Deadwood

Deadwood, South Dakota is probably the coolest little town in South Dakota.  It's current population is about 1,200.  The Treaty of Laramie, signed between the US and the various Indian tribes in 1868, was supposed to guarantee that the local Indian tribes would retain control over the sacred Black Hills.  But, gold was discovered in the area in 1870, so renegade miners ignored the treaty and came anyway.  Of course, miners need prostitutes and a place to gamble, and thus, the illegal town of Deadwood was created.

I rode through here a few times when I came up for the Sturgis Bike Rally a couple years ago, but we were really just passing through.  I'm now looking forward to hanging out here for a couple of days.

A number of colorful characters lived here, including Wild Bill Hickok, who was murdered in August of 1876 while playing poker in Saloon No. 10.  He was shot in the back of the head while holding a pair of black aces and a pair of black eights - now known as the "dead-man's hand".  Wild Bill was a former law enforcement officer and soldier, and legend has it that he'd killed over 100 men, including the brother of the guy that shot him in the back of the head (the actual number is believed to be 7).

Wild Bill is buried a local cemetery that sits on top of a hill overlooking the town, and he lies next to Calamity Jane - her dying wish was to be buried next to Wild Bill.

Like Jim Morrison's grave in Paris, people continue to leave little tributes to Wild Bill, like empty whiskey bottles.

This cemetery has one of the largest concentrations of Civil War soldiers.  During World War I, the town received permission from the US Congress to fly the flag 24 hours per day in recognition of all of those that have served the country. 

The town tends to attract a different kind of resident.  This girl has a stud in her wrist - kind of like those that you might see on a girl's nose, only bigger.  She says it's screwed into a small plate that's inserted below the skin.  Never seen that before.

The Deadwood Jam is going on this weekend.  Two full days of music on an outdoor lot next to the old train station.  I watched the show from the two patios here at The Deadwood Grand Casino.

I've been checking the weather for Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons, and it's going to be really cold at night for the next several days - highs in the 60's and lows in the 20's.  That's just a little too cold for me on the motorcycle, so I've decided that I will head south tomorrow, towards Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks.  This puts me on the path towards home, so I celebrated with a nice Ashton Maduro cigar and a good scotch while listening to Styx.  Turns out they had quite a few recognizable songs from my high-school and college days.