The Paul Revere Ride and Me

I left Rapid City on Friday, June 30 at 10am and headed east to Pierre (pronounced Pier), the capitol of South Dakota. I found a nice spot at the Pierre Wal-Mart, where I spent the night in my toyhauler. The next morning I unloaded my motorcycle and at 9:30 I headed south on Hwy. 83 in hopes of meeting up with the riders of the www.21stcenturypaulrevereride.com somewhere south of town so I could ride back into town with them. Because of a slight miscommunication, I turned around about 10 minutes too soon and headed back to town. I met up with the riders at the state capitol at 11:45. I was thrilled to finally meet the riders whose progress I'd been following for several weeks. They are riding and holding rallys in 48 capitol cities to promote awareness to the illegal immigration problem in the United States. Well, they were pretty glad to see me since I was the only person to show up for that days rally. We chatted and visited for awhile, then we all went out to lunch at the local Mexican restaurant, Guadalajara. The food and conversation were great. We all toasted to the fact that they had reached the 6 week/half way point of the ride. I informed everyone that I was continuing on to their next stop, Bismarck, the capitol of North Dakota. So, after lunch the riders all headed north to Bismarck as I headed back to Wal-Mart to load up my bike and then head north to Bismarck. It was an interesting four hour journey to Bismarck. The temps. hovered around 97 degrees most of the day, but I hit a rain storm that dropped the temp from 97 to 65 in a matter of minutes. It was a nice break form the heat, although it was quite short lived. The temp was back up to 97 before long. The most memorable part of the trip was the 30 miles of dirt and gravel. What a mess that caused to my almost clean truck and trailer. I cringed the whole time thinking of the poor riders enduring all the discomfort I escaped being safe, dry, and cool in my air-conditioned truck. I kept hoping I'd catch up with the riders somewhere along the route, but they did some creating routing, which got them into Bismarck quite a bit later than me. When I arrived in Bismarck, I found the Elk's Lodge and a good level spot. After the riders checked into their motel, I had a nice visit and a beer with Howard Wooldridge, the coordinator and trail boss/chase vehicle driver for the ride.

The next morning I unloaded my bike and met up with the riders at their motel, then we all rode to the capitol building. They picked up another rider from Pennsylvania, so we had 6 bikes in our little caravan, plus Howard in the truck. Well, again, no interested citizens or news crews showed up for the rally. So again, we stood around and talked and visited. What a nice, interesting bunch of people!! We said our goodbyes as the riders mounted up to start their ride east towards St. Paul, MN for a rally on July 4th, our nations birthday. But at the last minute I decided to ride with them for awhile. This was my first group ride on my new bike, and an opportunity to add ND to my list of states I've ridden in. After 100 miles we all stopped for fuel in Jamestown, ND. This time when I said goodbye I turned around to ride the same 100 miles west, back to Bismarck. My mind was busy at work trying to come up with a plan of how I could meet back up with the riders and continue with them for the next 6 weeks. But since I have 2 little doggies who love and depend on me, I realized I will have to help them by spreading the word to stop illegal immigration, via the internet.

Two hours later, back at the Bismarck Elk's Lodge, I loaded up my bike and started my journey westward back to Rapid City, SD. I went a few miles out of my way so I could add Teddy Roosevelt National Park to my list of Nation Parks I've visited. After a quick stop and a few pictures, I headed south on Hwy. 85. I spent Monday night at a small roadside rest stop in Buffalo, SD. It was quiet and level.

The next morning I continued my journey south and reached Rapid City early in the day.

Also check out,

www.numbersusa.com
http://forum.minutemanhq.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=13
www.saveourstate.org/forums/index.php?showforums=35