RAPID CITY to WHEATLAND – whip-crack-away

Tuesday – As decided last night  – our plan is to return to Deadwood.  After yesterday’s rushed look at the Mt Moriah Cemetery and as we saw nothing else of the place,  today we will go on a more in-depth walk through the town.

It is only about an hour’s drive to Deadwood and we are anxious to get moving so we check out of the hotel and finish packing the car.

This is our hotel – rather nice – except the breakfast room is really small so after deciding not to battle the fakers – we will call into the Golden Arches and get brekky on the way.  We are so good at this and it saves time.

Arriving in Deadwood about 10am, we park the car at the Fremont Elkhorn & Missouri Valley Passenger Station and commence our walk.  Today’s weather is overcast but not raining – so that is a plus.  We cannot get over the fact that the town is – pardon the pun – dead.  Hardly a soul around so we are not rushed or pushed or shoved – it is great.

Of course the customary sign – so that everyone knows that they are in Wild Bill Territory and our walk continues.

When we researched Deadwood there was a lot of things we wanted to see – mainly because of Howard and Doris warbling away in the movie Calamity Jane.  Sadly – there is nothing like that in Deadwood.  Ah – another myth shattered.  Nevermind we plod on.

The buildings are very wild west – and we come along several companies fobbing off their ‘original tours’ promising that we will see things that no other company will show us.  Hmmmm – I’ve heard that before somewhere – oh yes – the Grand Canyon.  We walk past saying no thank you and come to what can only be described as a heart-starter.  Kevin Costner’s Original Deadwood Tour!  Does Kev aka The Bodyguard run tours in Deadwood? Read on. When we did our pre-trip research I got all excited to say the least.  I thought Kev had given up the glitz and glamour of Hollywood and moved out here to conduct tours.  Nope  – another disappointment.

Looking around trying to spy Kev – he is nowhere to be found.  Apparently he only lends his name to the tour but the booking booth is outside his hotel – The Midnight Star. Well that’s a bummer for sure.  Looking inside the hotel – maybe he is behind the bar – nope – wrong again!

Numerous casinos seem to operate at the earliest of hours – and they all run tours of Deadwood.  They also have signs of what historical value the establishment has to offer – ‘The Original Location of the Number 10 Casino’ (where Wild Bill was shot).  ‘The Original Location of where Jack McCall was captured’, Jack was the person who shot Wild Bill.

We take some photos of Number 10 – they even have mannequins in the top floor windows posed as ladies of ill-repute – then we go and walk through the bar and casino to find a marked set of stairs that lead us down to the basement room where there is a display dedicated to Wild Bill and his demise.

It is set up to be the bar and the card players and also Jack McCall creeping up behind Wild Bill – oh my very tacky – but the entrance is free so one mustn’t grumble.  It is all very cheesy and let’s face it – it got us through the door.

Enough of Wild Bill – if there is such a thing in Deadwood – and we leave to look at a few other places and take the usual touristy Kodak moments.  Here is the place where Wild Bill’s assassin was captured.    OK – enough already. Time for a break from the ‘site of’ signs.

Looking in the jewellery and souvenir shops of which there are many, I try to find a charm for my bracelet that would signify our visit to Deadwood. Maybe something along the line of a gun or a deck of cards – but no luck.  They have plenty of religious charms and everything else that doesn’t seem to have anything to do with Deadwood – but no luck for me and we finish our walk down the town.

Time to start our walk back to the car but I notice a statue / memorial to Wild Bill so of course the Kodak moment.  Looks half finished to me – but that’s just my thoughts.

In the car and heading out of Deadwood I spy yet another statue.  Pull over, pull over says I, where – says them.  I don’t care – just slow down so I can get a photo says I. The car comes to a stop – the hazard lights go on – and I race over to get this photo of Wild Bill just sitting there watching the comings and goings of his town.

I am given a yell that traffic is coming – what traffic – one car – and I hotfoot it back so that we don’t get into trouble or worse – shot!

Leaving Deadwood we travel across the State Line from South Dakota in to Wyoming.  It’s a long drive – about seven hours to our next stop Fort Laramie.

This is something I wanted to see – K&T were not overly fussed about it – but I thought it was of significant historical interest.

And of course on the way we get the usual ‘Roadworks Ahead’.  Every road on our trip has some sort of work being done on it.  I suppose they have to do it while the weather is good as there would be no hope when it snows.  Just irks me that we seem to always be the one that just misses out and has to wait and waste such a lot of time before we get to look at the rear of a car with a sign that says ‘Pilot Car’.

HISTORY LESSON : Fort Laramie (originally founded as Fort William and then known for a while as Fort John) was a significant 19th century trading post and diplomatic site.  Founded in the 1830s to service the overland fur trade during the middle 19th century, it was also a primary stopping point on the Oregon Trail.

Anyway, arriving at Fort Laramie – there is not much left of the place these days – and it is right out in the middle of nowhere as you can most probably gather from the photos.

  The life that the soldiers and their families must have endured would be harsh compared to the life we have today.  We walk all over the Fort and wonder what it was like when there were people and stagecoaches – a real city.  Speaking of stagecoaches this was a stop for the Cheyenne to Deadwood stage. The visitors building has a small museum of Native American artefacts along with remnants of the soldiers lives.

Some of the buildings are restored to their former glory and furnished the way they were in those days, some are left in ruins. This is a building named ‘Old Bedlam’.  Built in 1849 it is the oldest standing building in Wyoming.  It was nicknamed ‘Old Bedlam’ because of the boisterous sounds supposedly heard while being occupied by bachelor officers.

It is late in the afternoon and after we have a good look around it is time to move on to our night’s accommodation – Best Western Torchlite Motor Inn.  That’s a mouthful for sure.  It’s only about 45 minutes away but it is quite cold when we arrive.  We check in and feeling hungry, we leave our bags in the room and head over to the Pizza Hut which is not far.  Outside the hotel we notice a bronze statue of a man on a horse.  Too dark to take photos tonight – so will get up early in the morning and hope it is still there.

Only one night here and then it’s off to Jackson Hole to stay in our self contained Cowboy Cabin for 2 nights which suits us down to the ground.

Highlight of the day: the desolate and wind swept Fort Laramie.