We arrived in Deadwood anticipating an authentic old town western atmosphere complete with gun slinging entertainment. Instead, we got Sturgis West. Evidently there are so many bikers that converge on the Black Hills for the rally that every town transforms into a biker paradise. Deadwood was no exception. So, alas, while we did not get to enjoy the "traditional" western cache' of Deadwood, we were certainly entertained by the biker take-over.
The main streets are literally covered in bikes and streaming with bikers. Most are your typical middle aged Harley riders but there is certainly a variety that ranged from the grizzled white bearded hard-core biker to the young preppy punks on racer bikes. Sorry - I know I am seriously messing up the biker lingo but what can i say, this girl not a biker.
We made a stop at the Celebrity Casino where they claim to have 100+ Hollywood memorabilia. And they do... mixed in between the chiming slot machines. Deadwood is essentially a Reno in disguise. Small casinos (80+) dot the main city center and no building is exempt from the gaming industry. So we took our kids in hand and "toured" the Celebrity's assorted collection which ranged from Clint Eastwood's gun from some Dirty harry movie to the yellow atomic suit worn by Michael J Fox in Back to the Future. The final part of the tour included some automobiles (Bond's Astin Martin, Love Bug, Jeep from Mash). Eclectic to be sure.
Next stop was the original location of Old Saloon No. 10 where Wild Bill was fatally shot in the head by Jack McCall. This dusty old bar (which only served craft beer in bottles ???) had a cheesy little mannequin set up of Wild Bill playing cards. We got a round of beers in salute to the old Hicock (root beer for the boys) but didn't stay long here. The creepy display unnerved Grady, who wanted to leave the minute we got there.
After strolling the streets, Colby convinced us that it is now officially a family tradition to get Old Time photos taken. This time we opted for a 20's theme complete with an old Model A in the back ground as our band of thieves make away with the cash. Pretty funny!
While waiting for the photos to be printed we drove up to old Mt. Mariah Cemetary, where Wild Bill and Calamity Jane are buried side by side. This cemetery is at the top of a very steep hillside and traversing its grounds meant a lot of climbing. But we made it and enjoyed the quiet of the cemetery after the roar of bikes in Deadwood.
After collecting our photo, we headed for camp, the Fish n Fry. While I was originally excited about this campground because it has a fishing pond, it turned out to be a dump. The fishing pond was a joke and cost $1/inch. $14 for a 14 inch trout that we are not sure we want to eat - no thanks. We opted for our own dinner, a nice fire & s'mores next to a bubbling creek.
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