Motorcycle Museum and Hall of Fame (Sturgis)

Destination #5: North and South Dakota

We stopped in Sturgis to visit the Motorcycle Museum and Hall of Fame. Sturgis is also  home to one of the biggest gathering of motorcycle riders in the entire country—the Sturgis Rally. Thankfully, it wasn’t taking place when we were there; in fact, it felt more like a ghost town. We were desperate to find a family friendly place  to eat, so I walked into a storefront where I encountered a very butch looking woman.  After having spent the last 4 hours in the car with hungry and cranky  children I was in a nasty mood.  I asked her in I am sure not the nicest of tones if there were any decent places to eat in this town.  Hand on her hip and an equally nasty tone  she snarled at me, "what you mean by decent?"  I felt what was happening and not wanting to take this woman on in a full fledged cat fight,  I quickly dialed it down, telling her that we'd just spent a long time in the car, the kids were starving and were looking for a family friendly place to eat since everything in town looked like a bar or saloon.   She directed me to a restaurant that, I kid you not, was the WORST meal of all time! For the life of me, I cannot remember the name because I am sure I consciously blocked it out of my memory it was so bad. Everything was undercooked, mushy, any my son’s pizza was a sad little disc that had been microwaved and was still half frozen. It was absolutely beyond disgusting. Lesson learned, when in doubt, try to find a Subway. Thankfully the museum was as good as the lunch was bad.  Inside was an amazing collection of super cool bikes and some great memorabilia presented in a visually fun setting.  We all loved checking out the the displays which were contained in a building that looked like an old time garage complete with black and white checkerboard floors.  Besides the bikes we learned about the history of the Rally and some of the legends and luminaries of the event.  I'd also like to point out it was very nicely air conditioned which in the dead of summer is no small thing.

Destination #5: North and South Dakota

Destination #5: North and South Dakota

Also, for a real thrill, check out the Sturgis Harley Davidson Store. Way cool for an awesome souvenir. I ended up with a lace-up leather vest. Motorcycle mama indeed!

Destination #5: North and South Dakota