The Great Road Trip of 2017....Part Twenty Six/Day Nineteen

Part One of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Two of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Three of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Four of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Five of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Six of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Seven of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Eight of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Nine of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Ten of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Eleven of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twelve of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Thirteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE  

Part Fourteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE  

Part Fifteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE 
Part Sixteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE

Part Seventeen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE 

Part Eighteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE

Part Nineteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE 

Part Twenty of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE

Part Twenty One of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE

Part Twenty Two of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE

Part Twenty Three of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE

Part Twenty Four of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE

Part Twenty Five of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE

Then we hit Rapid City, South Dakota as we headed out of the Black Hills National Forest.

We happened to go into their local Walmart to pick up some souvenirs(same stuff we saw in boutique gift shops in this area but at much lower prices-we're no dummies lol).

While wandering around the store to find the souvenir area was saw a separate area which could be closed off where they were selling all kinds of hard liquor.  That particular day one of the then Master Distillers for Jack Daniel's was making a guest appearance(ok Rapid City is not a hot spot for tourists, except when Bike Week in Sturgis is going on).  He was signing bottles of JD when you bought one or ten.  Interesting but Hubs is strictly a George Dickel whiskey fan and not fond of Jack.

We found the small souvenir section.  they had Mt. Rushmore mugs.....

And this strange and poorly painted cheap salt and pepper set in a wire basket the likenesses of Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jack on them.  I could hear the both of them rolling over in their graves back in Deadwood from the Walmart. 8-)))

That very same salt and pepper set was being sold at the gift shop next to the Mt. Moriah Cemetery in a bougie gift shop for double what Walmart was selling it for.

Of course there were the obligatory knives shaped like shotgun shells with South Dakota written across them.

And various shot glasses(for your Jack Daniels I suppose), with "The Badlands" emblazoned on them.

I had to chuckle at this tank top shirt...."Lawn Dart World Champion" with a kid wearing an eye patch.  If you are old enough to remember Lawn Darts you know. ;-)

In hindsight I should have picked up this Ren & Stimpy t-shirt for my brother....sigh

This t-shirt was amusing too.  Mmmm....bacon!  I don't think eating all the bacon is a "snaccident" though, more of a well thought out plan. lol

We stopped for a quick lunch at an Arby's near the Walmart(Jamocha shake and seasoned curly fries anyone?)before leaving the tiny metropolis of Rapid City, South Dakota and heading South.

Leaving Rapid City we were behind this car with an Alabama license plate.  Now THAT was unusual as they were far from home.  I guess our rental car with PA plates made us unusual and far from home too. 8-)

On the road again, headed South on winding Route 16.  A Bighorn Sheep Crossing sign?

Loads of bikers on the road around here.  We came upon a biker accident.  See the ambulance on the left side and there is a state trooper standing next to his patrol car on the far right off the road.  See the backside of a woman walking toward the accident in the ditch by the road in the center of the photo?  As we rode by we could see a geriatric motorcyclist laying in that ditch with a huge expensive bike next to him mangled up.  You could see skid marks from the tires on the roadway as you got closer leading into that ditch.  It didn't appear to be a 2 vehicle accident, but a case of that biker losing control and crashing into the ditch.  At his age, well, the age he appeared from our car window, he could have had a medical emergency like a heart attack or something.  I prayed that he would be ok but we continued on as there was no aid we could offer in this situation.

Pop up shops along the highway with bikers hanging around.  Vendors selling merchandise appealing to all the bikers driving by going to Sturgis for the Bike Week Rally.

More Bikers and Vendors on the side of the highway.  Between all the traffic on the road and in Deadwood I've never seen so many motorcycles in my life!

I can't remember now what body of water this was that we crossed of skirted.

A Smokey the Bear fire danger sign along side a "Motorcycles Use Extreme Caution" sign.  Ummmm, after seeing the wipeout North of here, maybe they need more of those signs during Bike Week?

Another bighorn sheep warning sign.  Didn't catch a glimpse of any though.

A billboard for "Naked Winery". Hmmmm.  And more bikers ahead.

Going through a tiny town called "Hill City".  More motorcycles on the road.....this is the theme of the day evidently.

An advertisement for "Sitting Bull Crystal Caverns".  No spelunking for me!

Some touristy attraction called "Bear Country U.S.A.".  Alas it was closed.  Not like we haven't seen bears up close and personal in the wild so we moved on.

This intersection of Rte. 40 and 16A had movable temporary signal lights.  I guess they are only needed in high Summer as that's when there is actual traffic around here.  This was on the way to the Mount Rushmore area.

Billboards for Mt. Rushmore and other fun activities ahead, like Mine tours(no thanks!)and Gold Panning.

Then the road ran through this natural tunnel formation.

And just like that we were entering Keystone SD, or rather the outskirts of Keystone, another touristy area.

Congestion on the main road through Keystone......

And of course......more BIKES! lol

They had painted fake bison statues here, all painted up.  This one was up on a platform above the entrance to a building and was painted with horses fording a stream.

Bikes as far as the eye could see again.  It's not just Sturgis, but this whole part of 

South Dakota that was taken over during Bike Week.

"Teddy's Deli" as in Theodore Roosevelt.  Old Rough and Ready himself would feel at home in SD, not necessarily in these tacky tourist towns. ;-)

Went by a sign advertising the Borglum Museum located near Keystone SD.  Gutzon Borglum is the man behind the creation of Mount Rushmore by the way.....

Another row of little shops dubbed the Keystone Mall, in the Keystone area selling Subway, Dairy Queen, Fudge, Holy Terror Brain Coffee and I don't know what else!

And we finally made it to Mt. Rushmore.  Of course I had to have my picture taken in front of the Parks Department's massive sign there.  Hubs wouldn't even get out of the car so some foreign tourists took my picture for me and I reciprocated and took their photos with the sign.

There was a tremendous line to get into the Rushmore Monument parking area(and it cost $10!)so instead of waiting in that long line for maybe an hour or more just to park before getting out to walk aways to the viewing area, we just continued on the road the wound around the ediface.

Of course we didn't get real close ups(like Jefferson's nostril)but with something on this grand scale, viewing from a distance you can take it all in at once.

I couldn't help but think about the local native Americans and how they looked upon this desecration  of their sacred mountains.

Then the road wound behind and I got a profile shot of George Washington's head.....

Bye, bye cousin George and Mt. Rushmore........

As we backtracked a bit to get on Rte. 16 up to Rapid City and onto I-90 drove along we began seeing these signs........

To be continued next time.

Sluggy

The Great Road Trip of 2017.....Part Twenty Five/Day Nineteen

Part One of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Two of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Three of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Four of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Five of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Six of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Seven of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Eight of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Nine of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Ten of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Eleven of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twelve of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Thirteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE  

Part Fourteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE  

Part Fifteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE 
Part Sixteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE

Part Seventeen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE 

Part Eighteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE

Part Nineteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE 

Part Twenty of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE

Part Twenty One of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE

Part Twenty Two of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE

Part Twenty Three of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE

Part Twenty Four of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE

We passed this sign for the "Vore Buffalo Jump".  A Buffalo Jump is how Native Peoples killed buffalo so they had food, clothing and tools(nothing on a buffalo was wasted and the buffalo sustained Western peoples for centuries).  They would find a herd near a cliff and cause them to stampede toward that cliff and they would just go over it and fall to their deaths.  An easy way to cause buffalo to die rather than the rifles and bullets that the Whie man brought with him to the West.

More information on this sight HERE.

Oh look!  More logging trucks.....a very common sight on the highways out this way.

Welcome to South Dakota!

The first Rest Area we hit in SD had this sculpture of the frame work of a Native American teepee.

We got off here to go to the old Western Town of Deadwood.

 Stopped for gas at the "Double Barrel" as in gun.  Nice name for a gas station selling liquor and having a casino inside, right? lol

I went inside the convenience store and they had all these gimmicky wine bottles.  3 varieties of wine with Mt. Rushmore on the labels, a bottle of Cab Sav with the infamous Full Throttle label featuring a skull and "Tickle Me" which was a Rhubarb Wine featuring a cherubic young boy on the label.  None of these left with me.

Then there was a standup display of Sturgis Pins & Patches for only $7 each.  Okaaaay.

Looking back I should have picked up a pin featuring crossed 6 shooters. lol

Then there was a selection of Pickled Quail Eggs for a steal t $14.59 a jar, with either Mt. Rushmore or South Dakota written on the label along with stallions and buffalo.  I took a hard pass on those.....lol

I also found more of those Snickers "special" candy bars.  Klutz was a good one I hadn't seen before and I found KIM'S candy bar too! hehehe

A "Space Cadet" squared.

Back to the liquor.....I found this "Ultra premium South Dakota Select Club" amusing.  At the bottom of the label, which is quite attractive, it reads, "Blended Canadian Whisky, Product of Canada".  Last I was told SD is not in Canada, nor is Mount Rushmore.

Then my heart skipped a beat when I saw this on the liquor shelf.....a Red Table Wine featuring the likeness of Calamity Jane(or rather Martha Jane Canary)on the label.

Though I didn't pick this up here, I did purchase a bottle at another location along the way where it was not so expensive. ;-)

Then it was back on the road into Deadwood.

We went around a bend in the road toward town and happened upon a herd, or rather a gang of elk right next to the road, bedded down.

Headed toward Deadwood and away from Sturgis.

Passing by Cadillac Jacks Gaming Resort.

Motorcycles galore parked here and a banner to spice up your breakfast with a Bloody Mary.  Ummm, no thanks.

Once in town we headed into the residential and wound our way toward the Mt. Moriah Cemetery because I am weird like that and like old historical cemeteries.

                                         

Hubs and I posing in front of signs for Mt. Moriah's two most famous "residents".

Wild Bill Hickok(James Butler Hickok).

Folks who visit Wild Bill regularly leave tributes......his "dead man's hand" of poker cards, bottles of whiskey and beer.  He was known to have red hair, just like me(thought mine turned brown as I got older so I dye it).

You can read more about this interesting fellow HERE if you are so inclined.

Buried next to Hickok, at her dying request, is Calamity Jane(Martha Jane Burke neè Canary).

It is said Wild Bill Hickok had no use for Jane in life so the men in charge of her burial did lay her to rest, next to him as the ultimate joke on Hickok.

More on Calamity Jane HERE.

This was an interesting headstone....."Potato Creek Johnny" aka John Perrett.  He is purported to have found one of the world's gold nuggets during the Black Hills gold rush.

You can read more HERE.

Joseph and  Dora Amy Du Fran's headstones.  Dora is the famous(or rather infamous one)of this pair.  She was one of the Madam's of Deadwood(employing Calamity Jane for a time), running a brothel.  Dora is said to have termed the phrase "cat house".  Her pet parrot "Fred" was also buried with her.

Alice Cary Swanstrom(neè Boyle)and her three children are buried here.  The children all died young, only one making it to 18 years old.

An interesting grave stone of a child praying.

In 1893 a section of the cemetery was sectioned off for burials of Deadwood's Jewish citizens, which was referred to as "Hebrew Hill".  There were quite a few Jewish movers an shakers in those early days of Deadwood.  Each person of Jewish descent was buried facing East to Jerusalem.

Ok, now tell me this grave markers isn't the most phallic thing you've ever seen? lol

It was a scorching hot day when we were in Deadwood but Mt. Moriah was shaded quite well so much cooler than downtown.  The cemetery was built on a hillside so quite the walking workout.

Back in town we went by the "Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid" luxury suites.  If those walls could talk!

Going down Main St. in Deadwood, SD

There were old fashioned wooden boardwalks(sidewalks down Main St.)

And more motorcycles than you could shake a stick at and all those bikers swarming in and out of every establishment.

We found out later that when we arrived in Sundance(Devil's Tower area)and in Deadwood it was amidst "Bike Week" in Sturgis SD nearby.  We had no clue.  If you are heading to this area be sure to check when this event is happening so you can avoid it.  There was nowhere to park so we couldn't get out of the car and walk around!

We had to settle for driving through town very slowly and taking as much of this sight in as we could.

But I did get to do something I had planned to do, given that at this time(2017)HBO had a hit series called "Deadwood" that took place here back in it's heyday.  The one thing about that series was that about every fifth word any character in the series spoke was the F-word.

I just had to make this short video, while sitting in the car driving through Deadwood, of my version of this show.

(If you don't like hearing the F-word, don't click on it.)lol

Miss Kitty's Mercantile, Restaurant and Casino.  The home of some very raunchy mechanical bull riding as well.

Saloons and restaurants as far as the eye can see.

A bike called "Boss Hoss" and not "Boss Hogg".

Another storefront where you could see "the Trail of Jack McCall" at the Wild Bill Theater.  I suppose it is a retelling of the trial of the man who shot Wild Bill Hickok in the back while he was playing poker in a nearby saloon.

We headed out of the mayhem that was Downtown Deadwood into the nearby town of Lead, SD.  It was a center of mining back then.

We didn't get a chance to visit the black Hills Mining Museum there before heading back out onto the Highway.

More adventures to come.

Sluggy