What I'm Looking Forward to in 2011

There are so many expectations started each time a new year rolls around, it is hard to not get disappointed when many of your hopes and expectations do not come to fruition. The key to a successful new year is to take personal responsibility for how your year will progress and to not create unrealistic plans for the new year. Plan your year and then follow your plan. By doing that, you will have a very good new year.

I am looking forward to a lot this new year. I have NOT made any significant New Year's Resolutions, and the one I did make I will not make public. Since I am taking personal responsibility for my resolutions, I do not want you all to be watching what I do. This is my personal odyssey and I need to stay focused and stick to the task.


With regards to what else I am looking forward to this year, well, where do I start. We are currently preparing to launch a brand new company in the next 60 days, and I can't wait to get that up and going. No, this is not going to be an MLM opportunity, but it is an innovative product and we are expecting sales to go through the roof once the actual product hits the store shelves.


This new product is the next generation in energy supplement, and you will have to wait a little bit more before I can tell you EXACTLY what this product is. We have been testing this product in the field and have a select group of people preparing to sell this product to your local stores. I am sooo excited about this product...I can tell you this, the product name is Wink Zing, and it will be offered by Wink Energy Inc.


This product will be a blast to offer to the public, and we already have buyers eagerly waiting for our first run to come out so they can begin putting it on the shelves. Once the product hit's the market, I will be able to tell you more and let you know where you can purchase your own Wink Zing...


Beyond that, I still expect Hawgwash, LLC to remain profitable in 2011 and hopefully continue doubling sales year over year. Because of the pending launch of Wink, I have yet to nail down our rally schedule, but once we lock down dates and locations, I will post the updated schedule on our website (www.hawgwash.net)


Hopefully you all are also expecting an improved year this year. That is not to say that last year was bad, but you would always want an improvement over prior years. Take care and enjoy your new year.


Until tomorrow...

Weekly Fun Facts

Welcome to the Monday edition of the Weekly Fun Facts. We are now between our last two holidays of the year, Christmas has ended and we are all looking forward (eagerly) to the beginning of the New Year. This week's fun facts will include some New Years facts along with just plain strange fun facts. Hopefully you can use some of these odd tidbits in your upcoming holiday party...

This Friday we will be saying goodbye to 2010 and at midnight welcoming in the new year 2011. For many of us, we will be very glad to see 2010 go, but then again, we said the same thing for 2009... Did you know where the tradition of welcoming the new year came from?

In Agrarian times, the new year was celebrated during the first New Moon after the Vernal Equinox (the first day of spring). This was the most logical time for celebrating the "New Year" because with Spring comes rebirth and new life. Over time, as the Romans tried to manage the calendar, the dates and schedules got more and more confused. Julius Caesar in 46BC established the "Julian Calendar" which established January 1 as the new year. As you know, not even this calendar was entirely accurate, every 4 years we have to add a day to our calendar to synchronize it with the sun.

The tradition of creating New Year's Resolutions did begin during the time of the Babylonians. Usually they just resolved to return borrowed farm equipment. Now we make resolutions that can range from losing weight or being a better person.

Speaking of resolutions, did you know that 63% of the people still keep their resolutions after the first 2 months?
67% of people actually make 3 or more resolutions each year?
The top resolutions usually involve promises to exercise more (37%), increase the time devoted to study or work (23%), losing weight, stop smoking or drinking and to eat healthier.
People make more resolutions to start a new habit (84%) rather than to break an old one (16%).
65% of the people made their resolutions between December 28th and New Year's Day
Of those who actually achieved their top resolution, 40% of them did so on the first attempt. The remainder made multiple tries with 17% finally succeeding after more than 6 attempts.


Do you know when the use of a baby began to symbolize the new year? This tradition began in Greece around 600 BC. They carried around a baby in a basket, representing the annual rebirth of Dionysus (the god of wine...go figure...) . Early Egyptians also used a baby as a symbol of rebirth and fertility.

Traditionally it was thought that you could affect your luck for the upcoming new year by what you ate or what you did on the first day of the year. Japanese will sit up to watch the first sunrise of the new year. Others celebrate the first few minutes of a brand new year in the company of family and friends. Certain foods are also believed to bring luck if eaten on New Year's Day (Donuts (YEAH!!!), black-eyed peas, cabbage, hog's meat and rice to name a few).

1907 is the first year that New York drops the famous ball from Times Square. At that time it was a five foot ball made out of weed and iron and weighed 700 pounds.

As of 2011 the ball is now 12 feet in diameter made out of Waterford Crystals and weighs 11,875 pounds. It is illuminated by 32,256 Philips Luxeon Rebel LED's (light emitting diodes). By mixing the four colors (the ball now has 12 red, 12 blue, 12 green and 12 white LED's or a total of 8,064 LEDs of each color) the ball can now create a palette of more than 16 million colors and billions of patterns. For 2011, Waterford Crystal has designed 288 new "Let There Be Love" crystal triangles featuring a romantic pattern. 288 triangles are emblazoned with last year's "Let there be Courage" design defining triumph of courage over adversity and 1,152 triangles sparkle with "Let there be Joy" design. The remaining 960 triangles are the original "Let There be Light" design of a stylized radiating sunburst.

This ball has dropped every year except in 1942 and 1943 due to wartime lighting restrictions.

For those of you planning on drinking champagne this weekend - a raisin dropped in a glass of fresh champagne will bounce up and down continuously from the bottom of the glass to the top...

There are no clocks in Las Vegas gambling casinos. Now how do the people in the casino's celebrate New Years?

And lastly, for those of you who live in the warmer desert regions - a tiny amount of liquor on a scorpion will make it instantly go mad and sting itself to death. Now you know what to do with that liquor you didn't drink on New Year's eve...

Have a wonderful New Year's and be safe. Enjoy your weekly fun facts and enjoy amazing your friends with your new-found knowledge... If you are looking for some way to earn extra money in the new year, you may want to see what opportunities we have to offer on our website. We may have something that you would love to do. Or, if you are making a resolution to keep your vehicle cleaner, we have a variety of waterless cleaning products to help you to achieve that resolution.

Until tomorrow...

Did you survive Christmas?

Well, did you all survive another Christmas? Hopefully you all were able to celebrate they way you wanted to for this holiday. For us in Arizona, we enjoyed wonderful weather for this holiday weekend. Unfortunately many other parts of the country did not fare as well, so again, hopefully, even with the weather issues, you all had a wonderful Christmas weekend.

The 24 hours of Christmas music is now off the radios, and on Sunday, those who did not receive what they really wanted could go shopping for items at great discounts. Since I am not very fond of shopping, I stayed away from all the areas shoppers would frequent today. Today was spend catching up on household chores and watching football. Overall, it was a great weekend for me too.

I must say, it has been a great build-up this year for Christmas. With luck, many merchants will be able to see increased sales this year over last. If they start seeing increases, then that means we may actually be on the very long road to economic recovery. If this thought and Christmas wish does come true, many Americans will no doubt breath a sigh of relief. It has been a very long, hard several years, with the government not recognizing any economic crisis until at least a year after we all have noted the decline. No matter who sees what, the best Christmas wish I have had this year was to see the end of this economic mess we are in and to start seeing signs of improvement. I would love to see less home foreclosures and more people back at work.

So, here is to hoping that my Christmas wish comes true, a good, solid economic recovery and a significant decline in home foreclosures for the remainder of this year and on through 2011.

Until tomorrow...

What happeed to the days before Christmas

Hi everyone. I have a big question tonight...what happened to the days before Christmas? This is a two-fold question. The first is...where did the time go? Last time I looked we had at least a month before the holiday...and now we are less than 3 days away... what happened?

The next question I have is, what happened to the "goodwill toward men" in the days leading up to Christmas? Have you noticed how people tend to keep their heads down when walking around? Sometimes I think they are keeping their heads down so they can better head-butt you if you accidentally wander into their path. Have you noticed that few people are smiling lately too? What happened to the good cheer? Right now the only cheer I have heard is "get outta my way..."

We won't even talk about the driving this time of year. My goodness, when did we sign up for an Indy race team? Where is everyone going in SUCH a hurry? Did anyone notice the beautiful sunsets that have been occurring? What about the beautiful sunrises? I know there are many places in the country right now that don't have the greatest weather, but that does not really give anyone the right to be mean and/or rude. Is it me, or are people ruder now than they have been in the past.

I hate to really note how much I have aged, but PLEeeaseee!!! do you have to not only cut me off on the freeway, but to flip me off too? Why did you have to squeeze into that one car space in front of me just so that you could slam on your brakes and almost crash into the back of the car I had been following? When did this time of year turn into a frantic race? By the way, what are we racing and where are we racing to?

Even the news has gotten really depressing. Many people seem to want to take advantage of so many other people. There are a record number of scams going on this time of year, people taking advantage of the few of us left who believe in the goodness of mankind. When did we forget about the real meaning behind Christmas? Even if you don't want to delve too deeply into the religious aspect of Christmas (that is for another time...), the concept of Christmas was to help your fellow man. Right now, it appears the large majority of people are out to help themselves, and forget about their fellow man.

What can we do to recapture the feeling of goodwill toward men? We have all allowed our day-to-day work lives to overflow into our home lives. I can freely admit to not very nice thoughts this time of year too. This time of year is always stressful, the desire to find the "RIGHT" gift for that certain person, the issues with not spending too much money, the extra demands on your time... all of these add up to a whole bunch of very grumpy people.

We all (myself included) to learn to stop and take stock of what we do have and to remember to be grateful for what we do have. We need to learn to stop looking at what we don't have and look at what we don't need instead. This is not an easy task, but once we get past the hard part (actually stopping for a minute or two...) the rest is not so hard to do. Tomorrow, I promise to not be as crabby, and to remember to smile (even though I may not WANT to SMILE) when I meet anyone. It is truly amazing how people light up when you smile at them for no particular reason (and no, snarling is not smiling...). I even took the opportunity tonight to wish a phone solicitor a Merry Christmas as I was completing a phone call. It was really amazing to hear their voice change when they realized I wished them well.

Take care, and let's all try not to get too stressed these last few days before Christmas. As much as we might strive to capture our child-like wonder of Christmas, we need to remember that we are now adults and need to look at Christmas as adults. We still need to be nice to others, and help when and where we can. It is amazing how much better you feel when you have helped someone, even if helping may only mean that you helped someone reach an item from the top of a grocery store shelf.

Hopefully we will finally realize what happened to the days before Christmas. We just forgot to be a little bit less stressed. With luck, we will all find the time to slow down just a tad and enjoy this special holiday time of year.

If you are stressing about finding that "right" gift for the impossible person to buy for, check out our website, we have a wide variety of items that are not run-of-the-mill. We have vehicle cleaning accessories for that mechanic in the house. We also have some really cool headwear for those who like to ride motorcycles. Take a brief wander through our site, you may find just what you needed for that special someone this holiday season...

Until tomorrow...

Fun Facts and a Total Lunar Eclipse

As you may remember, on our blog last week, we discussed the upcoming total Lunar Eclipse for Monday night (tonight...). Well, in many parts of the Northern Hemisphere, the weather is not too conducive to seeing the eclipse. Even here in Arizona, where the weather is great most of the time, we have some light cloud cover. The good news is that we can still watch the eclipse. The cloud cover only makes the moon look fuzzy, but you can still see the full moon and as I run back and forth, I can see the beginnings of the Lunar Eclipse. The total eclipse should be about 12:40 am MST and will last approximately 72 minutes.

If you have the opportunity to run outside, the Lunar Eclipse is just beginning (approximately 11 PM MST). hopefully you can get a glimpse of this year's Eclipse, especially since it falls on the Winter Solstice. The reason this particular eclipse is so unique is that it falls on the Winter Solstice. The last time a full Lunar Eclipse fell on a Winter Solstice was 372 years ago on December 21st 1638. The next full Lunar Eclipse that will occur on a Winter Solstice will be on December 21st, 2094. I am not sure, but I don't think I will be in attendance for that one...

Ancient documents from Asia, Europe and the Middle East are full of references connecting eclipses with subsequent dark events such as famines or the death of a monarch.

In many traditional cultures, a total lunar eclipse occurs not when the moon enters Earth's shadow, but when a mythological creature swallows the moon.

The Chinese believed the heavenly dog swallowed the moon, the Maya sometimes depicted the eclipse creature as a serpent, while in the Andes, it was often a puma.

In Iraq, lunar eclipses were believed to have been eaten by a whale.

For most people the majority of the time, most eclipses meant trouble. Eclipses were regarded as disruptions of the world order.

In Japan, people still cover wells in order to avoid being poisoned by the disease of the moon during the eclipse.

Native residents of Arctic regions have been known to turn over their utensils to avoid contamination.

The arrangement of boulders in England (Stonehenge) have long been associated with celestial meaning. It has been discovered that if you place stone markers strategically atop 19 columns in the array, a known 47 month cycle of lunar eclipses becomes apparent.

Do you know why the moon turns reddish during a Lunar Eclipse? - Earth's thick, dust-filled atmosphere filters the sunlight shining through it, resulting in the rusty hue of a total lunar eclipse.

Hopefully you enjoyed tonight's fun facts about total lunar eclipses and also had an opportunity to view this years Total Lunar Eclipse on the Winter Solstice.

Until tomorrow...

Upcoming Meteor Shower and Lunar Eclipse

Hello everyone. Bet you were wondering where I wandered off to this time... Well, I managed to flirt with a cold this last week and decided to listen to my body instead of continuing to push myself. I spent the week sleeping and resting so that the cold developed into nothing more than a slightly stuffy nose and a continuous headache. When the sun went down and I got sleepy, I went to bed. It is amazing how much faster your body heals when you listen to it in the first place.

Anyway, enough about why I wasn't online very much last week. Tonight we have a really interesting event to discuss, the upcoming meteor shower and total lunar eclipse.

This week's meteor shower is expected to be the best to be seen in 2010. This will also be the only lunar eclipse for the year too. There is the returning meteor shower that comes around this time every year, the Geminid meteor shower. We should begin seeing the effects of this meteor shower tomorrow, December 13th. The "shooting stars" show should peak during the night hours between December 13th and December 14th. If you can manage to either stay awake until the wee hours of the morning, or have the desire to set your clock to get up in the pre-dawn hours, you should not be disappointed.

The best time to view the Geminid meteor shower is after midnight on December 13th when the earth is heading directly into the meteoroid stream. If you are unable to stay up that late or get up that early, you will still stand a good chance of seeing some pretty cool meteors earlier in the evening of December 13th. You will just have to be more patient when looking for the "shooting stars" earlier in the evening than if you watched after midnight. Since we are continuing to have some amazing weather in Arizona this week, those who live in Arizona should get a great view of the Geminids. I would also recommend getting a comfortable lounge chair so that you can sit outside and just gaze at the sky. I have stood and waited for the showers, and enjoyed the show, but ended up with a nasty crick in my neck the next day. Using a lounge chair or a reclining chair while star gazing makes for a much more comfortable viewing. The downside is that you don't want to get too comfortable, because you could then fall asleep while watching for the meteor shower.

These showers should be so bright that you will not need a telescope or binoculars to view the meteor shower. For those of you who may be new to watching a meteor shower, these "showers"' are caused by fragments of old comets entering our atmosphere as the earth passes through the trail of debris from the comet's orbit. If you are far in the desert, where there are no other sounds of civilization, there may even be the rare opportunity to hear the meteors if they come relatively close to your location.

The Geminid shower is unique because it it not really associated with a comet, but an asteroid called 3200 Phaethon.

Even more exciting than the return of the Geminid meteor shower is the full lunar eclipse that will occur the nights of December 20th (next Monday night) and December 21st in North America. For the Western Hemisphere, the eclipse is "officially" expected to begin on December 21st at 12:12 am EST (right after midnight...) This is expected to be the best lunar eclipse until April 2014. The last total lunar eclipse occurred on February 20th, 2008.

The entire lunar eclipse will be visible from all of North and South America. It is estimated that 1.5 billion people will have an opportunity to enjoy viewing this total lunar eclipse.

Remember to stay warm. You know I will be out there watching both the Geminids and the Total Lunar Eclipse. Enjoy.

Until tomorrow...

Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day

Today, December 7th, is Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day for those of us who call the United States home. Today commemorates the day, 69 years ago, that Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. 69 year after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, survivors of the attack gathered at the base on Hawaii to remember those killed. About 100 survivors (the youngest in their late 80's) traveled from all over the country to attend the ceremony today.

They gathered across the harbor from the USS Arizona which sank in the attack and where the remains of nearly 1,000 sailors and Marines are still entombed.

At dawn on Sunday, December 7, 1941, the naval aviation forces of the Empire of Japan attacked the United States Pacific Fleet center at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii along with other military targets. The goal of this attack was to cripple the US Fleet so that Japan could attack and capture the Philippines and secure access to the raw materials needed to maintain its position as a global military and economic power.

Four U.S. Navy battleships were sunk (two of which were raised and returned to service later during the war) and four other battleships were damaged. The Japanese also sank or damaged three cruisers, three destroyers, an anti-aircraft training ship and one mine layer. 188 U.S. aircraft were destroyed, 2,402 personnel were killed and 1,282 were wounded in the attack. Japanese losses were light, with only 29 aircraft and 5 midget submarines lost. They had 65 servicemen killed or wounded and one Japanese sailor was captured.

This attack came as a shock to the American people and led directly to our entry into World War II in both the Pacific and European theaters. December 8th, 1941 the United States declared war on Japan. Subsequent operations by the U.S. prompted Germany and Italy to declare war on the U.S. on December 11th (we reciprocated the same day).

Lack of any formal warning by Japan, especially when negotiations were still ongoing with the U.S., led President Franklin D. Roosevelt to proclaim December 7, 1941, "a date which will live in infamy'".

The expected result of the attack was to cripple the U.S. Pacific Fleet, preventing aggressive action against the Imperial Forces of Japan. This goal eluded the Japanese as U.S. forces became very active in the South Pacific within 60 days and the fleet was fully effective within the year. It was sheer luck that three of the Pacific Fleet carriers that normally would have been at Pearl Harbor that morning were either on sea exercises or undergoing maintenance on the west coast of the continental U.S. Because the Japanese forces did not make their third attack, the Pacific Fleet submarine force, critical maintenance facilities and fuel supplies were not demolished. The survival of these enabled rapid repair of the fighting capability of the fleet.

So today, if you have not had a chance to do so, thank a vet for continuing to protect our freedoms. Even better, if you know a Pearl Harbor Survivor, take the time to thank them for their service and stop to listen to their story. What these heroes saw is history and we need to never forget.

Until tomorrow...

Epicurean Marketplace

Well, Saturday we participated in an Epicurean Marketplace at the AJ's Fine Foods at 31311 N. Scottsdale Rd., Scottsdale. If you have never been to this AJ's, you are missing an awesome experience. The people there were great, the customers were wonderful and to top it all off, the weather was perfect.

For those of you who may have seen the AJ's Fine Foods, but never entered, it is a boutique gourmet market serving Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona. The AJ's concept was created in 1985 with a mission to bring an upscale gourmet market experience to the Vally. Since then, they have grown to include 13 markets in the metro Phoenix area. They have specialty items, prime cuts, floral item, gifts and so much more. If you are looking for that hard-to find wine, or micro-brew beer, this is the place to go. I was drooling over the huge selection of micro-brews and would have spent every penny earned on what they had in the cooler if I had not been working the Epicurean Marketplace outside. AJ's is like no grocery store I have been in before.

The Epicurean Marketplace on Saturday was a sight to behold. They had about 50 vendors outside, many of them were fine art vendors. There were also food vendors offering many delectable items to sample. There were enough different vendors offering samples that you could easily make a meal from the samples alone. Many of the items sampled were also offered by AJ's for sale on a regular basis. It was wonderful to be able to taste these items before purchasing something I have never sampled.

The artwork showcased outside was wonderful. There were many paintings, oils, sculptures and jewelry. There was also a gentleman who hand painted bird houses. These bird houses were so beautiful that I would not leave them outside. On a few of his bird houses he had even individually shingled them with copper. These bird houses were works of art. If you have the opportunity to visit an Epicurean Marketplace, I would highly recommend that you at least wander by. There was so much to offer, and such a wide variety of art and food, that most people would have found something to delight in. We were able to offer our Waterless Cleaning technology products and StemTech, our stem cell nutritional products. We had a great opportunity to talk to many people at this event.

Next week we will be attending another Marketplace at the Basha's in Queen Creek. Again there should be a wide variety of vendors for your viewing and eating pleasure. It will be from 10-4 this Saturday, October 16th. Hopefully we will see you there. If you have questions about location, or questions about our products, please feel free to e-mail us, we would love to hear from you.

Until tomorrow...

Storm in Phoenix

Wow, we had some serious humdinger storms roll through the Phoenix area today. The great news is that these storms, though very strong, only lasted no more than an hour each. Granted, there was a good amount of destruction left behind, but think of how much worse it would have been if they lasted longer than the hour (and I am being generous, the worst of the storm was probably only about 20 minutes...). We have had a great storm in Phoenix today.

This afternoon's storm had really high winds, golf ball sized hail in some places (luckily not where I was) and loads of rain. There is good and bad about a lot of rain coming down. Since we have not had that much rain to saturate the ground, and it has been so hot, a lot of the water did not soak into the ground, but just ran off and made a mess of the roadways. This afternoon's storm was bad enough to ground all airplanes at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. The high winds also knocked down 19 power poles, one of which fell across a freeway, which subsequently stopped traffic in both directions (you think?).

If you couldn't guess, I love storms, just not all the time. That is why I get so excited about storms out here in Phoenix. It seems like we get about 350 days of sunshine, so when a storm rolls through, it is an exciting event. Right now I am still listening to the diminishing sound of thunder. I cannot see any more lightning strikes, but occasionally the sky lights up in the distance. Our monsoon season ended a few weeks back, so for me, this is a major treat.

Usually we are on the road, so I never get to witness the awesome monsoon storms here in the Phoenix valley. This was like the monsoons I remembered from years ago (when I was working a regular JOB). It is a major treat to be able to witness the power of these storms. It gives you new appreciation for the forces of nature. The winds blew so hard that the rain was going sideways, and upwards again when it swirled on the patio. The temperatures dropped at least 20 degrees, to the point where it was tie to consider putting on a sweater. That by itself gives cause to celebrate, it has been in the triple digits up to about 2 days ago. Having it cool enough to want a sweater is a major treat.

Anyway, now that the rain is gone, the winds have died down and the lightning has moved off, it is time to wander outside and get a whiff of what the desert smells like after a cleansing rain like we just had. You can smell the creosote bushes (a fresh, tangy scent) and nothing smells dusty anymore. An additional advantage of a rain storm in the desert is that once it is over, the water evaporates quickly so mold does not have time to form. Great for those of us with allergies, no mold to concern ourselves with.

Hopefully you all have had a peaceful evening. Mine was exciting, but in a very good way. I will now be stepping outside to enjoy the scents of a clean desert and to watch for the next storm cell that may be heading my way. Love those storms in Phoenix.

Until tomorrow...

Motorcycle for Sale

As you guys may know, I ride motorcycles...no, really... Well, about a year and a half ago, we acquired a 2002 Harley Davidson Electra Glide Standard (FLHT) that has been converted to an Ultra Classic. The ultimate goal was for me to retire my Springer and ride the FLHT. I rode that "bagger" on the 2009 Run for the Wall (RFTW) and had ridden that bike for months prior and after RFTW. After spending a whole year trying to make the bike comfortable for me, we have decided that there is no way that bike and I are going to learn to play well together. Because of that we have put the 2002 Harley Davidson Electra Glide motorcycle for sale.


This bike has been lowered front and rear (which I need for my little legs) and I purchased a Badlander saddle from Harley because it allowed me an additional half inch lower to the ground. After discovering how HARD that Badlander seat was, I had a gel insert added which made it a much nicer saddle. Despite all that we have done to make this bike comfortable for me, I am still not able to completely flat-foot when at a stop and am therefore not entirely comfortable on the bike. I rode the Springer this year on RFTW and discovered how much more comfortable I was on the soft tail rather than the bagger. So, now that we are back home, I have put the FLHT motorcycle up for sale.


In a nutshell, the bagger frame is too wide for my body. No matter how low we get the saddle to the ground, it feels like my legs go out sideways before they head down to the ground. I am uncomfortable maneuvering the bike because I can not comfortably put my feet on the ground. My riding reflects my discomfort on the bike. I have had too many close calls for tipping over on this bike and just don't want to worry about tipping over.


It is a good bike, runs great, I just can't handle the bagger. I guess I am just a soft tail kind of person (no comments from the peanut gallery).

If you know anybody who is looking for a Harley Davidson touring bike, we have a great one for sale. It has the following really cool things on it:

• Detachable UltraClassic TourPack
• Detachable Luggage Rack
• Detachable rider and passenger backrests
• Saddlebag covers
• UltraClassic Fairing with Stereo
• Extra Harley-Davidson Badlander seat (with gel insert) for solo riders
• Center Stand for ease of maintenance
• Custom Derby covers
• Black powder-coated "crash" bars and front lights
• Orange LED lights on the engine.

If you know anybody interested in this great motorcycle for sale, please feel free to have them contact me at hawgwash1@yahoo.com. We will entertain any serious offer, but since we have more than enough vehicles, we are not interested in trading for another vehicle (car, truck, ATV, trailer, etc).

Thanks so much for listening to my rant about this great bike. I really liked the bike, I just wish I had longer legs... I loved the radio, don't have that or the fairing on the Springer. It is a nice riding bike, I would really enjoy it if I didn't have to worry about that nasty little thing...stopping... If this bagger handled like my Springer, we would not be having this conversation...

Until tomorrow...

The American Freedoms Rally

As you may be aware, we are participating in a new rally, The American Freedoms Rally in Corbin, Kentucky. Usually, we do not attend first year motorcycle rallies because attendance is inconsistent. We are making an exception on this rally because of what the motorcycle rally actually stands for. The American Freedoms Motorcycle Rally was designed to bring bikers and the general public together from across the United States to celebrate our Nation's Independence Day. It is also designed to honor the heroes of this great nation, our active duty military, veterans, and those who gave all so that we may enjoy the freedoms that we have today.

If you are not familiar with where this event is held, it is at the David L. Williams Southeastern KY Agriculture and Expo Center. The Center, also known as "The Arena" is located in Corbin, KY, right off I-75 and exit 25. As you exit 25, you will turn towards Corbin, "The Arena" is located on top of a hill, behind the Appleby's restaurant. Turn into the road just past Appleby's and go up the hill. You should see the hot air balloon and tents prior to arriving.

This event starts with a kick-off party beginning at 5 pm on Wednesday, June 30th and goes through midnight. There will be a wide variety of events occurring throughout the rally. There will be a pig roast, burn out pits (if you have not had the opportunity to see a burn out competition, this is a great time for that), mechanical bull riding, dunk booth, lots of food, and some great sounding entertainment. We watched them build the stage today and test some of the sound systems, and if these early tests are any indication, the music is going to be awesome.

They are planning a Louisiana Crawfish Boil on Friday, July 2nd which should be a whole lot of fun. On Saturday, July 3rd, they are going to hold a Military Appreciation Day. According to the promoter, this ceremony will rival some of the best in the Nation. I don't want to give anything away, so if you are curious, come on by and see what happens for this Military Appreciation Day as we pay tribute to the brave men and women of our armed forces and honor our fallen heroes.

Best of all, the American Veterans Traveling Tribute (like the Traveling Wall) will be on display during the whole American Freedoms Motorcycle Rally and Event. If nothing else, this is something that everyone should see at least once.

Hopefully we will see you all here during the weekend. Come on by the booth and say "Hi".

Until tomorrow...

What to talk about?

Well, tonight I have been struggling for the last few hours, actually all day long, trying to find something interesting to talk with you about. I usually start each day with the question, "What to talk about?" and usually have something already on my mind or have made notes of talking points. Today, I have drawn a complete blank. You may find this funny, but I already have a blog topic for tomorrow and for Sunday, but have still been struggling today.

Perhaps my biggest issue was my concern about our Yorkie, Hawg. He went into surgery this afternoon, and I got a call from the vet later in the day saying he was fine and recovering. If all goes well, we get to pick him up tomorrow around noon. They warned me that he is in pain, and will be in pain for a while. I don't know about you guys, but looking into a dog's eyes knowing that they are hurting, just breaks my heart. Hopefully I am worrying about nothing. The only reason I knew something was wrong with Hawg was because he wasn't urinating, he didn't indicate any major pain. He is one tough little bugger...

But after my all-consuming worry about our Yorkie, we also have the Gold Wing Road Riders Association Georgia Wing Fling to work at. The people are great, and the weather has been much better than we have dealt with in the last two weeks. The only wrinkle in this show has been the brief rain-shower that occurred (not on the weather report...need to have a chat with the weatherman on that one...) late this afternoon. If the weather man listened to me, we can't have rain until after the event shuts down, after 5 pm. But nobody talked to me about that rain shower. I will have to have a chat with someone about that. I will not allow another recurrence of a rain shower until after 5 tomorrow afternoon...my rules...

So, as you can see, again, I have nothing to say...(not) Hopefully this was a little entertaining. Stay posted, I will have interesting topics for the next two days....

Until tomorrow...

More traveling to Motorcycle Rallies

After Milledgeville, GA, we spent a little time with a friend in Fayetteville, GA and then it was back on the road for more traveling to motorcycle rallies. This week we are headed off to Hiawassee, Georgia for a Gold Wing Road Riders Association state event. We have arrived for the Georgia Wing Fling. Since vendor setup was today, we were able to take some time and find out about the township of Hiawassee.

Hiawassee was incorporated on October 24, 1870. The drive up to Hiawasse from Atlanta is absolutely beautiful. The roads are small, not too heavily traveled but really great for motorcycling. I was so wishing I was on a bike on the way up here, the views were incredible, and the roads were well maintained. The only downside to the ride up here was the fact that the roads were small and winding. Fun on a motorcycle, but not so fun in a motor home pulling a trailer. There were a few knuckle-biting situations, but nothing that we couldn't handle. Next year it probably won't be as intimidating, since we know where the roads will go.

Hiawassee is almost 2,000 feet above sea level, nestled in the North Georgia Mountains about 2 hours Northeast of Atlanta. The name Hiawassee is a derivative of the Cherokee word meaning "meadow". Riding up here, you pass through a very cool town where all the buildings are designed to look like an Alpine village. Once here, there are wonderful areas for motorcycle riding. The views are breathtaking, and if you like to fish, the fly fishing here is top-notch. There are year-round trout streams and rivers here and some compare the fly fishing here to those areas in the western region of the U.S. The City of Hiawassee and the Hiawassee River continue to be popular tourist areas. Did you know that in the 1800's through the 1930's wealthy families from the lowlands would "summer in the mountains" to escape the heat and disease more prevalent in the more heavily populated areas.

I realize that tonight I sound like a travel blog, but once and a while I thought you would all enjoy some descriptions of where we have motorcycle rallies instead of just hearing about the motorcycle rallies. The Georgia Mountain Fairgrounds look to be a great location for any type of motorcycle rally, and we will provide you with a full run-down of how the event was on Sunday evening. Until then, I am going to try to sneak away and explore this beautiful town we are currently in.

Until tomorrow...

Setting up for a Motorcycle Rally

Well, today was setup day for the Milledgeville Thunder Rally. We got up early, and arrived at the venue a little after 9 am in anticipation of a possible gaggle of vendors arriving for setup. Setting up for a motorcycle rally is not for the faint of heart. More times than not, even when the promoter recommends that you show up by a certain time, there will be many vendors who would have cued up the night before.

It seems that you can never accurately anticipate what set up will be like at a rally unless you have attended it in prior years. Even then, knowledge of how a rally was run in prior years does not necessarily mean it will be OK this year. All the same, Milledgeville Thunder Rally is a new rally for us, so we had no idea what we were going to encounter when we arrived at the staging area.

What we found was a beautiful open field with electrical boxes scattered around and three vendors already set up. Seeing other vendors set up sometimes makes me feel like I missed the memo stating we needed to arrive a day earlier... The good news was that it was only three vendors, not three dozen already set up. Even better news was that the promoter had already confirmed we had a space, so our anxiety was somewhat reduced. The promote arrived shortly after we did and we were able to get the motor home placed, our electric set up and identify where our booth was to be set all by noon.

Setting up for a Motorcycle Rally can be a stressful experience especially if this is either the first time you have ever been a vendor at this type of event, or if this is a new event for you. The best way to prepare for a Motorcycle Rally, or any other weekend event is to do as much homework as you can in advance of the event. You can look on the Internet for pictures of prior years' events, you can talk to the promoter (more on that later) and you can contact other vendors who attended the event in years past. Even if you do all of the above, there is no guarantee that this particular event will be good for you. Keep that information in mind if you plan on participating as a vendor at events. Even if the event went very well last year, there is no guarantee that it will again go well this year. People change, economic conditions change and the weather can be a huge factor.

Assuming you have done your homework prior to an event and still decide to attend, the best thing to do is to be sure you arrive no later than on time. That shows the promoter you respect their time and their event. It also usually allows you enough time to set up before people come around to purchase what you are offering. We love to come as early as possible so that we can not only be set up, but can take the extra time to walk around and talk to the other vendors at the motorcycle rally. Talking to other vendors is a great way to network, usually, if they are already set up, they are more than willing to spend a few minutes chatting with you about the event, their products, the attendees of the event and possibly other events that are coming up.

The information you can obtain from other vendors can be absolutely invaluable. We have received excellent leads regarding upcoming motorcycle rallies, who to talk to, and where to avoid. We have also found vendors selling items that we had personally been looking for. What also comes out of chatting with others is that they will ask you what you are offering. Again, this is an excellent opportunity to network and promote yourself. Even if the other vendor is not personally interested in your products or services, they will have in the back of their mind what you do, so if a customer wanders up and asks them about a certain product or service, there is a very good chance that they will point that customer to you if you are the one who can provide the product or service. Networking with other vendors is almost like creating a local directory of products and services for that motorcycle rally. you would be amazed once a rally starts, how many people will be in attendance. Many times the customers are looking for a particular product or service, but due to the crowds and possibly the layout of the motorcycle rally, the customers are not able to locate you. If other vendors are aware of who you are, where you are and what you have to offer, they will point the customers in your direction.

Good luck setting up for a motorcycle rally or any other weekend event. Motorcycle rallies and weekend flea markets are relatively similar events, so what I have suggested here can apply to flea markets, craft shows, etc. If you have specific questions regarding setting up for a motorcycle rally or other event, please feel free to contact us at hawgwash1@yahoo.com. If you are interested in starting up a home-based business and need ideas, please check out our website at http://www.hawgwash.net/.

Until tomorrow...

Run for the Wall - Pre-Trip

Today was our first full day spent with our Run for the Wall Family. It was a great day in Rancho Cucomonga, CA, not just because of the weather, but due to the fact we were able to catch up with so many of our family. Because we are scattered all over the United States, we do not always get to stay in touch with each other. At least once a year we have the opportunity to get together with most of our "family" and spend some quality time.

For those of you not familiar with Run for the Wall, it is an annual motorcycle event that starts in Los Angeles County and takes 10 days to get to Washington, D.C., ending at the Vietnam War Memorial ("The Wall"). People can join the group at specific stops along the way, so nobody is required to start in California and go all the way to Washington, D.C.. "Run for the Wall recognizes the sacrifices and contributions made by all veterans who have served our nation. Veterans of recent conflicts and those currently on active duty are especially welcome to join us as we ride for those who cannot."

The mission statement for Run for the Wall is as follows: "To promote healing among ALL veterans and their families and friends, to call for an accounting of all Prisoners of War and those Missing in Action (POW/MIA), to honor the memory of those Killed in Action (KIA) from all wars, and to support our military personnel all over the world." Run for the Wall strives to maintain a save, supportive and private atmosphere in which all participants can reflect and heal on their journey to the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. in the hope that they can return home to a new beginning.

I have been participating in Run for the Wall since 2005. At the time, I had been looking for something to do for my vacation, and was talking to a co-worker and good friend about possibly attending this event. As it turns out, he was a Vietnam Veteran and wanted me to go to the "Wall" to visit on behalf of some of those he had known and lost in the War. I chose to take the trip on behalf of my friend, who could not go. The first morning that I appeared to attend (I picked up the group in Phoenix, AZ), if it had not been for the wonderful people at registration, I would have been so overwhelmed, that I may have chickened out and found something else to do for vacation.

As it was, the people that registered me, made sure I knew where to go and who to look for. They made sure I was taken care of and assigned a place to stage my motorcycle in anticipation of leaving by 8 am. For someone who had never been in a motorcycle group of more than 50, it was scary being in a group of over 200. There were other new riders joining in Phoenix, there were people called Platoon Leaders who lead groups of us towards Washington, D.C.. There were also Road Guards who were essentially responsible for keeping us safe on the road and helping advise us on better riding techniques. Honestly, the Road Guards scared the daylights out of me. These people were seriously good riders, very intense and not afraid to tell you what you need to do to improve. They were never rude, or mean, and wanted to help. They just scared you when they would zoom up beside you (while you are riding down the road) to tell you that you need to straighten up. You end up wanting to ride like they do, and I worked very hard to make sure they had nothing bad to say about my riding.

After the first 100 miles, I started not being so tense, the death-grip on my handlebars started to lighten up and my heart started pumping at a more normal rate. After lunch (about 200 miles now) I really started getting into the swing of the ride. What was really impressive was the fuel stops. They had a system down that they could gas up over 200 motorcycles in less than 30 minutes. That is a sight to behold. Everything they did was on a schedule. There were people assigned specific tasks, people assigned to point us all in the direction we were supposed to go, people to direct us to snacks, people making sure we drank enough water (especially important as we rode across the desert) and people just moving around making sure you were safe.

After I completed that trip in 2005, I knew that this was an event that I must attend every year. The friendships that were formed, seemed so much stronger than any other friendships that I have had in the past. In less than 10 days, I went knowing only 2 people on the Run, to now riding with over 400 of my closest friends. What is really fun is that every year since, I meed up with my first 200 of my closest friends, and then find several hundred more as the Run progresses to Washington, D.C..

If you ever have the opportunity to even do one leg of Run for the Wall, it would be an unforgettable experience. If you would like more information on Run for the Wall, their website is http://www.rftw.org/, or you can e-mail me at hawgwash1@yahoo.com. It is now time for me to get off the computer and get back to catching up with my "family".

Until tomorrow...

Outdoor Marketplace in Chandler

Today we participated in Bashas' Outdoor Marketplace and had a wonderful time. Unfortunately, I forgot the camera so cannot provide you with pictures of this event. We were at the Bashas' in Chandler, Arizona from 10-4. There were approximately 50 vendors in attendance, including some local eateries.

We got to Bashas' relatively early, around 7:15 am in anticipation of setup. By 7:45 all of the early vendors had located spaces and began the fun setup process. For those of you who have not had the joy of setting up a booth, this is something that can either be quite entertaining, or extremely frustrating. Since we have done this a time or two in the past, we quickly located a spot, and began setting up the booth. Within about a half an hour the majority of our booth was ready for business.

The really fun part about setting up so quickly is that it allows us the opportunity to either visit with other vendors, or to watch the late arrivals try to find a spot and then wrestle with their set up. Being a vendor at a local event is great if you enjoy people and all the fun that goes with people setting up in a constrained area. By 9:30 almost all the vendors were placed and predominantly finished with their setup. As we were setting up, customers wandering into this shopping area had the ability to wander around and watch what was going on.

There was a reasonable amount of people wandering around our Outdoor Marketplace most of the day. We were pleased with the numbers, especially since Spring Break started and as a general rule, people leave town on Spring Break. The only real excitement we had was around 11 am when a very strong stray wind (and I mean WIND) blew through the area and took out about 5 vendor booths. This wind felt like it may have been a dust devil without the dust. It came up very fast, very strong, tossed several tents, umbrellas and canopies in the air, cleared several vendor tables of their contents and knocked over a beautiful display of clay masks.

Luckily only a few vendors sustained damage to their products, the worst being the artist who lost the majority of his clay masks. What makes these events really worth attending is seeing all vendors band together in a crisis and help each other out. Once the wind dissipated, all the vendors who were not affected, came to the aid of the vendors who sustained some damage. It is a wonderful sight to see people helping each other with no ulterior motive involved.

It was also wonderful to see some familiar faces with their products and services at this event. The vendors we were next to included Celebrating Home, obviously Bashas' was there, as was Lights Out Exterminating, Toms Bar B Que, Paw Print Artists, and Life Care Animal Hospital. There was also a bouncy building for kids to jump around in and a climbing wall.

In a nutshell, the day was perfect for an Outdoor Marketplace and there were plenty of vendors and activities to suit all who were interested. Hopefully we will see you at next week's Outdoor Marketplace in Gold Canyon. If you would like a schedule of where we will be, please check our our website and click on the link, Schedule of Events.

Until tomorrow...

Wrap-up from Sturgis Rally 2009

Hello all, I have been out of touch mainly because I have been busy and tired for the last few days after the Black Hills Rally (Sturgis Rally). It is amazing how tired you become on the last few days. I had zero energy to get on the computer and talk about anything. Today is the first day that I feel almost energetic, though still tired.

As promised, you will find pictures from the rally we did in Custer, SD. The last shot is of the street and all the bikes lined up in the middle of the street. As mentioned in an earlier blog, Custer closed off 2 of the 4 lanes that ran through the center of town and dedicated those two lanes to motorcycle parking. That was really neat and allowed riders to park conveniently.

Technically the Custer Cruisin' rally ended Sunday, but many vendors had already pulled out Saturday evening. We stayed on through Sunday hoping to see the last minute riders. Unfortunately it rained most of the day on Sunday, so we ended up packing up relatively early and calling the show over.

I know, today is Wednesday and no posts occurred for several days. As I said, by the time we finished packing in between rain showers and hail storms, I was pooped and had no desire to type anything (not even check e-mails). It has taken until today to get my rear back in gear to start clearing e-mails and blog again.

That being said, we are looking forward to returning to Custer Cruisin' next year. The city officials were wonderful to deal with, the people of the city of Custer were great and supportive and basically the weather was good. In Custer, excluding Sunday and late Saturday afternoon, the rains came late each evening. Sturgis, SD got hammered with softball sized hail, Rapid City encountered torrential rains during the day and we basically got the rain in the evening, within an hour of closing time. Not a bad deal in my book.

Some other pictures of what went on in Custer include the signs that were posted on two of the portable outhouse doors and some really cool trailers. We had a lot of fun in Custer, there were so many people to talk to and interesting bikes to look at. If you ever have the opportunity to participate in the Black Hills Rally, I highly recommend spending some time in Custer for their Custer Cruisin'. The food was great, the company was awesome and the weather beat anywhere else in the Black Hills (my personal opinion...). Hopefully we will see you in Custer for the 2010 Rally, which will also be the 70th Annual Black Hills Rally.

Day 7 of the Black Hills Rally

Well, we have completed what I would call the 7th day of the Black Hills Rally. It is Friday, but based on the crowd behavior, you would have expected it to be a Wednesday. There were not many people early in the day, they came out after noon.

I figured we had people later in the day because the weather was wonderful here and the bikers were probably getting in the last few rides before they had to head back to their respective homes. The weather in Custer has been great, we don't really get rain until much later in the day, usually around 7 or 8 pm after most people have either stopped for the night, or already headed back to Sturgis for the parties.

Today was no different other than it did get a good bit warm. Once and a while the breeze would kick up and we would get a much needed relief from the heat. What I find interesting here is the large quantity of grasshoppers that have appeared. Today it looked like they were swarming. We had a few hundred behind the tent and as you looked out towards the hills, you saw thousands of those little buggers flying all over. You couldn't walk anywhere with bunches of grasshoppers jumping away from your feet. There were also quite a few that would fly into you and either bounce off, or hang on for the ride. Hopefully the birds will come and eat all those bugs, the grasshoppers are all over, even jumping on people. I did have to laugh, the grasshoppers were so bad that as one gentleman walked past, there were grasshoppers on his back and one landed in his beard. He did a very interesting dance trying to remove the grasshopper from his beard...

We had a great thunderstorm here tonight, awesome lightning show that lasted about 20 minutes and continued to roll Southeast. We saw some very close lightning strikes, but it did not appear any fires followed. After the storm, the full moon came peaking out from the leftover clouds. It was an awesome moonrise.

Hopefully tomorrow will also be a beautiful day for the riders. We understand that Sturgis got hit with a significant hailstorm, and Rapid City had heavy rains and high winds. Custer only received that brief thunderstorm I talked about. Perhaps the weather all over the area will hold again for the day to allow riders to continue wandering around the Black Hills.

As much as I enjoy the activity during the Black Hills Rally, I am looking forward to having a few days off to catch up on all the paperwork. Just working a rally is fun, but there is a tremendous amount of paperwork that is involved before and after (including taxes...fun...). I would also love to have the chance to sleep in and be able to work on the computer when I want, not after the booth closes. I know, life is tough....I still get to ride and enjoy the great outdoors while some of you may be working in an office and not be able to get out on the road.

There is a lot to be said for being your own boss. There is a lot of work involved, but there is also the ability to make as much or as little money as you want when you want. You are in control (reasonably) of your own destiny. Your decisions may make or break your business. I would not trade this type of stress for a Corporate job. I don't mind the work, I guess you could call me a workaholic, but at least I am working for the benefit of myself and others. I feel I can make more of a difference in the world instead of working for someone else who may not want to help others.

I will get off my soapbox now. If you are interested in starting your own business, or want to grow your personal business, I will be starting another blog next week on that subject. I want to have an article or two posted by next week. Until then, have a wonderful day.

Day 6 of the Black Hills Rally

I can't believe I forgot the camera in the trailer again. I am almost out of battery on the camera too, so pretty soon I won't be able to take any pictures.

The rally was pretty slow today, there were storms all around us. There was a tornado watch later in the afternoon, the clouds got really dark and strange shaped. Fortunately for us in Custer, nothing much happened, not even a lot of wind or rain. I am not disappointed. Have not been checking the local news, but hopefully nothing serious came out of the tornado watch.

After a great chili dinner cooked by Rock, a bunch of us vendors went to the outside parking lot of the Crazy Horse Monument to watch the laser light show (the rain had stopped and it looked like we would be dry for a while). We got there early, expecting it to begin at dark. What we forgot about was that "Dark" is 9pm here. It was dark(ish) all day today due to the bad weather. We got to the parking lot around 8:15 and stood around until 9 for the light show.

It was worth every minute of standing around to watch them light up Crazy Horse and then start a laser light show. Steve and I plan on going back to the monument some time next week to see the museum and then watch the light show from inside the grounds. From what we could see from the distance, the show was awesome and awe inspiring. After we attend the show, I will provide more information about the Crazy Horse Monument for those that may be interested.

Hopefully the weather will be more cooperative for all the surrounding areas tomorrow and we will be busier than one-armed paper hangers. Nite all, it is time for me to catch some much needed shut-eye.

Black Hills Rally Day 5

I had planned on posting pictures of the current Black Hills Rally today, but discovered I forgot my camera in the trailer. You will all have to wait until tomorrow to see what the streets of Custer look like filled with motorcycles.


I wanted to let everyone know that Steve is now suffering because he can't play with the 1968 Camero he had to clean for 2 days. The running joke was that if they left the car with him much longer, he would have rubbed the paint off. That was a beautiful car, but the owner did want it back so he could enjoy it. Now Steve plans on purchasing one of his own...as soon as possible. I am looking forward to seeing how he plans on taking it back since we currently have two motorcycles in a trailer pulled with a motor home.... I am sure, with enough incentive, he would find some way to get the Camero home...that is to say, if he could find one.


You will notice there was no post yesterday and there is a very good reason for it. No, not because I was tired (I was) but there was a bad thunderstorm and I am kind of a freak when it comes to plugging in a computer during a large electrical storm. I do have surge protectors between the laptops and the electrical source (we need a surge protector from the main electric source to the motor home, but that is another story...) but I just didn't want to push our luck. In my imagination, I pictured a bolt of lightning hitting the power box and coursing through the motor home and then blowing the surge protector on it's way to blow up the laptop. I know more things would have to go wrong before that happens, but like I said, I am a bit of a freak when it comes to electricity and laptops. So, the good news is that I got to go to bed relatively early, but I go no blogging done.


We have had some really cool (depending on who you talk to) storms roll through Custer these last few days. This evening it looked like we were going to get pounded again, so we closed up shop early only to discover the storm parted around Custer. For the last two evenings, the winds were so strong that they almost blew our tents away. The rain came down in VERY cold sheets (I know, I was out in it getting pounded and freezing) and blew sideways on several occasions. The lightning was a sight to see and the thunder shook the buildings. This is the kind of rain that when you step outside you become instantly soaked.


Since we had been getting soaked for the last 2 days while we were trying to button down our various tents, we really didn't want to get soaked again today so we closed up early. Now we look like wimps since it only sprinkled and nothing else happened. Oh well, stuff happens.


Today was supposed to be a slow day in Custer because the town of Hulett in Wyoming was to have an "anything" goes day for bikers. Hulett is a very small town and is a great stopping off point for riders going from Sturgis, SD to Devils' Tower, WY. On the Wednesday of Bike Week each year, Hulett has the free Hulett Ham 'n' Jam in it's 21st year. This small Wyoming town has a year round population of 410 and is transformed into a hot spot for motorcyclists. It is the place to be on Wednesday of Sturgis Bike Week.

Despite all of that great activity going on in Hulett, we were pretty busy talking with people in Custer. The riding weather is awesome and so far the rain is coming after dark. Rain after dark is not an issue since you really don't want to be riding around Custer after dark because of all the wildlife. There is so much wildlife in the area that in the evening, you can walk from our booth to the campground 2 blocks away and find deer grazing in an open field.

Well, that is all I am going to write tonight regarding the Black Hills Rally. We didn't get to detail the 1966 Corvette because of a minor mishap it had...something like some elements of the electrical system burning up... Luckily it does not sound like there was significant damage to the car. Hopefully they can get the car repaired before the end of Bike Week so we can detail it and then post pictures. We will keep you all posted. Until next time...