Sept 2/08 - Kudos and Thank You's ...

Tuesday, Sept 2nd/08

A great nights sleep and I’m headed to the gym in the early morning. Rod decides to forego the somewhat dubious pleasure of a workout in favour of getting some rags and grooming our horses.

The high winds have blown away yesterday’s storm leaving everything freshly washed. Blue skies dotted with cumulous clouds but the temperature is a chilly 40F and only expected to warm to 62F. Did I mention that I really don’t care for the cold???

Breakfast at the hotel at 8:00 and at 9:00 Rod rides Paladin a short ½ mile down to “The Bicycle Shop” to see if they have what we need. We’re in luck! They have a good match and will have it installed on the bike by 10:30 a.m. TODAY! If it wasn’t in stock it would have been a week’s delivery. Rod walks back to the hotel and we pack all our gear to be ready to go once Paladin is re-shod.

I’m sorry to leave – they have been extraordinarily kind to us here at the Holiday Inn Express. The staff has all been fantastic, each and every one out to make our stay as pleasant as possible. Janet, who oversees the breakfast bar is a sweetheart and it’s evident she Mother’s all the guests and takes them under her warm wing. She seems genuinely sorry to see us depart. She had been speaking with another motorcycle couple earlier this morning who yesterday rode 3 hours in the SNOW from Jackson Hole, Wyoming. YIKES!!! No thank you very much – been there – done that – didn’t like it! Did I mention that I really don’t care for the cold??? The front desk staff is pleased to make our reservation at our next stop. Destination: Spearfish, South Dakota.

We pick up Paladin and stop at the Honda dealership down the way. I am still trying to replace the Formotion temperature gauge that decided to leak oil all over my left side mirror. I miss having it. They don’t have the gauge but are happy to re-lube my chain which is starting to get a little noisy.





We ride through Sundance, Wyoming where the billboards proudly boast “Home of The Kid”. Seeing that and taking in the scenery once again brings to life the old westerns and names that struck terror into the early settlers of the Wild, Wild West. Butch Cassidy, Wyatt Earp, Frank & Jesse James. Easy to see how they made good their escapes in these still untamed lands. Places like “Hole-In-The-Wall” were very real and their names are well preserved even though it is 150 years since “The Sundance Kid” was born.

Harry Longabaugh (A.K.A. “The Sundance Kid”) was known as one of the fastest and most accurate gunmen in the West. Perhaps it is a good thing that he was also known to be a quiet man who did not constantly reach for his weapon. He gained his moniker after being imprisoned in Sundance, Wyoming at one point for stealing a horse. He left the United States for Argentina with his friend Butch and girlfriend Etta when the authorities were getting too close for comfort. Eventually, Etta had to return to New York to be treated for appendicitis. Did Sundance leave her there and never return? Did he die in a Bolivian shoot out, or did he return to the United States, marry Etta, and die in 1957? The only way to know for sure would involve a spot of Time Travel.


Arriving in Spearfish, we unload the bikes (again) and got a cart to help us take our gear up to the 2nd floor. We keep saying “next time we’re packing lighter” – well… judge for yourself!

We gather our maps and tour books and re-con in our room in front of the gas fireplace which we turn on – no not just for the ambience but to get warm. Did I mention that I really don’t care for the cold???

We double up and ride out to the High Plains Western Heritage Centre and Museum. It is too late to see it for today so we’ll come back in the morning. We did however, walk the grounds and make a few new friends.