Spearfish, Deadwood, & Sturgis

The day started out beautifully.  The sun was up but my tent is under a tree so I can sleep for a bit longer if I want to.  The two guys who put me onto this campsite were up and about after a busy Saturday night. Ron and Larry-o told stories about their previous trips here.  They've had some crazy times and they've been doing this for fifteen of sixteen years.  When they talk it sounds like like something from the south and I have time keeping up with them. Things were a bit rough on Sunday morning partly because someone made a pot of what Ron calls 'John Wayne' coffee.  It was so strong you could almost stand a spoon up in it.  Both of them have a list of places that is too long for me to see in the time I have so I may have to go back later to do those rides.

Ron (l.) & Larry-o (r.)

Sunday was a day for riding around the Black Hills area. I headed west about thirty miles to Spearfish to ride the Spearfish Canyon loop. This is one of the best roads I have seen on this trip.  There are an incredible number of curves and turns on this road and the river and rock formations are really beautiful.  One of the stops was at a waterfall called Bridal Veil Falls.

Bridal Veil Falls

Every road is filled with Harleys and you can't wait for more than two minutes to hear then see another group of riders coming around a corner and passing by.

Riders in the Spearfish Canyon

Rock formations in Spearfish Canyon

One of the things I really enjoyed seeing was three guys, a young man of about 17, his father and his grandfather were all trout fishing in a pool on the Spearfish River.  I spoke to the mother of the boy who said he has been fishing since he was five and now his grandfather doesn't want to go fishing with him becaause he's getting to be so good.

  Fly fishing for trout on the Spearfish River

Two brown trout in the Spearfish River

A midway point is at Latchford which is a resort which I guess is open in the winter as well.  There were hundreds of bikes with stalls set up to sell food, beer, massages, pictures, and even pinstriping on bikes.  Further on the canyon opens up but the river is really beautiful.  Along the way if you stop to look, you can see brown trout hovering in the water while the stream upstream and down foamed over the rocks.

Spearfish River

Spearfish River

Pool on the Spearfish River

Further on I came to the towns of Lead and Deadwood.  I didn't go to Boot Hill but did spend time wandering around the old town.  For some reason Deadwood has casinos, at least three or four, but it seems to be the only town in the area that has casinos.  Why? I have no idea.  It does have an impressive court house and US Post Office building which was built in 1907, but like many towns that were built on mining, it is sandwiched in a narrow, steep-sided valley so it expanded up and down the river rather than up the hills.

Deadwood Court House

Saloon in Deadwood

I left Deadwood and finished the loop in Sturgis where I again walked around downtown under a threatening afternoon black cloud.  A strong wind came up and a few drops of rain fell but within thirty minutes everything cleared up and life went on. 

You can see all sorts of people on the streets of Sturgis.  One favourite outfit seems to be leather biker chaps with tight panties and a bikini top.  this would be well and good if most of the people wearing these outfits were on the south side of their fifties.  I have seldom seen such a plethora of sagging, overtanned human female flesh.  Public semi-nudity should be a privilege, not a right!  I saw the unique jacket of the trip on Sunday as well.  Here it is.

The best jacket in Sturgis, 2011!

The saloons are doing a great business.  I don't know how much they were charging for beer but the places were full.  One place had some sort of 'beauty' contest with crowd input.  Another place had another type of contest that is a bit too crude to describe here but people seemed to be having fun with it

'Beauty' contest. And yes, she's topless.

I returned to the campsite at about 5:30 and wrote yesterday's blog before returning to my tent.  I was asleep by 10:00.  The rain started at 10:30 and after a heavy ten minute downpour things quieted down except for the roar of motorcycles on the road that runs by the campsite.  Monday is time to leave Sturgis and continue the ride home.  This has been an incredible three days and perhaps in the next year or two I can come back and do some more riding in this area.  One can only hope.

Mount Rushmore & Sturgis!

Yesterday was a fully-packed day.  After I posted my last blog I took the road to Mount Rushmore.  What an excellent ride!  The highway climbs up to the village of keystone and continues on for another five kilometres to the National Monument.  There was a lot of traffic but everyone moved along smoothly and finding a space in the parking area was really simple.  It isn't a long walk to the viewpoint but it certainly has been developed since the last time I was there in 1977 with my Uncle Jim and cousin Steve.  There is also an admission charge as well but at eleven dollars it is bearable.  One this hasn't changed though, and that is how impressive the massive faces that Borglum carved into the face of the mountain.  One fellow that I met said, "You don't get to mess up on a job like that."  My response was, "Not unless you want to start over on another mountain."

Washington, Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, & Lincoln on Mt. Rushmore

Close up of Jefferson, Roosevelt & Lincoln

Me at Mount Rushmore

After seeing Mt. Rushmore I rode back in to Keystone.  One of the first things I saw after stopping for a Subway sandwich (I've been living on those things!) was an old saddle tank steam locomotive that runs from Keystone to Hill City several times a day.  It's adverstised as an 1880s train trip but the railroad isn't big on historical accuracy as the locomotive was built sometime between 1910 and 1935, but the people get to ride on a train pulled by a steam locomotive and see some beautiful scenery. 

Steam locomotive at Keystone, SD

The number of motorcycles is incredible.  As I rode I would see group after group of up to twenty riders going the other way and often I would find myself in the middle of the same kind of group.  It's strange to be in a situation where motorcycles outnumber cars and everyone is aware of motorcycles on the highway. 

Main Street, Keystone, SD.

Main Street in Keystone, SD

Leaving Keystone returned to Rapid City.  On the way I saw a huge black cloud to the east.  It was clear and sunny where we were on the highway so I was somewhat surprised to see a bolt 'out of the blue' almost literally crack the sky.  Closer to Rapid City the road was really wet.  Apparently we missed another of those typical afternoon flash rainstorms, once again.

The Harley-Davidson dealer here makes a big deal out of this week because it is the biggest one of the year for them.  The parking lot had several thousand bikes, about 99% of them Harleys parked side by side over a huge area. The display area included all sorts of after market modification you could think of from painting, to wheels, to air cleaners, exhaust systems.  You name it and it was there.

Parking lot at Rapid City H-D.

Buffalo Bike!

Show bike

I didn't buy anything because I didn't have the money and because I really didn't need any of that stuff, but a lot of people were getting work done on their bikes.   Apparently money isn't an issue for may Harley riders.  And judging from the numbers of people who had expensive trucks and trailers and were hauling their bikes to Sturgis some people are doing quite well. 

People are staying anywher up to fifty miles away from Sturgis and riding in every day.  Many, like me, are camping, but a lot of people are paying the exorbitant room rates and staying in motels, many of them close to Sturgis.

I finally rode in to Strugis and parked on a side street near the Harley dealer.  Upon stepping off my bike I found a Kodak point & shoot camera, so I turned it in to dealership because I didn't want to deal with it.

So, after 10 000+ kilometres, I finally arrived in Sturgis.  The real week doesn't start until Monday, but already every street has bikes parked side by side for their whole lengths  and double parked down the middle of the street.  Add to that the constant roar of Harleys with after market pipes cruising up and down and you have the most incredible, never-ending sound of Harley-Davidson engines.  It is constant and everywhere.  The streets are crowded with people and the whole town is a market place selling T-shirts, patches, alcohol while reminding everyone to drink responsibly and not drink and drive, as if that's going to happen here.

Main Street, Sturgis, SD

Main Street, Sturgis, SD

The police are a presence here on every street corner and it is probably justified considering the number and variety of motorcycle gangs and their members here.  I must have seen 400 Bandidos and their affiliates here including Vaqueros and several othe clubs whose names I can't remember. I did find out however, that none of the Bandidos who went down on Friday evening were seriously injured.  You never like to see someone getting hurt on their bikes, even if they are outlaws.

Police presence in Sturgis!

I stuck around Sturgis just taking in the atmosphere of the whole thing.  It's really intoxicating to be someone who is part of something so large and where everyone has one focus, and that is just to have fun on their bikes.  I did notice that except for the gang members and a few others, there are very few people under forty years old here.  And there are quite a large number of trikes. 

I stopped at the Slash-J bar for a burger then rode back to campsite, arriving there after dark.  I turned in around 10:00 pm.  Around 2:30 I was awoken by the sound of thunder and flashed of lightning but it rained for about 10 minutes before it stopped.  Today was a day of many new experiences and I thoroughly enjoyed every one of them. And Sunday promised to be even better.

I'm HERE!

I've seen a great deal of things that are unusualo to me but not to the people who live here.  I forgot to mention that on Thursday, two days ago, I saw at least six crop dusters flying low over the soybean fileds.  I stopped to watch one of them.  I know it's work but it must really be cool to fly like that.  The last one was ending one run, doing his steep turn and beginning the next right over I-90.  I could smell the pesticide.  I t reminded me of the smell of the stuff they used to spray to kill mosquuitoes when I was a kid.  A sort of petrochemical smell that was not pleasant.

I stayed overnight Thursday in Sioux City, just inside the SD border with Minnesota.  A guy approached my me and introduced himself as 'Dave' who used to live in Nanaimo and used to hang with the Angels there.  He apparently got into some trouble with the law in Bc and now lives in Alabama.  The reason he talked to me was that he saw the Canadian flag on the back of my vest and he was blown away that I was from just up the road from where he used to live.  He was riding with his son and wife.  She's from Alabama, and rides a Sportster while he had his son, who had a brain injury from a car crash, and his walker on his bike.  They were going to Sturgis.

When I stopped at one rest stop I met two groups of riders from New York state.  I took their pictures and they took mine.  They left whern they had finished their beers.

Me at the entrance to the Badlands.

Riders from Massena, NY on their way to Sturgis.

Riders from Tennessee at the entrance to the Badlands National Park, SD.

When I started out yesterday morning there was trickle of bikes just a bit heavier than the day before.  By the afternoon it became a flood.  I stopped for gas in a place called Murdo, about 200 miles from Sturgis.  There was a group of about 10 Bandidos from Texas and Oklahoma, and one of them came over to talk to me while I was waiting to get gas.  He commented on my bike then went back.  Right after I had gassed up and was getting some bottled water about 15 more of them roleed in.  They were all wearing their colours, and some even had gym bags with their logo on them.  Their helmets and bikes were stickered up as well.  They sure don't hide it.  I was told that if I was in a place in Sturgis that had Bandidos and Hell's Angels, it might be a good idea to find another place to be.  Apparently they're all packing which is legal here in SD.

I met two good old boys from Illinois and got to talking with them.  when I mentioned that I had no idea where I was going to stay they told me about a place called the Elk Creek Campground and gave me directions.  That at least gave me an option for the night and took a bit of a load off my mind.  And since I've toted my tent, sleeping bag, and sleeping pad with me for almost 10 000 km. it seemed like a good idea to use them.

How the Parks Service keeps people on the trails!

Badlands scene

I took a side trip into the Badlands National Park, just outside of Wall, a small town that has a complex of stores, restaurants and the original small drug store that was established in 1931.  The scenery here is almost surrealistic.  The landscape looks like it could be the background for a movie about an alien planet.  And around every corner the landscapes were more incredible than the ones before.  I met a group of riders from Tennessee at the entrance to the park and we rode for a bit until I dropped off to take more pictures.  At one of the stops there were three bikes that looked a bit ratty from being on the road.  when i waled by the guys one of them started to talk about the ride.  they were part of the larger group of Bandidos who had broken off to take a side trip through the Badlands.  They told me they were from Beaumont Texas.We chatted for about five minutes then I took my photos and left.  I was really surprised that twice in one day, Bandidos, whom I'd only heard about, started conversations with me.  They were really friendly and just enjoying their ride.

Badlands scene

Me in the Badlands

Yellow Mounds section of the Badlands.

Storm cloud over the Badlands.

As I got toward the end of my ride through the Badlands I could see two huge black clouds, one to the west and the other to the northwest.  Both were dropping rain and the colours were really ominous.  The horizon is so big here that you can see forever and I was able to keep an eye on both storms.  I was able to avoid the one to the west but the one to the northwest was right in front of me.  Even though it was probably fifteen to twenty miles away, I could see almost continuous lightning flashes.  I've never seen anything like that before. It was beautiful and ominous at the same time. 

As I rode into Wall, the storm was getting closer.  I stopped for a burger hoping it would rain & get it over with.  I met a guy who was riding an Indian who said he'd heard that there were hailstones the size of golf balls from that storm.  that was along with rain & lightning.  We both decided to clear out before it hit Wall. Just as we were getting ready to pull out we heard a number of sirens and saw an ambulance leaving town. 

As we hit the I-90 again we were hit by some drops of rain and some of the most vicious sdiewinds I have ever experienced.  I was riding leaned over at times and at other times my bike was pushed across half a lane of the highway.  I slowed to 55 mph from the 75 mph speed limit and I was still hanging on.  About ten miles out of Wall as we entered a downhill right hand curve we were slowed by a flagman.  The ambulances and firetrucks we had heard leaving town were set up and traffic was funnelled into one lane.  As I passed the scene I saw about seven or eight bikes down some in the median and others on theor sides on the shoulder.  I haven't heard if anyone was killed, and I cann only hope not, but it looked serious.  All the bikes were Bandidos and two of them looked like the bikes of the guys I had talked to earlier in the Badlands.  We haven't heard anything about it on the news yet.

I stopped at the next rest stop and some other people were talking about the crash.  I was told twice that those guys really ride tight.  One guy said he's seen twenty of them riding inn the space a tractor-trailer would take up and from what I saw earlier, those guys don't ride the speed limit either, so it they were hit by those heavy sidewinds they probably didn't have much room for error.

As is the case with these sudden prairie storms, it was over about fifteen minutes later and The ride into Rapid City and to the campground was easy.  When I got there I met the two guys who had told me about the campground and we had a good time BSing about riding.  They've been to Sturgis every year since 1995.  They take the week and do it together each year.

Right after I post this I'm hitting the road to Mt. Rushmore to see the presidents who were carved into the mountain, then it will be back to the motorcycle display in Rapid City before I finally ride into Sturgis.

Getting Close!

For the past three weeks the weather has been extremely hot and humid and riding long distances has been difficult to say the least.  It is easy to become dehydrated if one is wearing leathers and sweating because of the heat and humidity.  For the first time since mid-July the temperarture and humidity was such that riding was a real pleasure.  When I left Davenport, Iowa, the sky was completely covered with clouds and the temperature was in the mid 70s (F.) The first two hours and 225 kilometres to Waterloo, Iowa, were easy and when the clouds finally burned off the temperature was in the low 80s with reasonable humidity.  For the whole day riding was a real pleasure and the 725 kilomtres I did today seemed quite easy.

Sometimes I see names that get my attention. In addition to Waterloo and Moscow, which sounds like the beginning of a list of battles Napoleon lost, two names stuck in my mind.  The first was Wartburg, Iowa, and the second was Kiester Falls, MN.  What could the people who named these palces have been thinking?

I left Waterloo and headed northwest to Minnesota catching I-90 near a place called Albert Lea after crossing the Winnebago River.  For the past three days I have been riding past interminable fields of corn with soybeans thrown in for some variety.  In northern Iowa I saw a huge wind farm with between 50 and 100 wind generators.  As I drove along I-90 there were four more wind farms, one of which stretched over 8-10 miles with what must have been hundreds of generators.  This country seems to be really good for corn, soybeans, and wind power.

Wind generators near Worthington, MN

A corn field in Iowa.

A typical cornfield in Minnesota

The first part of the ride from Davenport to Waterloo was on I-80.  This highway seems to be a main trucking route because it was not unusual to see eight to ten trucks in a row with no other vehicles in between them.  However, I-90 was different.  The truck traffic was much lighter and the ride was much easier.  The whole day's ride was done at speeds of 65-70 mph except for the last 12 miles between the Minnesota/South Dakota border and Sioux Falls which was 75 mph.  That's the fastest speed limit I have ever seen and it was a fun way to end the day's ride.

Sculpture at the south Dakota Welcome Center.

Today I began to notice large numbers of motorcycles heading west, presumably to Sturgis, but many were also heading east singly or in groups of four or five as well.  Everywhere I stopped people asked if I was going to Sturgis.  As one person remarked, "If you're heading west on a bike, you're going to Sturgis."  Tonight the parking lot in the Super 8 Motel where I paid $90 for a room that probably goes for $45 any other month of the year, there were about thirty bikes and about twenty-eight of them were Harleys.

For the past two days the air has been filled with the sound of bugs 'singing' sort of like the cicadas in Ontario, but in multiples with a pulsating sound that goes on for minutes until they stop.  The video I have included here is mainly so readers can hear the sound.  It is powerful and unlike anything I have ever heard before.  To really get a sense of the sound it would help to turn up the volume on your speakers.

Tomorrow I'll do most of the distance to Sturgis but I'll have to find a camping spot out of town so I'll be able to do an easy ride there.  There is a possibility that I'll camp for a night or two at the Buffalo Chip Campground but I've heard the price is steep at about $60/night.  I plan on riding to Mt. Rushmore and if possible to the Badlands as well as spending time in Sturgis.  Then it will be on to the west coast and home.

Across the Heartland

Last night the internet connection in the Motel 6 was so poor that I couldn't add photos so I had to do them tonight.  Today was a good day and I made good time.  I left Toledo, OH, before 8:30 this morning and was able to get clear of Ohio and get in to Indiana quite early.  The weather was cloudy and while the temperature was around 80 F,. the rain last night lowered the humidity so for the first three hours the riding was quite comfortable. Around noon the sun came out and the temperature rose to the high 80s and the humidity returned. 

I passed by Strugis this morning, but it was in Indiana, not South Dakota.  Other towns had names like Peru (Pee-roo), Valparaiso, and when it can have a facitilitd Mishawaka.  I have heard about the fighting Irish fron the University of Notre Dame, so I made a point of riding in to South Bend to the campus of the UND.  The football stadium is larger than some NFL stadiums, (I think it holds more than 100 000 people for a football game.) and is quite modern.  It shows the relative importance of
football in the university.  Unfortunately all of the photos I took at Notre Dame were too dark because I left the polarizing filter on the camera.  I could kick myself!

The campus seems to have a great deal of new construction but the whole place projects the image of what a top notch American university should look like.  It almost seems that the campus is a self-contained small city.

Over the past two days I have had several people ask me if I was going to Sturgis.  Today an older couple with three Boxer dogs, two pups and the mother,  asked me if I was making the trip.  Right after that, I met three riders, including a really short woman who was riding a Heritage Softtail with training wheels from Pennsylvania to Sturgis.  Two other guys had ridden from Long Island to Youngstown, OH, yesterday, and almost across Illinois when I saw them.  They were making great time.  All four of us are heading to Sturgis, the biker equivalent of the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca.  Something that every true believer should do once in their lifetime.

Today is the second day I have been riding through almost interminable fields of corn with some soybeans thrown in for variety.  The ethanol subsidies appear to be working and from the sizes of some of the farms I suspect that they are owned not by individual farmers, but by big agricultural corporations.  I passed an ethanol plant as well.  It was a huge operation and considering the corn surrounding it, it would have to be.  The other thing is that all of the gasoline for sale here has 'Up to 10% ethanol' as it indicates on the pumps.  Even premium gas is included unlike Canada where some stations specifically state the it does not contain any ethanol.

The interstate highways here are full of trucks.  It's not unusual to pass a line of ten trucks because the speed limit for them is often 65 mph while for other vehicles it is 70 mph.  Often a truck will cut into the passing lane with very little warming, the driver frustrated  I suppose, at the slower trucks ahead of him.  There are roadside parking areas for trucks and often they are full.  Truckers are also warned not to park on the shoulders of highways.

As I cross this country, the geography is much the same as it was in many parts of Canada, but I don't have the connection to it that I felt for the Canadian prairies and forests.  It is beautiful country and all but the constant flag waving here is a little too 'in your face' and somewhat alien to me despite the time I spent in Seattle when I studied for my Master's degree.

The rest of the day was spent riding and part of that was going south to avoid Chicago.  Unfortunately, I also had to forego the opportunity to visit the Harley factory in Milwaukee because I would have had to go through Chicago to get there.  Maybe some other time.  Rdidng across Illinois took most of the day and somewhere in the middle of the state I crossed into the Central time zone so I had to move my watch back an hour.  It gave me an extra day of riding and toward the end of the day I crossed the second Mississippi River that I have crossed in two weeks.  This one is considerably larger than the first one, though.

One, Mississippi. Near Innisville, ON

Two, Mississippi. (The Big One near Davenport, Iowa.)

Bridge over the Mississippi between Illinois and Iowa

I was able to get a decent room in the Travelodge in Davenport, Iowa so I should be able to make a good start toward south Dakota tomorrow.  I'll ride to Iowa City, then north to Waterloo, and into Minnesota.  I hope to make it to Sioux City, South Dakota tomorrow,  a ride of about 425 miles and then on to Sturgis on Friday.  The temperatures are forecast to be in the high 80s for the rest of the week so the riding should be a bit of a challenge again tomorrow. 

Ohio

The heat and humidity continue to exact their toll on me.   Ordinarily I like the heat and can stand some humidity but today it was at least 30 C. with almost 100% humidity.  The humidity creates a haze that looks almost like a fog in the distance.  I stayed in Dunkirk in western New York last night and shortly after starting out I crossed into Pennsylvania.  The state must have received some lake frontage on Lake Erie when it was created as part of some long-forgotten deal, because it seemed to be about 100 km before I was into Ohio.

Welcome to Ohio!

As I approached Cleveland I decided to do a side trip to see the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame & Museum.  It was surprisingly easy to drive right to the Hall because it is right next to the Cleveland Browns football team stadium on the lakefront.  This was unlike Niagara Falls which was so poorly signed it was difficult to find even with GPS.  Parking is $8.00 for however long one parks so for some it is a good deal.  Not so much for me though.



Rock & Roll Hall of Fame & Museum, Cleveland OH

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame & Museum, Cleveland OH.



Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland, OH

I walked around the grounds then went in to the lobby and took some photos of oversized Fender guitars, one honouring George Harrison and the other decorated by Robby Krieger of the Doors.  The admission was $22 but I didn't have the time to do the tour.  I did see a Porsche donated by Van Morrison and Billy Joel's CR1000 Sportster as well.  The building as a modernistic steel and glass structure.  At present there is a display honouring the Women of Rock including Gwen Stefani.

Oversize replica of a Fender guitar honouring George Harrison

Van Morrison's Porsche

Johnny Cash's tour bus from 1979, at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland, OH

Upon leaving the Hall I headed out to I-90 through the industrial waterfront of Cleveland.  There was some of the same decay that I noticed yesterday in Buffalo, but it didn't seem as bad.  I was routed through some regular streets and was surprised at how rough some ao the streets are.  I really noticed that in Buffalo when I was forced to dodge four inch deep potholes on a main street.

By the time I left Cleveland the temperature was close to 90 F with close to 100% humidity.  People I spoke to were expecting rain so when I got to Cleveland I found a Motel 6 to hole up in for the night. While I was on the road I met a guy who was trailering his bike to Sturgis, and another who was going to rent a bike for the week in Salt Lake City and then ride it to Sturgis.  He said he could save $1000 that way.  One guy even came up to me while I was sitting in a service centre on the Ohio Turnpike and asked if I was going to Sturgis.

I had hoped to camp for a few nights but at this point with the weather conditions as they are it doesn't look like I'll be doing that.  Tomorrow I'm hoping to make it past Chicago to eastern Iowa.  It all depends how early I start and how long I can ride before I feel like stopping for the day.  And if the rain holds off.  It is extremely dangerous riding a motorcycle at freeway speeds in the rain so I won't be doing that. 

Anyway, it's time to get some rest for the day tomorrow.

Homeward Bound

I left Perth this morning after an evening of helping my father label a large number of photographs from the past fifty years.  Since it is a holiday Monday I decided to cross the border at the Ivy Lea Bridge at Gananoque so I could avoid the Toronto traffic. 

 I rode south to Syracuse, NY with a quick stop in Mexico, then to I-90 West past Rochester, Batavia, and Buffalo, with a side trip to Niagara Falls.  I've never seen the Fall before and this looked like the best opportunity I was going to get so I rode to Goat Island to see both the American and the Canadian Falls.  Both are impressive, but the size of the falls and the volume of water going over the Horseshoe (Canadian) Fall dwarfs the American side.



The American part of Niagars Falls

The Horseshoe (Canadian) part of Niagara Falls.

The American Falls

On the way back to I-90 through Buffalo I saw a large number of abandoned factories.  These were huge buildings which are just shells now.  Many are in disrepair with holes in the walls and they are totally empty.  It is sad to see that this once thriving industrial city has lost so much of its base.  When you hear about unemployment in the United States and realize that these scenes have been repeated all over the US, it is not hard to understand why so many people do not have jobs.

Tomorrow I will be passing through the corner of Pennsylvania and into Ohio, perhaps making it into Indiana.  Up to this point I-90 has been a toll highway. When you enter the highway you receive a card with the entry point and when you exit the highway you pay the amount charged for the distance you travelled.  This is only the second time (except for the Coquihalla) that I have ever had to pay for using a highway.  I don't like it.  Hopefully the tolls will stop when I leave New York State tomorrow morning.

The heat continues and temperatures were in the low 30s with high humidity again today.  I think that in the east this may be a summer with record temperatures.  When I stop for the day my jacket and jeans are damp with sweat.  If the temps were in the mid 20s I wouldn't mind at all.