Okay, so I went to a national monument so that counts for half a point. Maybe ¾ of a point since it featured Teddy Roosevelt, the man who gave the NPS the blessing of the federal government.
Today I dallied. I slept in. I updated my blog at a leisurely pace. I checked out of the Bullock at 1020am. Scandalous. I lollygagged all over town. Then it was time to get down to business. A bus tour of town and a trip up to Mt. Moriah Cemetery to see Wild Bill’s and Calamity Jane’s graves was the first order of business. God bless the bus driver. He tried so very hard to get me to interact with him/the group. So very very hard. In appreciation for his efforts I only visibly rolled my eyes at him once.
Here is the thing about Wild Bill and Calamity Jane. There is no evidence that they were ever a couple. Most historians say they barely knew each other. They just happened to arrive in Deadwood on the same wagon train. After his death, Calamity saw a golden opportunity for a little self-promotion and Wild West lore was born. In fact, the two are so tied together now in the popular imagination that when she died many years later, they buried her next to him. Which is just one of the many little pieces of trivia about Wild Bill’s final resting place. His body has also been moved once, and they have had to replace the headstone/statue at his grave at least twice due to vandalism. It is now fenced off. It is also littered with cards and coins. Gamblers leave money for good luck which is funny because if the series Deadwood is near factual on this particular account, he wasn’t much of a card player. I left a quarter because it seemed more appropriate than flowers.
After the tour it was time to play some slots. You see, the town of Deadwood is Vegas for the cowboys with Harley’s set. The façade of the town is completely restored Victorian architecture and the first floor of every store front on Main St. is either a saloon, gambling hall, or souvenir shop. The upper stories are restaurants. There is memorabilia on the walls of every bar, to the point that the No. 10 Saloon bills itself as the “Only museum in the world with a bar”. Even Kevin Costner has a place here. In fact he owns a bus tour company. Here is why the idea that the most lawless town in the west has become one big casino shouldn’t make you sad – gambling money is the only thing that saved the town. And it always kind of was a casino, they just look fancier now. You see back in the early days of Deadwood there were (and I could be misremembering, but this is close) 53 gambling halls and 35 saloons in town. Town is about 3 blocks long. At one very early point there were about 200 men in town and 16 women. Five of the women were married, the others were “soiled doves”. The last house of ill repute closed in Deadwood in 1980. It is now a souvenir shop.
I made my way to the Gem (now a part of the Mineral Palace) and put my dollar in the penny slot video poker machine and played for about 15 minutes. I took my voucher for $5.01 to the cashier, collected my winnings and quit while I was ahead. Upstairs for a little buffalo stew and then it was time to head on out. .to see a mountain about some heads.
It was Rushmore time. Quick – who can tell me which four presidents are on Rushmore? Well, two are super easy no brainers. Washington and Lincoln. Of course they are on a National Monument. Not including them would be like leaving Ricky Martin of a Menudo monument. The other two? Come on…you guys know this. Jefferson and Teddy R. Jefferson was kind of the DaVinci of American presidents, so I guess it is cool he slid right on in. Teddy? Well, he was friends with the sculptor which put him over the edge in the popularity pool, kind of the Miss Congeniality of Rushmore. I personally think he deserves it. Again, he gave the greenlight to the National Parks. Who do you think manages Mt. Rushmore? If you said the Bureau of Land Management stop reading this blog right now.
At Mt. Rushmore you can see the mountain as you drive up. You can walk to the “grand terrace” and see it from a middle distance, and if you take a pretty simple hike you can get a photo right up their noses. I chose d) all of the above.
That was my last official sightseeing event in South Dakota. Next up is Wyoming. Now, I have previously stated that Utah is the most beautiful state. The state that I would drive through every summer if time, space, and cash allowed. Utah is the hot boy with the motorcycle in high school. South Dakota is the boy next door: less flashy, but aesthetically pleasing once you take the time to look. I suggest you all take the time to look.
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