South Dakota

I am such a huge fan of the series "Deadwood." This was one thing that I wanted to do when driving east - visit the real town of Deadwood, SD. Deadwood is one of the first towns you see when you drive across the border into the Black Hills. The very first town is Spearfish. One of my former co-workers, Jim Marchant, grew up there. He told me how to find his house and I believe I saw it. What a beautiful part of the country to grow up in.

Anyway, it was fun to see Deadwood. Of course, most of the town that was there during the gold rush is gone. We saw a couple of No. 10 saloons where Wild Bill Hickock was killed. We saw Charley Utter's restaurant, instead of his delivery business. I do believe that Seth Bullock had something to do with this hotel. It was fun to see familiar names, in any event.

The big deal in the Black Hills is Mount Rushmore. Some of you know that I was not drawn to the Taj Mahal. I usually don't like to go to places just because you need to go there before you die. But Rushmore has been calling me since I saw it in North by Northwest. It was a perfect morning. It was really windy. I forgot that North Dakota was known for its winds. A young man took this picture of us, asking us to say "Mount Rushmore" instead of "Cheese." So, I'm not just showing off my great cheekbones. Then we tried to reciprocate, taking his picture with his brother. It was amusing. Karen had never taken a movie and got good pictures of his feet. I had already taken a snapshop of his feet. Oh well.

Karen hiked all over the place. I drank water in the cafeteria that was featured in that movie. Look at the cool lamps they have in there.

We went to the Badlands the next day. I'd never thought much about them. Badlands. Does that sound like something you would like to see? Well, you should. This was a hard country for the migrants who were tempted by free land, but for those of us who want to see a stark, serene countryside, this is a special place. Take a look at the website I linked to above.

Another place that I'd heard a lot about is Wall's Drug Store. This is a masterpiece based on advertising. The owner started to advertise free ice water on signs along the freeway. This place just kept growing. Karen and I went into the drugstore to buy some toenail clippers I'd been pining for. We didn't see all the other buildings that have grown from the original drugstore and cafe. Wall is now a faily large town in the middle of the plain. Advertising.

We also visited a couple of places that were meaningful to Karen. One was the old home of her friend, Modena. The other was the Corn Palace in Mitchell. She visited that spot 26 years ago. The were nice disruptions in an otherwise long drive across the state.