August in the Black Hills is Burger Time!

Wait! Listen! Do you hear that?

Can it be...silence?

For the last ten days there's been a low drone in the air...constant...ominous.... I've been trying to figure out how to describe it, and the closest I can come is to have you imagine a jet taking off - for ten days straight. Always in the background, like the roar of a waterfall when you're canoeing down a river, or standing at the edge of Niagara Falls.

The 74th Annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally was in town.

Let's start with a few stats:

 - Between 450,000 and 500,000 bikers attend the Rally each year. That's just an estimate. Since there is no registration, officials use hotel and campground reservations to estimate the numbers. This year's numbers won't be out for a couple weeks. Last year's estimate was around 483,000.

- The population of the Black Hills (including all cities and rural population) is around 150,000. That means that every year, at the beginning of August, our population quadruples for ten days.

- This year, about 40% of the attendees were women. Biker girls come with their boyfriends, husbands, sisters, or friends. At home they're moms, teachers, nurses, waitresses, doctors, accountants....

 - Our local hospital and emergency personnel don't have planned disaster drills. The Rally is a planned disaster every year. Think of it as knowing a hurricane is going to strike a year in advance.

 - One big draw to the Rally is the variety of concerts. Every night. This year we had Skillet, Josh Rogan, The Cult, Montgomery Gentry, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Zac Brown Band, Bret Michaels, Motley Crue, ZZ Top, Ted Nugent, Randy Houser, Cheap Trick... and those are only the names I recognized :)

 - Not everyone rides their bike across country for the Rally. You can rent a bike for around $400-$500 a day. Or you can hire a specialized transport company who will pick up your bike, deliver it to the Rally, and return it to your home afterwards for around $900. Of course, you still have to get here somehow.

- There are events for every taste. Everything from a ride to commemorate fallen law officers to the Roller Derby, to the Budweiser Clydesdales, to stunt-cycle demonstrations, to the hill climb, to the Weber Grill Burger Cook-Off, and more.

- Waitresses at the bars (and there are many!) average about $300 a day in tips. Of course, you can earn more. I've heard if you take advantage of the "skimpy clothing" option during the Rally, you can increase your tips. A lot.

 - Next year's Rally will be the 75th. Hotels and campgrounds are already maxing out on reservations. One official estimates a million bikers will head to Sturgis next August.

BUT! When the Rally comes, we know tourist season is beginning to wind down. Schools are starting up again, families are staying home, and the bikers go back to their real lives of being teachers and accountants.

And we get our Hills back. I can't tell you how sweet that is!

Of course, we enjoy the tourists! It's an exciting time when Memorial Day comes. It's almost like someone flips a switch and the area is filled with excitement and anticipation. I love meeting our visitors, chatting with them, helping them find their way around.

But in August, after the end of the Rally, it's kind of like the feeling you get when visitors leave. It was fun while they were here...but it's nice to have the place to ourselves :)

Another thing August brings is the beginning of the end of cookouts. If you remember, our winter started on the first weekend of October last year (With a bang! You can read about that storm here.) And since our spring was cool, wet and long, and our summer has also been cool and wet (and short), I'm expecting an early winter this year, too.

But it isn't winter yet! It's time to grill some burgers :)

Jan's Favorite Burgers

My family never gets tired of these....

Easy ingredients - ground beef and seasoning. I like to use the "Worcestershire Pub Burger" spice mix from McCormick, and a little Worcestershire Sauce.

Mix ground beef - a pound makes four burgers - and the seasonings (about 1 teaspoon of the spice mix and about 1 teaspoon of the Worcestershire Sauce) in a bowl. Using my hands to mix the beef is the only way I've found to make sure it's all mixed in evenly.

I use a 1/2 cup measuring cup to make 1/4 pound burgers. Measure the meat mixture, and if there's any left, divide it evenly between the lumps.

With your hands, form the lumps into patties a little bit bigger around than your buns (they'll shrink during cooking.) Make a little depression in each patty to ensure even cooking.

Cook on the grill until they're done. You can tell they're done when you pierce a burger and the juices are clear.

I like to sear the burgers on high heat, and then turn the gas to low to let the meat cook low and slow.

When the burgers are done, add any cheese of your choice - I like Tillamook Sharp Cheddar - and let it melt.

I've been eating my burgers Trim Healthy Mama style - either bare or in a low-carb wrap - with a big salad.

My dear husband eats his the traditional way - and with a nice bit of Gruyere cheese and a big slice of onion.

So, let's chat. How are things in your part of the world? Is summer winding down yet?

Cheesy Pull-Apart Party Bread

Jan here, not quite able to believe that it's August already!

Around here, that means four things:

1) School starts soon, which means the tourist season is winding down.

2) VBS is over for the year! We had a great week last week, but I'm ready to get back to writing :)

3) This is Rally Week - the 73rd Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.

Let's talk about Rally Week for a minute before we go on to #4.

It should really be written RALLY WEEK!!!!!

It's an absolutely CRAZY time of year. I've lived in a lot of different places, but nothing - - nothing - - compares to the Sturgis Rally.

In case you're not familiar with this RALLY I'm talking about, here's a short video that will introduce you: 2012 Sturgis Rally

Last year, the Rally had an estimated attendance of 500,000. All those people lived, ate, slept, partied and biked within 30 miles of my house.

Between 50,000 and 60,000 of them visited Mt. Rushmore each day. There were 43 marriage licenses issued (compared to 197 in 2000 - the 60th Rally), nearly 500 arrests with 451 people jailed, 351 emergency room visits (in Sturgis - many go straight to Rapid City), and 9 Rally related traffic deaths.

And yes, the notorious gangs show up. But so do the police. There hasn't been too much gang related violence in recent years.

Some people complain about the noise, dangerous traffic and (ahem) optional clothing for the female attendees (although that's been restricted to Sturgis in recent years) (and body paint is a big seller, I hear....), but most of us enjoy the craziness for ten days because of all the benefits. Rally Week pays the bills.

And then, next week, they all go home.

And that brings us to #4: FOOTBALL!

I wasn't a football fan until we moved here. Oh, I liked to watch the Super Bowl when I was younger, but football wasn't a big deal. Then this guy came along:

Tim Tebow is so much fun to watch, isn't he? And even though he's wearing a different color jersey these days, I watch him when I can.

But then last year Denver signed on Peyton Manning. I never get tired of watching this guy play.

Last year I realized the reason why I love watching this team play so much - it's leadership. The same reason why I like to watch Gibbs on NCIS. The same reason why I love John Wayne movies. The same reason why I got teary-eyed when my sons earned their Boy Scout Eagle ranks.

We don't see much leadership anymore. People think they don't need leaders, I guess. But we do. And that's why I love a good football game.

But when you watch football, you've got to have snacks, right? And the football pre-season starts THIS WEEK! The Bronco's first pre-season game is against the 49'ers on Thursday, August 8!

I tried this munchie to get ready for the big day:

Cheesy Pull-Apart Party Bread

Ingredients:

1 round loaf unsliced Sourdough Bread

8-12 ounces Monterey Jack cheese 

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 bunch green onions, sliced

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Preheat your oven to 350°.

Cut the bread crosswise into 1-inch slices - but not all the way through. Stop about 1/2 inch from the bottom of the loaf. Repeat the cuts in the opposites direction.

Cut the cheese into 1/4" slices and stick them into the cuts in the bread. You can also use shredded cheese, but make sure the cheese gets all the way down to the bottom.

In a small bowl, mix the melted butter, sliced green onions, and garlic powder. Drizzle this over the bread.

Wrap the loaf in foil - I put two pieces of foil together to make a square large enough to wrap the loaf in. Place it on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.

Pull the top of the foil apart and away from the loaf and bake it for an additional 10 minutes, or until the cheese is completely melted.

Remove the loaf from the foil, put it on a plate, and enjoy! I had my share for Sunday night supper, and oh! was it good! All cheesy - oniony - melty!

And, of course, what Monday would be complete without a gratuitous puppy picture or two? Thatcher is 18 weeks old now, and learning tons of stuff at puppy preschool.

Before you go, though, be sure to tell us what your favorite game-day treat is!