Deadwood...

Deadwood lies about fifteen miles from Sturgis and it's like going into another world and another time. It's an old Wild West town...home to Wild Bill Hickok, and Calamity Jane.

We saw Saloon # 10 where Wild Bill was shot during a poker game. The original spot burned down in 1879, but a new Saloon #10 was built in 1937. There you can see daily reenactments of the shooting. There are also gunfights on Main Street several times a day. Touristy, yes, but a lot of fun.

We took a tour up to Boot Hill...Mt Moriah Cemetery and saw both Wild Bill Hickok's and Calamity Jane's graves. They are buried alongside of each other in accordance with Calamity Jane's last wishes. It's a beautiful setting up on a hill. We also learned that almost all Deadwood's income is derived from casinos.

While we were in Deadwood, Jack turned 67 and we celebrated his birthday with a steak dinner at the Gem Steakhouse, where all the meals are named after Deadwood characters. One of the things he wanted to do was visit the Days of '76 Museum. It was interesting, but the best part was the antique carriage collection in the basement. I got some great photos of all the carriages. There were a lot...so I'll post the pictures at the end of this post.

Yancy DeVeer

My favorite place was The Stockade...a part of the Buffalo Bodega Steakhouse. We ate there three times!  We happened upon it the first day we explored Deadwood when we heard the music half a block away. We reached the open air bar and saw Yancey DeVeer, a performer with a long grey ponytail and a twelve string guitar. His music and humor drew us in, we found a place to sit and ordered a beer. He sang everything from country music to crazy oldies like Woolly Bully to the Beatles to the theme from the sixties western Rawhide. Three hours, a couple of beers, and a cheeseburger and fries later, we dragged ourselves away and headed back to the RV...but not before getting our picture taken sitting in the "butt" chairs! We returned a second night for dinner and went back again on our last night. Yancy has been performing there daily for at least twenty-five years and, apparently, people return regularly to listen to him.

We fell in love with South Dakota, particularly the Black Hills and will return. When we do, I'm heading straight to the Stockade for more music, beer and cheeseburgers!

Mt. Moriah Cemetery
Click to Enlarge

Street Gun Fight
Click to Enlarge

Various Shots Around Deadwood
Click to Enlarge

The Carriage Collection at the Days of '76 Museum

Click to Enlarge