Sturgis, 2010

According to my dad, this year was one of the most productive we've had in Sturgis, South Dakota.  I know now how fun it was and wish I could replay it a few times.  But I wasn't looking forward to it at the beginning.

Coming up to it I learned the Florida team couldn't come up this year, meaning we would all have to work longer and harder.  But We got new help from more local sources.

The drive was long but the scenery and people I was with made it not so bad.  We had to stop breifly for rain, but besides that it was problem-free.

We stayed at the Rapid City church for a few days, about a half-hour out of Sturgis.  Then we moved the RV to the Sturgis City Park, where we stayed for the rest of the week.

Setup was harder than usual it seemed, but we persevered through it.

The week stayed fairly busy.  We had crafts, bouncehouses, Bible lessons, free stuff, a store, food, drinks, coloring contests, and more.  We introduced our 24-foot slide for the first time in Sturgis as well.

 

We got media coverage from the newspaper again this year.

During the shows we had our regular activities plus a few more:  puppets, memory verses, games, characters, lessons, songs, prizes, candy, the list goes on.  We had several days when the kids shows were packed and had a special guest, Pro Street Racer Rich Vreeland, come to the show, sign autographs and take pictures with the kids on his bike.  We had Josh fill in for Dad for a whole show and he did very well.  And almost every day after the show, we would have a wet down for the kids (or, in other words, we threw water baloons at the kids and dumped a bucket of water on top of them).  In addition, we had a contest.  Whoever had done the most Bible lessons or brought the most friends at the end of the week would get one of two ipods!  That really got kids to do the lessons.

I spent much of my time printing and editing the show schedule, filling water baloons, taking photos and being soundman for the shows.  Breakfast, lunch and dinner were all provided by Mrs. Tami and the other kitchen helpers.  In the evening we would go to the church to eat, take showers and rest before the next day.  There was one day I got to go to Mount Rushmore.  We walked around and watched the evening show.  It was fun, but took a toll on our legs.

I noticed throughout the week what a difference a large camera made.  Last year with my point-and-shoot, no one asked me for photos.  This year, I had at least seven photo/video requests, from helpers and random people.  I'm still trying to get them all sent out!

As always, about Thursday the week seemed like it was too short.  Things were wrapping up.  Saturday was coming, and with it the end of Sturgis Bikeweek.

Then it did come.  We had picked up some additional help by now, so teardown wasn't so hard.  Dad had to preach at the Sturgis church on Sunday, so we went there in the morning and then spent the night at the Rapid City church.  After that it was a long and depressing drive home, broken only by the gas stops and a stop at Cabella's.

Now, once again, Sturgis seems to be just a memory of good times and friends.  I remember all the kids we helped, all the new friends we made, all the work that was done.

And when I think of those things, I can't wait until next year.