At one point during the planning of this trip, we'd batted around the idea of staying at one of the really big campgrounds The Buffalo Chip is probably the most popular, and certainly draws in the most notable musical acts of the entire rally. Everyone from Aerosmith to ZZ Top has played  over the years here during the rally.|

So, yeah, that would've been cool, but what wouldn't have been as cool would've been camping, with no shade and some 25 showers, with as many people who could cram into their 600 acres.

No, not really for me.

Another one of the extremely large campgrounds is Full Throttle Saloon, where we elected to go to have a few drinks and do some more people watching.

 

Full Throttle Saloon is known as the world's biggest biker bar, and I can't say I would disagree with that. Like Buffalo Chip, they accommodate as many campers as they can cram onto the grounds, and the grounds are expansive. But the bar itself is absolutely enormous, and it fills up fast.

As you roll up, the first thing you notice is the sculpture they have. It's all bike related, of course:

 

Once you step in the front door the enormity of the place hits you. Or so you think. When you step out the back door the grounds take on a whole new dimension. An enormous covered patio is littered with motorized vehicles of all shape and size, including a full-size Freightliner semi coming out of the wall:

 

We grabbed a couple of bar stools and got ourselves some beers and let the biker world go by:

 

Bartenders come to Sturgis from all over the country solely for the rally...

 

The people watching opportunities were plentiful all over, so after our third beer we decided to walk around and see what else FTS had to offer.

So, yeah, dude gets on a motorcycle and rides in inside this sphere. It's crazy to watch!

This is so you ca see it from the road!!

This is the main stage at the Full Throttle Saloon. It's the perfect place to be if you want to hear the hard rock band Jackyl on stage doing their sound check...

Not entirely sure what to make of this...

Chillin'...

Again, nothin'...

This is a section of a bridge from, well, I've no idea, along with an iron skull. Because you need to have that at the Surgis Bike Rally!

Inside the FTS store...

Unbeknownst to many, there's a distillery on site...

 

So, while I don't know if I'd ever camp there, Full Throttle Saloon is a great place to go to get a beer, listen to some live music and just relax while the rally happens around you. It's definitely worth the short drive from downtown Sturgis...