Vandrea Does America: Day 61 (Monday 8/20/12)- Deadwood, SD + Spearfish, SD + Devil's Tower, WY

Having enjoying a few episodes of the T.V. show Deadwood we were excited to see the (c*** s*****). I mean to see the actual town (If you've ever seen the show I think you might be able to decode that vulgar little game of wheel of fortune). But f*** if there were any murders, women, or gold. And gambling, s*** that p**** Kevin Costner thinks he's a gambler.....We were, needless to say, a little disappointed. Though we did find a free three story museum, one that was way more interesting than you would expect given that admission is only your time. It had artifacts and history about the town, including information on some infamous town folk like Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane and the lesser known Potato Creek Johnny. The basement, however, is a tribute to archiving, so can be skipped except for the one item that is always of historical importance--the bathroom.

Around 3 o'clock we headed over to Saloon 10 for a stage show of Wild Bill's demise. Bill had left his wife at home in Illinois to prospect in the Black Hills, which consisted of gambling in saloons. It was in Saloon 10 that he was shot in the back and in revenge. The killer's brother had died by Wild Bill's hand as a law officer. An interesting side note; Though Calamity Jane spread around all kinds of rumors that she and Wild Bill were wild lovers, Bill, or the man playing him, assured us it just isn't true. The majority of the reenactment cast-the gamblers and bartender-were adorable children from the audience. The main curiosity of the event was the juxtaposition between old timey barroom artifacts, the ancient sawdust on the floor, the male regulars that might remember having seen Wild Bill, that is if there was any chance of talking to them sober, and the sparkling Sex and the City slot machine.

　
While walking around town we got to see Kevin Costner's casino, the Midnight Star. Since we aren't big gamblers there wasn't much to do other than take pictures. Though we fared better than old Bill. (All the Wild Bill paraphernalia made me wonder how long it takes to sorts things out with the deceased's estate and capitalize on their death. Basically, how long before "Tupac's Bar and Grill").

Along our route we made a detour in the town of Spearfish to see their fish hatchery. After visiting I can see why it's well known. (I'm sure you all are familiar with it but we'll go ahead and describe it anyways). The Fish Hatchery has been turned into a gigantic park that includes a museum, a full sized fish train car replica (a train that transported fish) as well as an underground fish viewing area and plenty of spots to feed them. To finish off our stop we pumped a little iron in the park at the town's outdoor work out stations.

The last stop of the day was to see the Devil's Tower monument, the first ever national monument, featured in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. We saw no aliens, but a few nerds, and two over matched climbers, who were only half way up the rock tower as dusk was coming on.

Kevin Costner's Casino

                                   Downtown Deadwood


                                            Saloon 10


                      Sawdust on the floor at Saloon 10