Sarah Palin, former GOP vice presidential candidate and Alaska governor, at the annual Rolling Thunder Memorial Day rally in which tens of thousands of motorcyclists ride through the nation's capital to honor US war veterans.
May 29, 2011Dima Gavrysh for TIME
TIME correspondent Jay Newton-Small and photographer Dima Gavrysh followed Sarah Palin’s bus tour of historic sites up the eastern seaboard nearly 400 miles from Washington DC to New York City via Gettysburg and Philadelphia. Along the way, the former Alaska governor (in leather!) and her family met fans at Rolling Thunder, the annual motorcycle parade to draw awareness to the plight of prisoners of war and missing in action, toured Mount Vernon and Revolutionary and Civil War battle sites and visited the Liberty Bell. All along the way the No. 1 question people asked: will she run for President? Though she was careful not to bill the trip as part of any kind of exploratory campaign, she did say she’s got a “fire in my belly” and is weighing getting in the race. Her daughter Piper, however, didn’t appreciate all the media attention. “Thanks for ruining our vacation,” she said to our photographer.
Jay Newton-Small has been following Sarah Palin since the 2008 election:
Sarah Palin, former GOP vice presidential candidate and Alaska governor, at the annual Rolling Thunder Memorial Day rally in which tens of thousands of motorcyclists ride through the nation's capital to honor US war veterans.
May 29, 2011 Dima Gavrysh for TIMEA man impersonates a prisoner of war as bikers wait for the start of the Rolling Thunder rally at the Pentagon parking lot in Washington, DC. Sunday, May 29, 2011.Dima Gavrysh for TIMESarah Palin mingles with bikers at the Pentagon parking lot in Washington, DC, before the Rolling Thunder rally. Sunday, May 29, 2011 Bristol Palin, daughter of Sarah Palin, takes part in the Rolling Thunder motorcycle ride to honor U.S. veterans in Washington May 29, 2011.Dima Gavrysh for TIMEA purple heart pinned to a bikers boot at the start of the Rolling Thunder rally Washington, DC. Sunday, May 29, 2011.Dima Gavrysh for TIMEBikers waiting for the start of the Rolling Thunder rally in Washington, DC. Sunday, May 29, 2011.Dima Gavrysh for TIMEA coffin honoring soldiers who died in the Vietnam War at the start of the Rolling Thunder rally in Washington, DC. Sunday, May 29, 2011.Dima Gavrysh for TIMEA group of school girls pose for a picture in front of the bus of Sarah Palin at a hotel in Gettysburg, PA, Monday, May 30, 2011.Dima Gavrysh for TIMESarah Palin's toes, right, as she talks to reporters at a hotel parking lot with her daughter Piper, left, in Gettysburg, PA, Monday, May 30, 2011. Dima Gavrysh for TIMESarah Palin, right, talks to reporters at a hotel parking lot in Gettysburg, PA, as her daughter Piper waits to get back on the tour. At one point, Piper approached our photographer and said, "Thanks for ruining our vacation." Monday, May 30, 2011. Dima Gavrysh for TIMEFans attached notes to Palin's bus in a hotel parking lot in Gettysburg, PA, Monday, May 30, 2011.Dima Gavrysh for TIMESarah Palin visits Gettysburg, PA, Tuesday, May 31, 2011.Dima Gavrysh for TIMEA man snaps a cell phone photograph of Sarah Palin's bus at a hotel in Gettysburg, PA, Monday, May 30, 2011.Dima Gavrysh for TIMESarah Palin and a staff member, right, talks to fans during her visit to Gettysburg, PA, Tuesday, May 31, 2011.Dima Gavrysh for TIMESarah Palin talks to reporters at a hotel parking lot in Gettysburg, PA, Monday, May 30, 2011. Dima Gavrysh for TIMESarah Palin visits the Liberty Bell Museum during her brief stop in Philadelphia, PA, Tuesday, May 31, 2011.Dima Gavrysh for TIMEThe media mobs Sarah Palin during her brief stop at the Liberty Bell Museum in Philadelphia, PA, Tuesday, May 31, 2011. Dima Gavrysh for TIMESarah Palin talks to fans outside the Liberty Bell Museum during her brief stop in Philadelphia, PA, Tuesday, May 31, 2011. Dima Gavrysh for TIME
