July 22, 2022
Back in Rapid City this morning for an appointment. It was a very early appointment. So, I had read about a highly rated donut shop in the area. After the appointment we visited Jerry’s Cake and Donuts. Yummy donuts and a huge selection. Good thing this place isn’t in Greensboro. Wow!
After we dined in the truck on milk and donuts, we headed to Sturgis. The first stop is going to be Sturgis Brewing Company. A couple of weeks back I had a beer at a restaurant. It was made by Sturgis Brewing Company. And it instantly became my favorite. So we had time, and I can’t find it locally, so why not go to the source. The beer is Black Hills Blonde Ale. We decided to eat some lunch there and it was really good. Since I knew I liked one beer, I tried a flight of four more. Our waitress also brought me one more to try, her favorite, Sky Lodge Lager. She has good taste. I enjoyed that beer. The four I chose were, Purple Grain, Sturgis Pale Ale, Fools Gold Light Lager, and Red Cut Red Ale. All of them I would buy again. Before we left, I bought 2 sixes of the Blonde Ale and a crowler of the Sky Lodge. Smooth and good.
It was time to ride around Sturgis and sight see. First stop, Sturgis Harley Davidson. One wall of custom shirts with Sturgis HD on the back. And this walls is about 40 feet long. Fortunately my son-in-law, Brian, and his friend, Chad, brought me one a few years ago. My attention and Nancy’s was on the back wall (60 feet long) of Sturgis Rally shirts. Of course we had to purchase one. Nancy and I had our eyes on two designs. So we bought one in my size and the other one in Nancy’s size. Both awesome shirts.
We drove through the town of Sturgis. It is very different than I had imagined and it is very different than what I imagined from the Sturgis Rally shows I’ve watched. The Rally actually encompasses a hundred square miles or more. It is not just at Sturgis. It will be here in Custer, Rapid City, Sturgis, Deadwood, Lead, Wall, and Hill City. I have a much better understanding now. Also glad I won’t be in the throngs of people in the middle of the Rally.
Since we were in Sturgis, we had to visit two of the most “infamous?” bars in Sturgis, The Buffalo Chip and the Full Throttle Saloon. I can now say that I have had a drink in each of these bars. What a shock to see them in person. These venues are huge, gigantic. TV shows doesn’t do it justice. The bars may be small but there is plenty of area around them and lots going. on. Both feature big name entertainers during the rally.
The Buffalo Chip also has a multiple bay garage for repairs. It will have several food trucks on site. The bar is actually called The Big Engine Bar. There is acres of empty field all around the structures. During the Rally, these fields will be filled with RVs and tents. I can only imagine the deafening roar of thousands of Harley engines all running at once. We sat at the bar and enjoyed one drink. There were 5 other people in there. People were in the process of setting up and getting ready for the 2022, 82nd Annual Sturgis Rally. We finished our drink and moved onto the next location.
Welcome to the Full Throttle Saloon. Actually the new FTS. In September 2015 a large fire destroyed the original FTS. Michael Ballard, the owner, rebuilt the FTS in a different location and had it open for the 2016 Rally. Since then he has added a distillery and a boutique to the property. It is billed as the World’s Largest Biker Bar. It had some very heavy duty and industrial decor. I really liked the looks of it. Again, very large grounds to hold campers. A lot of very cool metal artwork all around. Talking to the bartender that served us, she travels the country to various bike rallies to tend bar. She is kind of like a work camper but has a cabin on site. If the Full Throttle sounds familiar, there was a TV show about it a few years ago. We used to watch it.
When we finished at FTS, we drove through Sturgis. Of course to get there we had to drive past Bear Butte State Park. It is a beautiful area. Bear Butte is considered scared to many Native Americans as it is their belief that it was the “place where the creator has chosen to communicate with them through visions and prayer.”* Sturgis is a small town but you could see that they were preparing for the onslaught of bikers. There were many, many bars and restaurants. Some of the vendors were starting to set up in tents getting ready for the rally. We drove through Sturgis and took the long way home. Through Deadwood. It looked like a really neat town, at least the historic section we drove through. It is on our list to go back and spend a day there. Just south of Deadwood is Lead. We didn’t drive through Lead as our route home had us turn. However we did pass by Pactola Lake. It is the Black Hills largest reservoir. Absolutely beautiful!
*https://www.blackhillsbadlands.com>parks-monuments/bear-butte-state-park
