because of the high temp, clear skies and low humidity. The burnout contest was awesome. My next blog will be all about it. All I can say is you needed to destroy equipment and go topless to be in the top 3.

We had many clear nights and it was a beautiful sight to see the moon over the Black Hills. We stayed at Black Hills State College in a dorm room. It is a great deal, $400 for four nights and five days for two people.

Thursday is set aside to ride the Black Hills and see Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Lake Pactulo, Keystone, Custer and ride the Needles Highway as well as The Iron Horse Road. We ride up Spearfish Canyon on our way and stop to take in the beautiful scenery. Scenes from Dances with Wolves were filmed here and as well as Black Lock Falls.

We also stopped in Lead, SD to see the Homestake Gold Mine. No activity going on even with gold prices at a record high. Well, they have already mined millions and millions of dollars worth of gold.

Next on our list is the town of Rochford, SD. It is a beautiful fifteen mile ride on gorgeous blacktop. Two other roads lead out of Rochford, but they are gravel. We also find the Moonshine Gulch Saloon and learn that The Hamsters were here yesterday and held their own burnout contest and hence the four Sheriff Deputies in town. No butnouts today. More later on the Hamsters.
From Rochford it is off to Lake Pactulo, a beautiful lake created in the fifties to provide water for Rapid City. Today at Veterans' Point a group has scattered the ashes of a loved one on the waters of the lake.


Mount Rushmore has changed so much in the last ten years. Before you just pulled into a parking lot and go look. Now you have to pay admission and there is even a parking ramp and stoplights. We took the Needles Highway to see this side view of George and ride the switchbacks. The Needles Highway has several of these extremely tight turns and you can look down and see the bikes coming up the same road....no place for novices.

Next on the list is Crazy Horse. I first saw it in 1970 on a road trip. It was a family operation and Korshak's wife actually gave us a tour. Their plan was to have it ready for the U.S. Bicentennial in 1976 and obviously didn't make it. Now as you can see it has a multi-laned road with ticket booths.

From Crazy Horse it's a short ride to Custer, SD. We stopped at the VFW and they had a Veterans' Program in progress that included a fly over down main street by a B-1 bomber and a young veteran who has learned to play the bagpipes. He was fabulous, hey, I love bagpipes and accordians, what can I say? He played three or four songs for us and finished with the standad "Amazing Grace" and it brought a tear to my eye he was so good.

On our way back we stopped in Hill City, SD and engaged the locals in conversation. I knew the moment I walked in I was gonna like the place because they were playing Ring of Fire by Social Distortion. We also got to see the sun set over Lake Pactulo.



Deadwood, SD and Old N0. 10 Saloon is a must see for everyone. This is the site where Wild Bill Hickcock was shot. The chair he was supposedly sitting in when he was shot is hanging on the wall. Wild Bill wasn't there but Santa Claus and one of his elves was inside relaxing before the busy season starts. He said some kiddies won't be getting any present because of their behavior during Rally Week. The main street in Deadwood is brick and very attractive. I first saw Deadwood in 1966 when prostitution was still legal and gambling was illegal. It was a sleepy little town with one main street and a railroad running next to it. It was like going back into time and the old west. Now gambling is legal and there are several casinos one of which is owned by Kevin Costner.

Friday was our last full day in Sturgis. We went to the Full Throttle Saloon in the morning and it was all but deserted. As the day builds and night begins this place fills up and has many activities going on including bands, burnout contests and other mayhem. Friday is also a great day to bargin shop because The Rally is almost over and vendors will bargin. T-shirts that cost $15 are now $5 because they say Sturgis 2008, leather can be bought for halfprice sometimes. One more year and still no tattoos. We talked about getting one, but we ran out time and besides there are evil squirrels in SD and they were after our nuts so it was time to get out of Dodge.