2025: A Girl, a Motorcycle, and a Gypsy Soul

One state that really surprised me in its beauty and amount of things to see is Utah. Everyone knows of or has heard of the Arches, but aside from that, I didn't expect much. I was amazed the first time in Utah and honestly could never get enough! Tip to save money: If you are going to see the National Parks and Federal Recreation areas in Utah (there are 13!) get the annual pass. You will save a BOATLOAD of money as each park has its own entrance fee - some upward of $30 per bike. An annual national park pass is $80ish. Totally worth it. Other costs: *Active Military: free    Disabilities: 50% off and/or free  4th Graders: FREE (only kids in 4th grade)* Every National Park in Utah is 100% worth your time to stop and see. Here are a few of my favorites! BRYCE CANYON NP This is my favorite. The road literally follows a ledge - high up in the air,  where on each side is a cliff down into the canyons. SOOO many beautiful opportunities to sit on the edge of the...

5 things to know about Sturgis Bike Week 1. Bring earplugs. Or wear headphones with white noise playing into your ears. This is your only hope to not be woken up either at 3am from some yahoo doing a serious burnout or at 6am from the over achiever biker crowd leaving to ride. 2. Traffic. If you ever go to the Blackhills of SD to ride aside from rally time (and you SHOULD!), you know that once Rally time nears, all of the speed limits decrease. There are stop signs put up where they usually are not. There are temporary stop lights. Everywhere. The Main Drag to get thru Sturgis is usually a hold-your-clutch-and-sweat event. There are stop signs or lights on every block, literally. Your bike (and you) WILL get very hot if you attempt to go THRU Sturgis at any time. 3. Weather. You WILL ride in the rain. It will MOST LIKELY hail while you are there for a brief time. Hail hurts. 3. If you see a gas station without a crazy long line of bikes waiting to fuel up, even if you d...

INDY 500 - I had no desire to attend, but when the opportunity arose, WHY NOT?? Turns out it was EPIC! Not only did we see the race, I scored free VIP tickets to the Sam Hunt concert the day before... just for standing on the sidewalk waiting for the girls to pee!  I went into it thinking it would be a cool experience if nothing else. I left thinking I would TOTALLY return! SCalped $40 tickets - 2nd row on the 4th Turn where 3 crashes happened RIGHT THERE! Sat in the infield some, people watched, and tried to grasp the concept of HOW HUGE the place was and just how many people were there! It was insane!! And it was a scorcher - turned out to be the HOTTEST Indy on record with 98 degrees. The track was 132.. and being right next to the track got HOT! The sights, the sounds, the feeling of the cars whizzing by at 213 mph... it was surreal!! And the best part? You can bring coolers in the track - beer, water, ice, all of it. We walked in and saw Kelly Clarkson on the big screen singin...

Some of my favorite rides in the Black Hills involve great scenery and lots of corners to play on! In no particular order: Spearfish Canyon - Roughly 45 miles full circle, there are a lot of corners (sweepers and some tighter ones) and the scenery is beautiful as the road twists and turns throughout the canyon, with canyon walls looming high above your head and a river guiding your way through the rock. There are several good stops along the road for hiking and sightseeing - one of which is Bridal Veil Falls. You cant miss it because there are pedestrian signs, rumble strips in the middle of the road, and a decent sized parking area across the road from the falls. There is a viewing platform for pictures and you don't have to actually 'hike' to see it. Another worthy stop is Roughlock Falls. Turn towards the Spearfish Canyon Lodge on the gravel road. Go less than a mile and there is a parking area on your left. The path to the falls is moderately steep elevation,...