Back in the Black Hills...

We loved the Black Hills of South Dakota when we were here in 2014 and said several times that we would definitely return...so return, we did. We saw most of the sights on that visit except for the Crazy Horse Memorial so that was at the top of our list this time. I also wanted to go back to Deadwood. It's kitschy, commercial and touristy and I love it!

We stayed in Day's End Campground in Sturgis this time. Nothing fancy, gravel pull-thru sites right off the highway with a few trees and some grass, but their rates are great and with Passport America it was too good to pass up.

Deadwood wasn't nearly as busy and crowded in early June as it was in July 2014...guess the season is just beginning in June...I like it better that way.

As I said in my 2014 Deadwood post, we went back to The Stockade at the Buffalo Bodega Steakhouse so I could sit and listen to Yancy DeVeer singing and making jokes. I was happy! The food is just okay but I go for the entertainment!

We also went to Kevin Costner's Midnight Star and had dinner upstairs at Diamond Lil's. His more upscale restaurant, Jake's, has closed. The food at Diamond Lil's is good bar food but the memorabilia is great. I never realized just how many movies he's done. I've seen a lot of them but it seems there are even more I haven't seen! Guess I'm going to have to do something about that.
 

Our last night we were feeling lazy and just went up the street from the campground and discovered the Pizza Ranch. It's a mid-west chain with a pretty good buffet...the best things on it are the fried chicken, the California pizza and the dessert pizza (especially the peach!)...Senior price is only nine dollars and change and it includes a drink. Can't beat that!

Crazy Horse Memorial is about 65 miles from Sturgis and we made a full day trip out of it. That will be my next post...