Can a brother bum a shower??

[yamahonkawazuki]

"and will probably be remembered that way".

Adfalchius, poor guy hasn't even completed his trip yet and it sounds like you're writing his Eulogy.


Guess I'm far too hardened and cynical, I was a Miami cop for 27 years and have seen waay too many nice, trusting, and well meaning folks, ripped off, hurt, and even murdered-----occupational hazard, guess I'm stuck in a permanent - better safe than sorry - mode.

You all were right about BaltimoreGS, I was wrong, sounds like a straight up terrific guy.

yes ive been in law enforecment myself. and have seen what you talk about. take all the ppl here. not many id open my home to. in fact a short list. maybe a dozen or 2. that is it. they helped me out when my kidneys shut down. kept me going. so i am in their debt. no i would NOTopen my home to the first jackwagon that said hey i need to shaZam!. can i use your bathroom? like youy say that would be foolish. BUT if i knew them or knew theircharacter, then id consider it. BUT i wouldnt turn my back on them while they were inside. . cept for maybe acouple ppl here

[BaltimoreGS]

Greetings from a tent somewhere in Midlands, South Dakota     We made our way out of Minnesota today and into Sioux Falls, SD.  That was quite a sight to behold!  Everyone says that "pictures don't do it justice" when talking about major landmarks and that definitely holds true here.  Tomorrow we head into the Badlands where many attractions are located.  Can't wait to be in awe again!   

-Jessie


Not really much to see in Iowa or Minnesota, just corn and soy bean fields.  The roads are flat and straight which I would find boring on a motorcycle.  And it may not always be the case but the wind was really blowing our car around today, the light weight GS would have been pushed all over the place!



Our first official tourist stop on this trip was Sioux Falls, SD.  The city is nice but the real attraction for me was Falls Park! 







It's funny what is the "norm" depending on where you live.  We are used to gray squirrels running around but out here they have these critters.  The locals call them gophers but they are actually striped chipmunks



As we got further into South Dakota the land started looking like this



And we started seeing signs like these   

[yamahonkawazuki]

yuppers. at least you dont need a blacklight to find htem, like i used in az to see scorpions lol

[Twisted]

Try here in Australia. If you see a snake there is a pretty high chance it can kill you.

[Twism86]

Those falls look awesome! Thanks for the pics.

[cbrfxr67]

GREAT pics!  Thanks for posting!

[ojstinson]

I second that, those are awesome and very professional looking photos, certainly came out better than anything I ever took.



PS---Twism86, thank you for the very kind, understanding, and thoughtful PM, and yes I do have a girlfriend. I would have answered you personally but you were blocked.

[ojstinson]

Judging by the area and terrain that those photos were taken, those poisonous snakes are most certainly Diamondback Rattlesnakes, they are totally non aggressive reptiles and will only strike if handled, ( happens more often than you'd think ), teased, or accidentally stepped on. Fortunately in most cases you are audibly warned in advance of a strike.

[ben2go]

Jessie,I live vicariously through you my friend.Great pics.Looks like a fun trip.

[yamahonkawazuki]

Judging by the area and terrain that those photos were taken, those poisonous snakes are most certainly Diamondback Rattlesnakes, they are totally non aggressive reptiles and will only strike if handled, ( happens more often than you'd think ), teased, or accidentally stepped on. Fortunately in most cases you are audibly warned in advance of a strike.

agreed. you WILL hear them, long before you see them, unless you are unlucky enough to step outta the blue ON them. btw you hitting WIFI spots to upload the updates? hell when i was w/o net, i had hit up every spot i could tink of or dowloaded a map with every unsecure wireless network  .

[BaltimoreGS]

Judging by the area and terrain that those photos were taken, those poisonous snakes are most certainly Diamondback Rattlesnakes, they are totally non aggressive reptiles and will only strike if handled, ( happens more often than you'd think ), teased, or accidentally stepped on. Fortunately in most cases you are audibly warned in advance of a strike.

agreed. you WILL hear them, long before you see them, unless you are unlucky enough to step outta the blue ON them. btw you hitting WIFI spots to upload the updates? hell when i was w/o net, i had hit up every spot i could tink of or dowloaded a map with every unsecure wireless network  .

All the places we have camped so far have offered wifi, I guess it is the norm now.  There also seems to be a lot of unsecure networks around.  I missed your one post earlier, cross country on a motorized bike would be an impressive feat!!  What is the average speed on your yours?

-Jessie

[yamahonkawazuki]

Judging by the area and terrain that those photos were taken, those poisonous snakes are most certainly Diamondback Rattlesnakes, they are totally non aggressive reptiles and will only strike if handled, ( happens more often than you'd think ), teased, or accidentally stepped on. Fortunately in most cases you are audibly warned in advance of a strike.

agreed. you WILL hear them, long before you see them, unless you are unlucky enough to step outta the blue ON them. btw you hitting WIFI spots to upload the updates? hell when i was w/o net, i had hit up every spot i could tink of or dowloaded a map with every unsecure wireless network  .

All the places we have camped so far have offered wifi, I guess it is the norm now.  There also seems to be a lot of unsecure networks around.  I missed your one post earlier, cross country on a motorized bike would be an impressive feat!!  What is the average speed on your yours?

-Jessie

around 30mph. my fastest ever was 55 rounded up from 54.9 via gps. on my scott waimea. but it twisted the frame. . so no more triathlon builds. a cruiser and 30-35 will be just fine.

[BaltimoreGS]

Sorry to double post but I got sidetracked   

We spent our day in the Badlands today.  Nice twisty roads and very scenic, would be fun on a motorcycle!  We also hit Wall Drug which is a tourist trap.  It's claim to fame is being the oldest drug store or something along those lines.  They have a ton of Billboards along I-90.  Kind of reminds me of South of the Border signs along I-95 on the East Coast.  Most of their stuff is over priced but it is fun to walk around.  We did partake of two their home made donuts and free ice water (both advertised on numerous billboards    ).  Tomorrow we hit the Black Hills to see the major sites like Mount Rushmore.  Crossing 2 time zones has gotten my body a bit out of wack, must sleep now.  Later

-Jessie


The Badlands were really cool to see in person.  I started out taking lots of pictures but you can only photograph so many rocks.  Eventually I just sat back and enjoyed the alien landscape as we drove through the park.







Here's a shot with some people so you can get an idea of the scale of these things.  According to a movie we watched at the visitor's center, these formation are eroding at a rate of 1 inch a year



As we got further in the park the rock formations became more colorful



Prairie dogs are one of the indigenous creatures



Didn't take many pictures at Wall Drug.  I did find this old man with the wooden woman funny enough to photograph   

[The Buddha]

Yea that "wall drug" was a major non event for me ... the signs on 90 really irritated me no end. BTW is there snow on the mountain tops now ? cos last year in september there was plenty. Sorry I cant see the pics @ work.
Cool.
Buddha.

[steezin_and_wheezin]

awesome photos! this is making me want to take another road trip soon. hope yer enjoying it to the fullest!

[mister]

Thanks again, Jessie and Adfalchius for sharing these images.

I'll fish out my portable burner and place it on the GS for size comparison when I get a chance.

Michael

[BaltimoreGS]

Greetings from Hot Springs, South Dakota!!  Hope I'm not starting to bore you guys with all these pics   

Today was our first real "tourist" day.  We made our way into The Black Hills last night and spent today taking in the sites.  There is so much to do here that we will be staying in the area another day.

We started our day at the Museum of Geology.  It was small but interesting with lots to see.  Some of the displays could have used more information, they only gave the name of the item but no real description.  Admission is free though so I can't really complain.      We then made our way to Reptile Gardens, Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse.  Tomorrow we are going to take some cave tours.  Well I'm off to my tent.  Later

-Jessie


Museum of Geology







You can't have a Museum of Geology without a dinosaur   



Reptile Gardens' main highlight is a domed exhibit center with lizards, birds, turtles and tropical plants





Another thread on here was talking about identifying water mocasins (cotton mouths)



There are also interactive exhibits



I guess they wouldn't have made a sign if there weren't dumbasses that do this



Mount Rushmore is a bit surreal in person.  It almost looked fake as we came up upon it.  Here's the typical view you are used to



What you don't see is all the people that are gawking at it   





Crazy Horse is a work in progress.  It receives no Federal funding.  Once completed it will be the largest carved monument in the world



Here's what the completed monument will look like



There's a lot of work left!



The visitors center contains a museum of Native American artifacts



As if the monument was not a big enough goal, the real vision is a Native American learning complex complete with college and hospital

[yamahonkawazuki]

always wanted to see the horse in progress

[PachmanP]

Your pics look great. Looks like you guys are having a good trip. 

How did you guys make it over the Appalachians with that thing? I knew you were taking the littke geo, but that much extra stuff and the giant cargo carbuncle I'm impressed. I'll be more impressed I guess when you hit the rockies. 

On a final note, can you still call it camping if you take a rice cooker?

Good luck and Godspeed.

[The Buddha]

My trip was nothing this interesting, well, I was trying to get work done with my friend @ the other end get a VW and a Bike back home.
I ran right past all the tourist traps and kept on going.
I better post some pics ... the vw in tow did make for some interesting pics.
Cool.
Buddha.