NatSTOC 2012 or "The rally that is not Sturgis!"

This is the tell of the rally in the Blackhills that is not Sturgis!  Or maybe it is the power rangers convention, Fireman's week or maybe a Hi-Viz convention.  With all the bright riding gear being worn I am not sure.  What I am sure of is, I had a ton of fun this past week!

So this was my big trip for the year even though it is one of the shortest I have done that was not a local gathering.  This trip only involved 1100 miles round trip.  The destination was to NatSTOC, the National Sport Tourer Owners Club Rally for those of you that do not speak the lingo.  This event is held each summer in Spearfish South Dakota.  Spearfish is up in the Black Hills, some prime riding roads call the Black Hills their home!

On this trip I invited my brother-in-law and his HD 883 to come along.  It took some convincing to get him to understand that we in the ST community does not care what you ride as long as you ride.  He finally agreed that it would be a fun trip.

I set to making the plans and decided that this trip would allow me to color in two more states on my states ridden map, South Dakota and Nebraska.  I figured since we were so close to North Dakota I might as well head on up there and color that in as well.  I laid out a route that would take us pretty much all two lane roads from Colorado to Wyoming then to South Dakota.  I figured that North Dakota would be a day trip and then we would take two lane roads down to Nebraska and then back into Colorado.

We set out to leave on Wednesday July 11, 2012.  I told my Brother-in-law I wanted to get a 5:00 am start to get out of the city before traffic had time to build.  He and his lovely bride decided to spend the night at my house Tuesday night.

For this trip I decided to go for a slightly different option for hydration while underway.  I mounted a one gallon water jug to my right side passenger foot peg.   In my opinion this turned out to be far superior to my Camel Pak that I have used in the past.

Wednesday arrived with a plan to take US 85 most of the way to Spearfish.  The trip was pretty much uneventful however I did spot a muffler man in Greeley Colorado.  I stop for a photo op each time I find a new one of these.

Crossing into Wyoming.

We stopped just shy of the South Dakota border for lunch.  After passing the 3 food places in the small town, a U-turn was in order.  During the simple maneuver David drops the 883.  Time to grab the camera that I wear on a lanyard around my neck.  DANG IT it is tangled between my audio cable and water hose.  Just as I get the camera in hand, David has the bike righted.  I drop the camera and he drops the bike again!  I go for the still tangled camera and he rights the bike.  Sadly, I got no picture.  I figured that this is the most miles that he has ridden in one sitting and the little 883 was tired and trying to lay down for a nap.

We then hit a bit of construction which required about three miles that of riding in loose gravel.  Loose gravel is no fun on an 800 pound bike.

Crossing into South Dakota.

From there we took 14a into Spearfish to the Spearfish City Campground.  14a is Spearfish Canyon and was a great way to end the day of flat land riding.  This was a wonderful place to call home for a few days.  Nice creek running down the center and plenty of shade trees.  Since the temperature were 95 plus for our entire stay the creek and shade were very welcome.

On Thursday David and I rode over to Sturgis to see what all the hype was about.  Do you know how hard it was to find a T-shirt that did not have anything about the rally on it?  I was not there for the rally and most likely never will be, so it took me seven different shops to come up with one that just said Sturgis.

We ate at the Knuckle Saloon which had a great vibe and really good food.  We then walked the town and visited the Motorcycle Museum.  What a great collection of bikes!  Well worth the five dollar admission fee.  While at the museum I could not resist buying David a Gremlin bell for his 883.  It worked as he did not drop the bike for the rest of the trip.  We headed back to the campground where we sat around and kicked tires while trying to beat the heat.

Friday by the time we were up and moving after being up late the night before it was already 90+ degrees.  We decided to cut out the North Dakota side trip, and not to ride that day at all, but hang around and talk to all of our friends from across the USA and Canada.  I love my Canadian peeps and spent much of the trip talking with them.

Friday night we had a group pizza party and they held a raffle.  David won a t-shirt which he gave to me since it was WAY to big for him.  Thanks bro!  This was also a good time to get the Team Colorado folks together for a group photo.  We got everyone but Smash and Karla who arrived to the party late.

While we were in Sturgis we picked up a ride map that had suggested rides in the area.  Just about every store had these maps for free so if you are in the area pick one up or print on at http://www.blackhillsbadlands.com/ Here is a scan of my well loved map.  (http://www.blackhillsbadlands.com owns all right to this map, no copyright infringement intended)

On Saturday we set out to run the blue line.  We had to avoid 14a due to a marathon so we shot I 90 back over to Sturgis then down Vanocker Canyon.  I fired up the GoPro and chased David down the Canyon.  David cut his teeth on a rice rocket and it was obvious that he had not figured out that an 883 will not take the twisties the same way.   After watching him cross into the oncoming lanes a few times I backed off so I would not run him over if he wiped out.  I did not want to have to try and get his blood out of the ST after all.  It did not take very long for him to figure out the lines needed to run the curves however.  He is a very quick study!

He made it to Nemo in one piece but not without worrying both of us a little bit.  We stoped in Nemo for breakfast.  The biscuits and gravy at the Nemo Restaurant are worth the 500 mile one way trip by themselves.

We left Nemo and continued to 44 and then over to US 385.  We took US 385 to US 85 and then back to I 90.  If it was not for the race we would have hooked a left onto 14a and ran Spearfish Canyon again.  Before we left Nemo, I set the GoPro to take a pictue once a minute hoping to get a few good shots.

At our gas stop I switched the camera to the topbox and had David follow me.  I should have aimed it a bit higher.

Sunday we started the trip home.  We decided to run Vanocker Canyon again this time with the GoPro on David's bike and him chasing me.

Again we ate at the Nemo Restaurant and I put the GoPro into one minute photo mode.  We took 44 to US 385 (Orange route on the map).  Easy to spot me in the photos with my new Hi-Viz helmet on!

 We cut over on 16 and headed over to see Mt. Rushmore.  Very cool sight to behold.

 We left Rushmore in search of a place to spend the night.  He headed west on 244 and I spoted a few camping spots but then I saw a KOA.  After several days of heat, a swimming pool sounded like a grand idea.  And for $21 bucks total for the two of us I could not ask for more!

After a dip in the pool and feasting on Hot wings and cheese fris.   We headed back to the campsite where we split a 6 pack and crashed out for the night.

We got up early and departed for home.  We had side stands up at 8:00 am.  More riding in gravel to get out of the camp.

We considered finishing off the red line on the map but both of us agreed that after being gone for several days in the heat and a long day of 95+ degree riding ahead of us, we just wanted to get on the road.  We took 87 down and picked up US 385 again near Hot Springs where we jumped on 71 toward Nebraska.

We took 71 over to US 20 back into Wyoming.

We then headed over to I25 to hit the super-slab to beat the heat home.  Highest temp I saw was 98 degrees.

At a gas stop we decided that since I already have several photos of  the I25 Colorado sign we would just pass it by and make time.  Then we found I25 closed due to a over-turned semi and were stuck in traffic for what seemed like hours.  It took us over an hour to go between two exits so we could get off.  After we cleared the traffic, we hit rain and the temps dropped to 66 degrees.  BOY DID THAT FEEL GOOD!

We jumped onto I 270 and parted ways just before I 70.  I was fed-up with the interstate and traffic so I took side streets back to the house.I arrived home right around 6:00 PM.  The heat made for a very long day but boy was the trip worth it.  I would do it again if it was 110 degrees.

Now it is time to figure out where to go for the next trip! As always the rest of the photos can be view on my photobucket account.  The link is at the top right of the page.

Soda Bottle Rockets!

The Pack that I am the Cubmaster of is about to do a 2 Day Family camp out.  One of my main jobs as the CM is to find ways to keep all of my boys and there siblings engaged.  Here is a cheap project that will provide hours of fun for your Cubs or even your children if they are not in scouting.  Each launcher costs less than $20 to make.  My son (A WEBELOS scout) and I made two of these in less than an hour. 

Materials per launcher:
1 10 foot run of 1/2 inch PVC pipe $1.68 from Home Depot
2 1/2" PVC T fittings $0.34 each from Home Depot
3 1/2" PVC Pipe caps $0.27 each from Home Depot
PVC pipe cement $3.86 from Home Depot
1 Bicycle air pump $9.96 from Walmart
1 Tire Valve Stem a two pack is $2.99 at Auto Zone

Total for one launcher is $19.98 however as you can see you will have a little left over so making a second launcher is only going to cost an additional $12.86.  Having two launchers is a great idea so you can have contests to see which rocket goes higher.

I should note that my valve stems were sourced online from www.kurveygirl.com.  I ordered the wrong size for my motorcycle so I used them for this project.

Cut the following sizes from your 10' run of PVC pipe:

2 1 foot sections (front legs)
1 3 foot section (rear run)
1 2 foot section (vertical run)
1 4 inch section (attach between the vertical run and the front legs)

You can make the sections any size you wish however the back section needs to be long enough to make sure that the person pumping the air in can not accidentally lean over the bottle.

Drill a hole in one of the caps and install the tire valve.  Then assemble the pieces making sure to glue them in place.

I am sure you will be able to figure out how it all goes together from the following photos. 

I use one wrap of electrical tape to make a tight seal between the PVC pipe and the bottle.  This thing will launch the bottle 20-30 feet in the air.

It is fun to just shoot the bottle up in the air but you can have your boys use construction paper to make fins and a cone to glue or tape onto their bottles.  Have them decorate them however they want and then send them flying.

Mu Shu Palace

I have always been a fan of reptiles.  I always wanted a snake (Boa) but the wife will not have anything to do with that.  I have been looking at and researching lizards for some time now.  I had finally decided on a Water Dragon however I ran across a Mountain Horned Dragon in my travels and fell in love with them.  I dropped down the coin needed to bring one home.

I toyed with different names and was leaning towards Draco but as he was hanging out on my shoulder this scene from Disney's Mulan popped into my head.  "I'm travel size for your connivance.  If I was my real size your cow here would die of fright."  Thus Mu Shu received his name.

Upon arriving home the then nameless Mu Shu found his temporary home in a a 20 gallon long terrarium that use to be home to a couple of green anoles.  I knew that this enclosure was not tall enough for a MHD but I also new these guys were very hard to find and I did not want to take the chance that he would be sold before I got an enclosure that was suitable built.  Plus the 20L was huge compared to what they had him in at the store. 

The day after Mu Shu came home construction started on Mu Shu's Palace.  My past research showed that these guys like to climb and an enclosure that is tall rather then long was needed.  Living in Colorado also makes it hard to keep the humidity up in a glass tank.  MHDs are tropical and need a humidity level of 75%+.  I found myself spraying his tank 5-6 times a day in an attempt to keep the proper levels.  Heat is not an issue since during the day they need a temperature of 75 to 85 degrees and a night time temperature of 65-70 degrees.  I took all of this into consideration in my build.

I decided to build an enclosure out of wood that measures 4 feet tall X 3 Feet wide X 1.5 feet deep.  I started by building a plywood box to size out of some plywood I already had.  I also added some climbing branches inside.  In the below photo you can spot Mu Shu checking out the start of his new home.

I snagged two pieces of glass ($10 a sheet) from Home Depot that measured 3' X 1.5' to use as the doors.  I cut some 2x6 from the scrap lumber pile at my house to use as the top and bottom runners and side tracks.  I used my table saw to cut tracks in the boards for the glass to slide in.

The side tracks allow the glass to slide into them preventing the escape of crickets and other food. 


Next I needed to add ventilation for proper air flow and a way to allow the heat lamps to warm the enclosure.  I achieved this by cutting three 8" circles in the top.  These were later covered in wire mesh.

Next I did some light sanding as I wanted to make the enclosure  a little more rustic looking.  Then I stained the outside and left the inside "natural" and waterproofed the wood inside and out.

Once everything was dry I used aquarium grade silicone to seal all of the cracks where the pieces of wood joined each other.  Again this was done to help hold in moisture and prevent the escape of Mu Shu's food.

Next I installed an 18" UV light fixture inside the enclosure.

After everything was dried and cured it was time to take it inside and start getting it ready for Mu Shu to move in. 


I started by putting in approximately 5" of pesticide free soil.

I then planted the enclosure with a couple of live plants.  I put in two spikes and a vining plant.  The ivy is fake and will be used until the vining plant grows.  I covered the soil with moss.  This will help keep the humidity levels up and act as an easy changeable substrate.





I placed his water dish in and added a fish tank air pump and bubblier stone to create movement in the water.  MHDs will not drink from standing water.

In order to control the humidity I installed a ReptiFogger.  The fogger sits on top of the enclosure and is piped into the side. 

On top I have two heat lamps.  The entire system is on timers for worry free health of Mu Shu.  The lights turn on at 8 am and off at 8 pm.  The fogger turns on at 7 am, noon, and 7 pm and runs for a hour each cycle on medium.  With this setup the temperature stays perfect and the humidity ranges between 60-80%. 


Mu Shu has moved in and seems to love his new home.  When I got him he was dehydrated and would not eat.  He now eats well and is looking good.  He is way more active (MHDs are not the most active Dragons)

By using wood and items I already had for the Anoles I was able to make what I believe is a very nice enclosure for less than $50.  The only things I had to buy was the glass and the plants.

Roy's BBQ Ride to Eat 2012

I just had the best weekend I have had in a very long time.  I went to Roy's BBQ in Hutchinson, KS for a Ride to Eat.  It was not the BBQ that made it a great weekend, and it was not the fact that I was on another "long" motorcycle trip that make it a great weekend.  It is because I got to spend the weekend on a trip with my daughter "Panda".  That's right folks the first ever daddy daughter trip was last weekend.  Panda has ridden with me many times over her 11 years of life.  All of which were local rides.  Heck, I use to drop her off at school on the Honda Magna I had when she was in Kindergarden.  However this was our first weekend trip and long ride.  I am VERY impressed with how well she did!  In three days we covered roughly 1050 miles with not one complaint from the pillion seat.

I was not planning to make Roy's this year as I can only really pull off one big trip a year and I plan to attend NatSTOC in Spearfish, SD this summer.  That trip is still on.  However, Panda was on spring break and I wanted some BBQ so we started planning the trip.  I was concerned about a few things:

1.  That is a lot of miles for an 11 year old.
2.  Lodging; I tend to camp to save money but riding two up would make it hard, if not impossible, to pack a tent and sleeping bags.
3.  That is a lot of miles for an 11 year old, we were going to have to take a lot of rest breaks.
4.  Communications between us while on the road.
5.  That is a lot of miles for an 11 year old.
6.  How am I going to pack everything a 11 year old pre-teen girl will want to take?

I decided we would get there when we get there and take as many breaks as needed.  I reached out to the Kansas ST folks looking for cheap lodging options.  I was offered a free place to stay approximately 50 miles from Hutchinson and had the offer from a Team Colorado member to split the cost of a room with her and her husband.  After talking with Panda we decided to split the cost of a room.

I wanted to make this trip all about Panda and involved her in all the planning.  She helped pick routes, decide on lodging, every decision was a joint decision.  Just planning the trip was a lot of fun.  We decided to ride with two of the Team Colorado folks on the way out and to ride alone on the return trip.

I got her helmet wired up with a ChatterBox headset so we could talk while under way.  Problem four solved.  We did have to make several adjustments during the trip to get her speakers in the correct place for the best sound and comfort but I have had to make slight adjustments with every headset I have ever used so that was no big deal.

I gave Panda one saddle bag liner and told her that was all the space she had for packing.  She was very concerned with the space limitation of this situation.  She has camped for years and put those skills to use.  When I got home from work on the Thursday before the trip the first thing she did was show me the bag.  She was very proud of herself for making it work, (I too was proud).  She was sad however that she had to make the hard decision to leave her teddy bear that she sleeps with behind.

Friday morning finally came and we got ready for our departure to meet the two Team Colorado folks we were going to be riding with, BakerBoy and Follow at the Flying J in Aurora.  We had a 7:10 am meeting time so it was an early start to Panda's day.  The whole family got out of bed to see us off.

We headed for the truck stop and was able to test out the ChatterBox for the first time while actually on the road.  It worked great!  We did learn later that at highway speeds Panda had a hard time understanding me due to wind noise.  Once the speakers got put in just the right place that issue went away.  Unfortunely it took most of the trip to get them just right.



We head from the truck stop with BakerBoy leading the way.  We decided to take 2 lane roads for our trip out.  I let our riding partners know that if Panda has an issue with the distances we would break off from the group and just meet the later at the hotel.  Turns out she had no issues, or at least none that she told me about.  I think I was ready for a break before she was.  Oh to be young again.  We rode along looking at the scenery and just chatting up a storm.  I gave her my camera attached to a lanyard and she sat on the back of the bike and took tons of photos.

We stopped for a break at about the 150 mile mark and then again for lunch about the 250 mile mark.  We made another stop at about the 400 mile mark.  We then pressed on to our first tourist stop which was about 60 miles away.  We stopped to see an Agave Americana, commonly known as the century plant, in Chase, KS.  This plant gets it's name because it only blooms once in a 100 year span and then dies.  The plant we were stopping to look at is 35 years old and is now blooming.  It is a once in a lifetime opportunity to see one of these bloom.  There is a pretty good wiki on this type of plant here.

We then did the last push to the hotel in Hutchinson, KS.  Panda's first 500 mile day was in the books.  I could not have been more impressed with her!  We lounged around at the hotel talking with the other riders that were there and went as a group to dinner at Applebees with the other Team Colorado folks in attendance.

Above is just a couple of the bikes that showed up.  There were 6 bike/7 people from Colorado who made the trip.

Saturday morning we got up and got ready for the BBQ run.  There were 44 bikes, 1 scooter, and one car (poor guy had a broken foot so he could not ride).  In attendance were riders from Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Illinois, Louisiana, and Missouri.

Let me tell you, the BBQ was well worth the trip.

After eating some good ol' BBQ Panda and I took off with Kansas local and fellow ham radio operator WØQNX to go tour the salt mines.  These are the same mines featured in an episode of "Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe."  We spent much of the afternoon 650 feet below the Earth's surface.  It was a very cool experience.  Due to the constant temperatures and humidity levels they have turned much of the mined area into storage.  They keep some cool stuff down there to preserve it like the costumes from the original Batman and Superman movies and a newspaper reporting President Lincoln's death.

After the mine tour, we rode over to Youder for some pie.  It is not an ST trip without pie!

We then headed back to the hotel where we met up with the rest of the Colorado crowd and sat around in the parking lot shooting the breeze.

Sunday morning came and it was time to head home.  Took me a bit to get Panda up and moving but we got on the road at approximately 7 am central time.  We decided to run I70 back home and said out goodbyes to the rest of Team Colorado who were riding in a group back.

I70 is pretty uneventful in Kansas, except for the cross winds.  Panda did not like the cross winds at all.  There was a few times we were hit with a strong gust and her screams came over the intercom.  We worked our way back stopping every 100-150 miles.  We chatted like old friends and just enjoyed spending time together.  We also did our part to decrease the bug population.  Panda could not take looking at the world through bug guts anymore and had to clean her face shield at a gas stop.

We arrived home right at 3 PM mountain time.  Panda tells me she loved the trip and she is already looking forward to the next one.  Soooooooooo....

Being it was April Fools day I let her relax in front of the TV for about a half hour and informed her she had to get her gear back on because I left an important item at the hotel in Hutchinson.  We had to go back to get it.  She freaked out!!!  I took her to the garage as she was begging to be dropped off at Grandma's because she had no desire to ride that far again.  I messed with her for a little bit before I told he it was a joke.  She wants another trip just not that soon apparently!

Anyway, I will end this post by saying we have over a thousand miles of memories that will be with me for the rest of my life.  I am looking forward to another trip with her.  Below is a map showing our traveled route taken from my Spot Tracker pings.