Copper
The 2023 La Jolla Concours: A Bucket List Event
The La Jolla Concours d’Elegance celebrated its 17th year on April 23rd, 2023. This event is located on the coast in La Jolla, California just north of San Diego. The show featured more...
The Musical Instrument Museum: Another Trip Aro...
The Musical Instrument Museum (MIM), located in Phoenix, Arizona, features 350 exhibits with instruments from around the globe. It is considered to be the foremost musical instrument museum in the...
Pilgrimage to Europe, Part One: Good Luck
When I was in college during the late ’60s, many of my fellow students spent their summers traveling through Europe. As their parents paid for their education, anything they had...
Pilgrimage to Sturgis: Epilogue
The next morning, I rolled over, kissed Melody on the cheek, and told her that I felt the need to hit the road. “I know,” she said, “you’re a rolling...
The Great River Road Lemons Rally
The Great River Road Lemons Rally was one that I couldn’t decide on. In typical Lemons Rally fashion, the route would take us to historic and unusual landmarks along the...
Pilgrimage to Sturgis, Part 35
A group of seven boisterous young cowboys all wearing Western hats and boots walked into the bar as I conversed with Lonnie Many Bears. They were covered in sweat and...
Pilgrimage to Sturgis, Part 34
Just as the seniors were waddling out to fish at the trout pond, Melody’s dad rushed into the bar/dining room. “Hey Montana, glad to see you’re still here. Are you...
Pilgrimage to Sturgis, Part 33
Written by B. Jan Montana After a long trip from Minneapolis, a long session with the Bhagwan, and a long ride in the dark following Melody’s car, we were exhausted when...
Pilgrimage to Sturgis, Part 32
The Bhagwan played his sitar for about 20 minutes. Most everyone left for home during that time. When he looked up, he seemed surprised to see that there were still eight...
Pilgrimage to Sturgis, Part 31
Written by B. Jan Montana The Bhagwan hopped off the picnic table and walked around it, shaking his arms. He stepped into his Airstream and came out a few minutes...
Pilgrimage to Sturgis, Part 30: Limited Identity
It was a lovely mild evening as the sun set behind the hills which flanked the Belle Fourche River. A light breeze filled the canopy of overarching trees providing shade...
Pilgrimage to Sturgis, Part 29
[Editor’s Note: this part of the story took place in the mid-1980s.] A blast of superheated wind hit me in the face as I walked out of that air-conditioned restaurant in...
Pilgrimage to Sturgis, Part 28
Written by B. Jan Montana It was after 10 when Chip shook me awake the next morning. “Take a shower, Montana, Candy will soon have breakfast ready.” I...
Pilgrimage to Sturgis, Part 27
“All right, that’s enough of that,” Chip proclaimed. “Let’s mount up.” I looked at Candy. “It’s 7:30, where are we going?” “Oh, every Thursday evening, all the Harley guys...
Pilgrimage to Sturgis, Part 26
After a delightful breakfast, Evelyn had to rush off to work. As we parted, she urged me to spend some time visiting the Minneapolis Institute of Art on Third...
Pilgrimage to Sturgis, Part 25
“Ever been married, Evelyn?” I asked her over breakfast. “Yeah, for about a year. I was 19 and he was 25. He had a red Camaro convertible. In retrospect, I...
Pilgrimage to Sturgis, Part 24
Many of the renegades gathered again late that afternoon in Chip’s garage. It seemed to be a ritual. Get off work, have a beer at Chip’s, go home to the...
Pilgrimage to Sturgis, Part 23
“Willie G. Davidson will be at the local Harley shop today, Montana, wanna come with us to meet him?” Chip asked over breakfast. “Not sure about that Chip, don’t...
Pilgrimage to Sturgis, Part 22
“I thought you were going to ride your bike home today?” I asked KP as he poured a Belgian ale from the garage fridge. “I will,” he replied, “but I...
Pilgrimage to Sturgis, Part 21
There’s something about a garage that makes guys feel comfortable. Perhaps, deep down in our primordial brains, it reminds us of the protection and safety of caves. All the light...
Pilgrimage to Sturgis, Part 20
The early morning sun blasted through the shade of my window like a World War II searchlight mounted on the neighbor’s roof. I tried to avoid it by turning...
Pilgrimage to Sturgis, Part 19
Chip’s 2-1/2-car garage was a corrugated steel building facing the alley, and was insulated with orange, expanded foam spray. The place was lit up like a gymnasium with two...
Pilgrimage to Sturgis, Part 18
The roads in the Black Hills are scenic and twisty, but during bike week, they are also crowded and slow. Sometimes it feels like spending a week in Walmart...
Pilgrimage to Sturgis, Part 17
Some of the seniors dropped in briefly for coffee after Lonnie Many Bears and his grandson left the saloon by the trout pond. Other than that, it was quiet for a couple of hours until a...
Pilgrimage to Sturgis, Part 16
That evening, I related to Melody’s family the story of the interesting dialogue I’d heard from the senior citizens on the beach. Melody’s brother started laughing. “You don’t think they’re...
Pilgrimage to Sturgis, Part 15: Dockside Chatter
As Melody’s dad was delivering the tractor to his son, I wandered over to the trout pond. Some of the senior citizens from Rapid City were fishing on the pier....
Pilgrimage to Sturgis, Part 14
The bike hummed like a mantra as we made our way home from the Bhagwan’s Airstream. It was another warm, lovely evening with a bright moon and long lunar shadows....
Pilgrimage to Sturgis, Part 13
The Bhagwan played his sitar beautifully. I got lost in the experience of the music, the chanting of the students, and the warm, caressing sunshine. Then the music stopped. After...
Pilgrimage to Sturgis, Part 12
Judging by the row of trees, I knew we were getting near the river. We turned left into a dusty parking lot. A tired Airstream trailer was parked near the...
Pilgrimage to Sturgis. Part 11
Melody was at my cabin door at 7 am just like the morning before. We enjoyed another great breakfast with her parents and their guests at the trout fishing lodge....
Pilgrimage to Sturgis, Part 10
The first installments of this series appeared in Issues 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149.150 and 151 – Ed.] Melody was on summer break from her nursing studies at the University of South Dakota. She wanted to be an operating...
Pilgrimage to Sturgis, Part Nine
Interstate 90 back to Spearfish was packed with Harleys doing 55 – while sounding like they were going 105. I soon tired of the freight-train pace, waved to the renegades,...
Pilgrimage to Sturgis, Part Eight
The first installments of this series appeared in Issues 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148 and 149 – Ed.> “Sit down and have a beer Spider, enjoy the view for...
Pilgrimage to Sturgis, Part Seven
[The first installments of this series appeared in Issues 143, 144, 145, 146, 147 and 148 – Ed.] The next morning, I awoke to the sounds of clattering tent poles. Unzipping my tent door, I was surprised to find...
Pilgrimage to Sturgis, Part Six
[The first installments of this series appeared in Issues 143,144, 145, 146 and 147 – Ed.] I started sloshing past the traffic towards the sound of the sirens. Chip, Candy, and KP strolled with me....
Pilgrimage to Sturgis, Part Five
[The first installments of this series appeared in Issues 143, 144, 145 and 146 – Ed.] As the midday heat passed, it was time to head back to Spearfish. While gearing up, Spider insisted on riding...
Sevdah
The early years of my life were spent on my maternal grandmother’s farm. While Opa (grandpa) worked at the paper mill, Oma raised pigs and grew greens and grapevines. I passed the time feeding...
Pilgrimage to Sturgis, Part Four
The first installments of this series appeared in Issues 143, 144 and 145. It was well after midnight by the time I staggered back from downtown Spearfish. I had a hard time locating my...
Pilgrimage to Sturgis, Part Three
Part One and Part Two of this series appeared in Issue 143 and Issue 144. I felt emancipated as I pulled into the highway and away from the renegades. I’d miss Candy...
Pilgrimage to Sturgis, Part Two
Part One of the story appeared in Issue 143. Recap By the time I got my helmet and jacket off, the warlord was standing next to me – a big...
Pilgrimage to Sturgis, Part One
It’s a long way to Sturgis, South Dakota; it’s a long way to go. Even for the Black Hills Motorcycle Classic. The temperature was flirting with the ton by mid-day...
Chinese Food for Thought
After five weeks consuming the compromised cuisine of Mongolia – an almost vegetable-free land of herders and nomads – eating while traveling in China was an exciting daily adventure. Each...
The Not-So-Great Wall
In the year 2002, my penchant for off-the-beaten-path travel was deeply satisfied with my visit to, of all places, China’s Great Wall – but only because I chose to explore...
Getting High, Part Three
In Part One (Issue 132) and Part Two (Issue 133), Alón embarked upon his quest to scale the heights of Kala Patthar near Mount Everest in Nepal. The story concludes...
Getting High, Part Two
In Part One (Issue 132), Alón began his quest to scale the heights of Kala Patthar near Mount Everest in Nepal. The story continues here. After our terrifying landing at...
Getting High
I have come to believe that the solo traveler exploring this planet, unburdened by the constraints, sensibilities or itineraries of others, is able to attract a certain serendipity as a...