My 10 Favorite Cites - Part 2

The ride from Colorado to Utah was quite cold, even though it was August. My furry vest I purchased in Wall, SD came in quite handy.  One of my favorite things about riding is buying cool items that I will put to use which can only be found in specific regions.

As motorcycle riders who have ridden across the country for the last 2 years, we are often asked what has been our favorite place to visit. I find a great amount of difficulty in answering that question, because I can't think on any individual city that is my absolute favorite. I've found that every city has it's own appeal and personality, so I end up rambling on an on listing numerous places for numerous reasons. As a result, I have decided to share a list of my favorite cities.

This is my second installment of this list, and they are listed in no particular order.

We did spent some time riding Iron Mountain Road and the roads among Hill City, Sturgis and Rapid City, SD.

Rapid City:
I know most riders visit Rapid City, Sturgis, and the surrounding areas for the Sturgis rally in the summer. The riding is beautiful along with the landscape and the sunsets. And I suppose if one only gets a limited amount of time to travel during the year and a rally is rather important to them, it makes sense to visit South Dakota during that time.

If at all possible, I would strongly suggest riders visit this area later in the year. The weather is gorgeous, all be if you will occasionally hit a thunderstorm. Even the storms are lovely, cooling down the summer heat and seemingly intending to refresh the forests and grasslands. Coming from California, I had never seen a thunderstorm like those I experienced in South Dakota.

Certainly one must visit mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Monument. Rapid City provides a number of great hotel options for travelers who are visiting any time other than the rally. The prices of the hotels were quite fair and we were pleased with the accommodations when we initially visited in late August during our first year on the road.

With a quaint downtown with lovely shops and great bars, we enjoy delicious food in a variety of restaurants and eclectic shopping in tucked away boutiques. But be certain to be if it in the weeks prior to or soon after the rally or you may find many of the small businesses closed for off-season.

We found delicious Thai food and a lovely center for art and boutiques. 

Saint George:
Personally, I loved Saint George! Now maybe it is because once again Steve scored some amazing accommodations for us, renting the bridal suite of one of the Best Westerns in town. With a huge for poster bed, massive amount of pillows, huge television and fireplace, and even a heart-shaped hot tub in our room, I didn't wanna leave this week for any reason!

Once Steve was able to drag me out of our amazing room and I found more reasons to enjoy Saint George. It is probably important to visit during the summer months, as we found a number of local restaurants closed, much to our dismay. Yet after a little effort, we found delicious Chinese Food, great shops with jewelry and local Native American artwork, and a fantastic thrift store. Certainly there were a typical tourist shops but I tend to grow bored with the same old options as we traveled.

The gorgeous red bluffs that stand within Saint George makes four remarkable scenery any time of day. For riders, nothing beats riding the Virgin River Gorge just south of the city. For that reason alone I would strongly suggest Saint George as a motorcycle riders destination.

Downtown Tulsa was filled with great artwork, barbeque and other great restaurants, and historic sites.

Tulsa:
Tulsa, surprisingly, certainly was one of my favorite places I've ever been in my life. Not only do we find terrific food and a vibrant nightlife, Steve was able to find some great craft beer after a long dry spell across a number of Midwest cities.

But more than anything, I enjoyed the people of Tulsa. I found them to be the absolute friendliest people I encountered in any city anywhere. We couldn't sit down at any bar or walk into any store without someone striking up a conversation. The locals are genuinely kind and interested it seem to me.

The Blue Dome district in the historic downtown had any interesting array of sites. I particularly was moved by the Woody Guthrie museum. Since I have family that came from Oklahoma, I found everything about that museum heartwarming and familiar, even though I had never been to Oklahoma in my life. So perhaps it was just so special because of my heritage and not because Tulsa is so remarkable. Or at least that's what I would have thought had Steve not enjoyed it so much too. Nothing beats a good, fat plate of barbecue and a cold drink in allowed bar on a hot afternoon. Tulsa has so many I am sure even we didn't scratch the surface of places we could go during our 10 day visit.

There is a statue and a particular point of interest at what is known as The Center of the Universe in downtown Tulsa. Impossible to describe, one must visit this place to even begin to grasp how interesting it is.

While the riding can be rather boring, the weather is anything but. We experienced blazing sun, beautiful cloudless skies, fierce rain while we visited. We also found accommodations ridiculously affordable as well as comfortable and accommodating, with terrific amenities.

One final thought on Tulsa when is the beauty and fashion sense of the young ladies in the city. The is a certain appeal of a beautiful and confidant country girl decked out in cowboy boots and a pair of denim shorts. I loved the delightful sense of style and joie de vivre as these ladies sauntered along the sidewalks from place to place.

In my last installment I encouraged readers to return the following week for this update. I've been quite behind on my work due to my difficulties on the road, but I promise if you come back here next the week for the Part 3 of My 10 Favorite Cities!


My book Rude Biker Chick: Lessons From My Daddy is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Smashwords. Give me your feedback on it once you've read it! I look forward to hearing from you.