BELLE FOURCHE, SOUTH DAKOTA ------ "If you build it, they will come." OK, where are they? Shop is set up and we're ready to roll but customers have been sparce, emotions have been plentiful and weather is downright unpredictable from hour to hour. We sat with friends under the cashier canopy two nights ago - Donny, Slow Mike, Shell and a new gal with fiery red hair and a Ph.D in horse whispering we quickly named Doc. Out of nowhere, gloomy skies turned to downright rage. With winds screaming, the six of us held on to the canopy for dear life. The other canopy covering the lift table was shredded - thank goodness we had a spare - and astroturf went flying everywhere. At some point, someone mimicked Lieutenant Dan from Forrest Gump as he fights the weather while shrimping, "IS THAT ALL YOU GOT" Mother Nature? Bring it on! Alas, the days go slow and we wait. I've ordered up more signs and business cards and am debating on radio and newspaper ads. I won't sugarcoat it, the stress and tension are at an all-time high. We have to succeed here or there may be a big problem. Send up those supplications for business here. The mitigating factors have been pleasant. My chin is healing well from the pipe burn, Mike and Shell's 6-year-old boy Harley is a hoot and plays well with the dogs, and Shell makes a mean rhubarb pie. The dogs are doin OK but I worry because we are so close to the highway. Ding tinkers dawn til dusk - there's enough to do on the BFT, even without a lot of customers. We have finalized plans for Ignacio, Reno, ABATE in Texas and Boo Benefit but await word on Galveston. All suggestions welcome for end-of-tour landing spot - a place where we could squat for little or nothing and pick up service or seasonal work. More from the front later. No thoroughfare here - just a lot of wind.

Vacation Over

Shell Falls

Old Car

Can't remember what I have already posted so here's what I know. It was a GREAT vacation with my Mom. We spent night in Billings and went to the Rock Pile in Billings for a nice dinner and then played slots for an hour or so. Battlefield took all day Tuesday and Don was, as expected, a hellava tour guide. Landed in Sheridan at the Trail's End and feasted on meat and booze. Next day we drove the entire loop through the Big Horns, stopping at Dirty Annies for burgers, malt and souvenirs. Mom stayed at the historic Occidental Hotel in the Hoover Suite  in Buffalo where the president slept. We did bar food that night and kept our cribbage marathon going (Mom winning). Don and I swam in swimming pool and enjoyed our cabin down the road while Mom had room delivery of breakfast and then spent day at museums and rubber tomahawk stores before having cocktail hour in her parlour (I finally won a game of crib) and a very fancy dinner at the Virginian with live music. Slow drive back to Billings airport and home to Belle Fourche today. We set up shop to tomorrow. Wish us luck. Cheers...Ding, Hol, Thumper and Bob!

Crow girl at Trading Post

Short and sweet- Went to the Little Big Horn battlefield today. Lots of people but weather was wonderful - mid 80s with slight breeze. Don and Mom walked and talked about all of the history and we listened to details on cell phone dial in system. Had a picnic at visitors center and then hit rubber drum and tomahawk joints. Nice dinner at motel in Sheridan. Off to Big Horn Mountains tomorrow for more viewing and picnic and then into Buffalo and its historic Occidental Inn and Virginian steakhouse. Vacaction is fabulous. Always thankful for hot water, A/C and working television. More later....Hol, Ding, Bob and Thumper

Flies Anyone?

Flies Anyone? I have officially - via rolled newspapers and regular arms - burned through 27 fly swatters since starting the tour. Even as I speak, Ding and I duel with swatters and sticky paper to see who shall reign supreme in killing. Thank goodness at least one of our kept beasts enjoys eating these annoying buggers as they buzz our tired heads. Spent yesterday at the Snake compound building shelving for the BFT and organizing all our crap. Had a helluva happy hour at Alibi Aggies inside Snake's garage. Beer and tequilla were flowing, along with war stories about running the road. I feel secure - downright confident, thanks to Slow Mike - that this rally will go well. They are expecting a LOT of folks. Fliers are done but need to be posted. Should have done this today but got a slow start. Headed to Billings tomorrow to see Mom. This will be Ding's first meet of the matriarch and he is preparing accordingly. As a fifth generation Wyomingite, I've told my mom that he will know every last detail of the battlefields and be an excellent guide. She, of course, has done her own homework by reading the best books on the subject. I will sit in the backseat of the one-ton with Bob and Thumper and watch the days unfold. It should be fun. We plan to battlefield for a day, drive into the mountains and hit 9,000 feet for a picnic and then amble around Buffalo before taking our evening drinks and repast at the historic Occidental. Mom is staying the presidential suite where Hoover slept. They assure me the bed is new and the politics have evaporated from the walls. I may have to take tea or a glass of port in her sitting room overlooking the creek. Four days vacation and then back to work. We will be at Branding Iron by Friday and start wrenching immediately. I cannot explain how much we need a break. More soon at the end of the week. As an aside, had a nice visit with Milo at the local newspaper the Rapid City Journal. He writes about everything. We told him our histories with the ink (Don's peeps were in the biz, too) and I offered to write. We'll see. A few pics of the old machinery attached.

Belle Fourche today

It's Friday in Belle Fourche and we're holed up inside the BFT because it's ripping hot outside and also trying to rain. Ding put in a massive tire order this morning that will be delivered to the Branding Iron Saloon where we will set up shop soon. Right now we are living in the compound owned by Snake. He's got us hooked up with water and power and also has an awesome shop to hang out in - complete with its own bar called Alibi Aggies. We are teaming with the Branding Iron Saloon and TNT Tattoos to work this rally, which starts Aug. 6. We need to get our fliers posted, road signs staked and shop set up. We're headed to Montana next week to meet up with my mom and tour the battlefield. Then it's back to work. We're still working on remainder to rally schedule. Reno is a definite but need to hear back from Ignacio. South Padre Island is out (they don't have power source we need) but I think we will meet up  with Bo the Pinstriper for Boo Fest near Austin - just before Galveston run. Gotta get back to the flier. RIP Colorado victims.

Working on my flier for Sturgis rally.

Headed to Sturgis

It was a long stretch in Algona, Iowa, waiting for the truck to be repaired. That said, we expect to pick it up this afternoon and start heading west to Norfolk, Nebraska. We had to miss their rally due to the mechnical issue but need to stop in and pick up some tires and parts we ordered and had shipped there. There may also be some mail for us from my ever-accomodating favorite cousin Kit Davlin in Colorado. From Nebraska, we will head directly to Belle Fourche, S.Dak. We couldn't reach terms with Beartooth rally folks so we will set up shop early at the big show. We will be based in the parking lot of the Branding Iron bar and grill - excellent steaks, burgers, full bar and outside seating. There is a possibility that two tattoo artists we met in Iowa will meet us there and set up beside us. The area we will be in is about 35 miles northwest of Sturgis, near a confluence of two roads that will take riders on the Devil's Tower loop. With proper signage and a lot of fliers, I believe we will do well. Check out the website for an update on T-shirts - now available online through PayPal. Also, look soon for some tour stop updates. We are passing on SPI rally (proper power not available) and possibly adding an ABATE rally and an event called BooFest, both in Texas.
Ding and I are well but beat-up by weather and lots of bugs. Dogs sleep often under trailer, where it's cooler.
Stay cool yourselves...and more from us down the road.



Ding breaking camp



What happens when you don't wear proper riding gear! I'm OK, healing well thanks to Ding's EMT skills.

ABATE Freedom Rally, Algona Iowa

Bo the Pinstriper

Deaf couple with new loud horns on their bike

Fireworks

Butt dude - not a good sight



Clown man. Surprisingly, skinny compared to many here.

SUPER 8 MOTEL, ALGONA, IOWA - I have been without Internet for nearly a week - ergo, no postings and pics. The rally here has ended and it was a really good one for us. Constantly busy the entire time, in major heat wave, too boot. Here are the highlights: Made a good new friend in Bo the Pinstriper. He was our neighbor and we spent the evenings with him when the shops closed up. He brought two fun dogs with him, Hannah and Gizmo. He used to work in the back shop at the Arizona Republic so we had plenty to talk about. He was one of the last people to see Don Bolles alive (reporter working on mob stories in Phoenix who was blown to pieces in his car. Usually an entire textbook chapter for college j-majors).

We met a nice deaf couple who had us install screaming loud horns on their bike. Another young couple from Chicago area (he's in the refineries and she's a 911 operator) were at our site for several days, waiting for Ding to do a whole lotta work on their ride. She was one of the women who wore little or nothing - crazy nudity but harmless.

The fireworks show was a good one, and the rally overall was fun - busy enough that we had our tire distributor make two dumps for us in five days. I swapped a T-shirt with rubber drum and tomahawk guy and got four pairs of earrings in the deal.  

On the last day I grilled a mess of food on the cue and we reveled before heading to town to get a room and drop off truck. Despite dropping a new tranny in the truck before starting the tour, torque convertor shot. We will likely be stuck in Algona another week and possibly miss Nebraska rally - bummer. Also, we will be heading directly to Sturgis, passing over Beartooth rally. Couldn't work a deal with those folks so we will head to Sturgis - Belle Fouche, to be specific - and start prepping and marketing.

Very tired and sore - Ding's fists look like those of a prize fighter, swollen and balled up from so much work and heat. He got his chicken friend steak and hot fudge jumbo malt for dinner and is currently flopped with Thumper and watching T.V. We will likely head back to camp tomorrow and slowly load while waiting on word from Dodge dealership on status of truck. The Iowa ABATE folks have been very gracious and are letting us stay at the park as long as we need to. Haven't quite figured out how we will stuff Bob and Thumper in the saddle bags. Ya gotta keep in mind, we're on the Red Sled until truck gets back. If we make it work, I'll shoot pics.

More soon. From the front, Hol, Ding, Thumper and Bob





THOROUGHFARE, Algona, Iowa, ABATE Freedom Rally -- The thoroughfare was lively tonight. Women have zero cumpunction about going topless or fully naked. They walk with beer coolers on their backs and, still, stop and pet the dogs. They float in their kiddy pools, defying tan lines. One totally naked gal played with dogs for several minutes.
There are more beer guts here - men and women - than I've seen in a lifetime. All said, the Iowa ABATE folks are great - they check on us constantly.
I met Santa today. He's on vacation, has tattoos and ear piercings. But he is Santa. He said that, in the Santa off-season, kids don't blink an eye at his ink. If you thing about it, one never knows if Santa has tats and rings - he wears a suit and beard that covers everything.

Santa and the Stud

Holly and Santa

Dinner - wings and crazy nachos

Bob and Ding

Sparklers and clothes

Broke down and bought the giant pina colada drink from neighbors - included a lei and blinking cup. Ding put two new tires on Red Sled and took a little ride. Otherwise, mellow day. Dave, the ABATE of Iowa assitant state dude, drove me around in golf cart so I could put up signage. Met Dawn of Nebraska ABATE. She walked up to tent about 11 p.m., asking if we knew where Dings was. We're here. She hung out with Pin Striping dude and others. No complaints. More soon,,Hol

Hot hot hot!

THOROUGHFARE AT ALGONA, IOWA - With my Deadwood series affiliation notwithstanding and my good friend Shank reminding me (thanks dude), I have realized that a key peg in this journey is the thoroughfares of the loci at which we move about and vend. For those who haven't watched Deadwood or Carnivale, here's the picture: On most days, there is always some wacko in the thoroughfare. In Deadwood, it might be the crusty and intolerable E.B. Farnum or his lackey Richardson. In our thoroughfare, it's the 50-year-old woman with her man on her side, walking topless down the line with her husband in his boxer shorts; or the drummer next door who has found a kinship with Don's dog Thumper - because, as a rock and roller drummer - his name is Thumper, too! The thoroughfare becomes your life on the road as a carnie. Ding sweated through 100+ degree heat today to wrench on two bikes. I sorted 1,000+T-shirts. I hope someone is making pancakes in this camp tomorrow.
More from the thoughfare soon...

Harvest Moon

Ding wrenching

MADE ALGONA

Made Algona...

Steve and wife guiding us to site in Algona

ABATE Steve and wife led us to the site, down a flag row that included Marine colors (a fellow who goes by the name Rambo is a fellow Marine). Neighbor carnies have made their presence known and we have an idea which patch runs this rodeo. Fine with us. Already have a double tire change booked for tomorrow. These folks have a sweet property here. ABATE - A Brotherhood Against Totalitarian Enactments - of Iowa owns the farm and it has showers, electricty and water! Sweet! Head dude Steve and his wife cruise around on a golf cart and help with everything. Yes, the weather is hot in the day but nights cool down. It appears a full moon is coming soon. Set up going well  but there may be a problem with the truck (computer or something). That said, we can stay here as long as we need to. We are definitively happy in corn country and it's great. There is a stream nearby and we are happy to be west of Mississippi.  We got confirmation on Reno rally today - YAHOO! - and still wait to hear from Montana and Ignacio. As I write this, we have been on the road exactly a month - feels like a couple of weeks. This season is going fast. Figured out a new plan to display tires but T-shirt storage alludes us. All suggestions welcome. More soon from the front....ox

Smooth sailing

Indiana sunset

Had a problem-free, uneventful drive yesterday, which is good news. Smooth sailing from Columbus, Ohio, to Crawfordsville, Indiana. Big boy truck and BFT ran like champs. Found a good KOA, showered, dumped out (did a Butchy Yost, Mom), made pot of spaghetti and crashed. Additional navigational tools have added new precision to co-pilot duties. In addition to Ding's 3g phone and big atlas, truck stop guide and KOA directory have allowed me to navigate us well to specific needs and wants. Driving through Peoria, Illinois now, headed toward Davenport, Iowa. We had considered pressing to Algona but have decided to stop in Dav - a little case of the lazies due to biscuits and gravy, too much sleep and 100+temps with humidity. Ding doing great with driving and dogs sacked. I'm wrestling with New York Times crossword and icing swollen ankles (think I twisted them). All fine...More later

Nav tools



Illinois River



Ding driving through anti-gun Illinois Sunday, July 1