Bringing them home. Keep America Strong

 

 On my visit to the Rolling Thunder Rally in Washington DC  I witnessed family members finding their loved ones names on the WALL. As I am typing this now I am choked up just thinking about how many brave young men were lost and how many families suffered. For some that is all they will ever have is their name from this wall.

  

Vermont, Apple Pie Run - October 9th 2011

The Apple Pie Run is our anual ride now in October to see Vermont's fall foliage. This year the colors were less than vibrant however the weather was beyond fantastic. For mid October the high temputere topped out at 85 degrees.  The ride brings you to a little town, Dummerston, Vermont where the town people have apple pie, ice cream, cheese, cider and more.  Everything is sold for charity.  It is a great time.

New Toy

Mazda Miata convertible.

When the weather is fine take your top off.

Great for touring wine country and being able to bring home a case or two with you.

Politics don't belong at the Chip

During our trip to Sturgis in '08 while at the Chip, John McCain was campaigning. It really caused a bit of an inconvenience having to deal with metal detectors.  There were sharp shooters brought in to protect the Presidential candidate and his family.

John's speech focused on veterans and their sacrifices for our country. Although I am Republican and voted for John McCain over Barrack Obama I still would have preferred they didn't use the Chip for political events.

Sturgis, South Dakota

 

   Needles Highway

The Needles Eye Tunnel

After splitting from US 16A, the route is known as the Needles Highway. The highway is named after the high granite "needles" it winds among. Along this stretch lies the Black Hills Playhouse. The highway passes through two tunnels blasted through sheer granite walls—Iron Creek Tunnel at mile 25 (40 km), and Needles Eye Tunnel at mile 31 (50 km).^[1] Owing to the narrow roadway, sharp turns, and low tunnels, the road has very little traffic. The vehicles that do travel this road are almost exclusively sightseers.

Just after Needles Eye Tunnel, Highway 87 serves as the northern terminus of SD 89. After this junction, SD 87 has one more tunnel, Hood Tunnel, at milepost 33 (53 km).^[1] It then provides access to the Sylvan Lake Resort. The route finally ends at US 16/385 south of Hill City.