2023: A Girl, a Motorcycle, and a Gypsy Soul

 Sturgis - its like CHRISTMAS to me!!! I am always so ancy for it to arrive, but yet sad at the same time, because its arrival means the tail end of summer is near. The 12 hour ride west is always filled with excitement of getting there - people to see, places to go, things to experience. The older I get, the bigger the cankles are after a full days ride! This year's Sturgis Rally was predicted to be impressively big - and the first weekend was definitely busy! Traffic was slow, lines were long, and things were abuzz every direction we turned.       Main Street - Bikes for miles!!!! We managed to ride Spearfish Canyon on Friday before the actual rally started and we had it mostly to ourselves - a welcome treat from the chaos of town!! There's still reminders of the tornado that rolled through the Spearfish area a year or two again - it is crazy to see such big trees laying flat along the hills of the canyon.   We tried to ride AWAY from town as much as possible, to escape some

While Stiffy and I were rolling into Loretta Lynn's Ranch for Motorcycle and Music Revival weekend, ScooterTrash and FinneusNewChaps were still on the road south, battling tornado warnings, fierce winds, and torrential rains for another 14+ hours. I have always said life is about WHO you know, not what you know. While the motorcycle world is HUGE - it is also very small. Bikers just know other bikers. We are all attracted to the same events, the same roads, the same places.  The first people we encountered upon our arrival were a couple of ladies from Texas that I hadn't seen in quite a few years. I had no idea they were going to be there - it was an awesome surprise to see them and catch up!! What are the odds of being in the same place, at the same time on a 3,000 acre ranch???     The excitement of getting to TN was fierce - it kept us going ALL night long as we rode straight through from MN. By the time we waited in line to check in, standing in the direct sun and soaking