Day 1 - I arrived at Agate Fossil Beds National Monument (Harrison, Nebraska) today after flying in to Rapid City, South Dakota yesterday.   Rapid City really came alive due to the 74th Annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.  I was very surprised to see a lot of older riders (60+); just goes to show you that you are only as old as you feel.  Met a married couple that road their bikes from New York.  Their bike broke down and they called Harley-Davidson.  Harley-Davidson sent a crew out and fixed the bike within two hours. 

The weather for my drive south to Agate was made for a photographer.  White puffy clouds! There were no McDonald's anywhere but they do sell "Pepsi" here.  I had a hot dog for lunch that I bought at a gas station.  It was pretty good.   I stopped along the way at a few of the historical markers to stretch my legs.  It's just amazing that just over a 100 years ago people were migrating west through this area which is mostly populated by cattle ranchers now.

The town of Harrison (about a 1/2 hour from Agate) has a population of 251 and is what I would call a "sleepy town" with a small corner store that sells limited groceries (open from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.), a historical Hotel, a court house, a hardware store and a "Longhorn (Bar & Grill) Saloon."