Summer Trip 2010 #4

We left Forest City, Iowa on Sunday morning and headed for Sturgis, SD for the motorcycle rally. We were having a great trip, enjoying the beautiful scenery, and the beautiful weather, when all of a sudden, Jim said the motorhome lost power and was belching black smoke out the exhaust. We could barely make 35 miles per hour on even a very small grade. It was about 10 anxious miles to a rest area, where Jim call the Freightliner help line. It was comforting to know that we were still under warrenty and Freightliner would cover a tow if we needed it. After talking to customer service at Freightliner and to customer service at Cummins (engine), we decided to drive the RV the 40 miles to Sioux Falls, SD to the Cummins Engine Service. We spent the night in their parking lot and the next morning they started on the RV promptly at 7:30am. Jim had already looked at the engine and found a turbo boost hose on the engine had blown off. Cummins found the cause to be a broken clamp. We were on our way in an hour. The rest of the drive went great. We reached Sturgis, SD Monday afternoon and got our motorcycles unloaded and the RV set up and we are again happy campers. Our little trailer hauling our motorcycles has done just fine. When we got to the campground, the owner (Matt) came out and gave us a big hug and big welcome. (This is our third time here). We are camped up on top of a hill where we have wonderful views of the Black Hills, and a constant breeze. We are looking forward to being here a few weeks. After we unloaded the bikes, and parked the bikes and RV, Matt hooked up our trailer and brought it up the hill for us and parked it near the motorhome. Our tattoo artist friends from Germany are already here. They come every year all the way from Germany. They say the money is that good. We also got reacquainted with the little kids that walked our dogs for us during the day, only they are not little anymore. Brady and Layton are now 15 and 16 years old. I was worried they might feel to big to be dog walkers but Layton said he would be glad to. Brady the 16 year old will be working the campground resturant this year and he is really excited about earning lots of money. Next week is the pre-rally for bike week. We have been told that they are expecting 700-800 people this year. Jim and I were going to ride out to the grocery store and the Buffalo Chip campground to get concert tickets this afternoon but it looks like rain. Since we have no car, we will have to wait til the rain clears. I am definitely a fair weather biker!