Friday, July 13, 2012

Today we set out for the city of Deadwood, SD.   That’s about an hour north of Rapid City.

With the wide-open spaces of Wyoming looming so close by, we just HAD to divert our path and at least cross the boarder to say we had been there.

Note: I feel compelled to share yet another Lydon Family tradition with you now.  It is our practice, when crossing state lines, to race.  Yes, race.  Whoever notices the line approaching first stretches out their arm as far forward as possible toward the windshield, thus crossing the line first.  We stretch, pull, and strain, all in order to cross the line first.

In our family, the girls always win, and poor Tom always looses.

Traveling across country with Doris for the first time we included her in the quest for the girls to continue to rain supreme!

Noting Tom’s protests, the girls won, Iowa (all three times), Nebraska, South Dakota (both times), Wyoming and Minnesota!  Yeah team!

Still relishing in our victory we pulled into the visitor center, one of the best we encountered with lots of interactive programs.  Reese and Doris went white water rafting while Tom and I rode a bucking bronco.

We decided to drive to Sundance but with Devils Tower so close the guide suggested we just do the “quick loop” around, and back into South Dakota.

Our quick trip to Wyoming lasted close to 2 hours.  Note: The loop is not quick.

We made it to Sundance where we took pictures by the statue of Harry Alonzo Longabaugh, better know in these parts as the “Sundance Kid”.  You know, as in “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”.  This was the only thing to see in Sundance.

We got back on the highway and enjoyed some more flat dry prairie until Devils Tower appeared like a pop tart bursting out of a toaster in the middle of a barren desert.  I’m not a professional writer so don’t expect the similes to be creative.

Though we enjoyed taking pictures of it we didn’t feel the need to drive closer, so we stayed on the loop and continued on our way back to South Dakota.

Over the course of the LONG drive we passed several bustling cities like Alva, population – 15 (five of whom were at the general store), and the metropolis of Aladdin, population – 50.

Wyoming was fun!

Back in South Dakota (Girls won!!) We headed through the city of Sturgis, home to the 72^nd Annual 2012 Motorcycle Rally.  Though the week long event doesn’t begin until August 6th, the city as well as the entire state is already gearing up (pardon the pun) for a big shindig! 

Not only are there a lot of bikers here in South Dakota, there are also Sturgis souvenirs everywhere you go.

Moving on to Deadwood we got some lunch and then walked over to the No. 10 Saloon, site of the shooting of Wild Bill Hickok (only it really wasn’t since the real site was down the street.) to watch a reenactment of the event.

We settled in at a table in the saloon with our backs to the wall for safety, and glasses of sarsaparilla on the table in front of us (really just Reese, the rest of us had Coke and Diet Coke) to watch the show.

It was fun if not completely historically accurate. The Old West of the 1880’s was big on tall tales.

Similar to our Buffalo Bill experience, Wild Bill was depicted not as a skilled scout and asset to the US western migration, but in the unflattering light as a drifter who couldn’t hold a job and liked to gamble. 

I’m not sure what snippets Reese is taking away from all this but so far the hero’s of the Wild West seem like poster children for what not to do.

I expected that we would spend the day in Deadwood but most of the attractions I read about lacked their luster in real life.  The town’s main industries, once gold prospecting, prostitution and gambling, have been replaced by tourism and gambling.  Apparently gambling as some staying power.

Slot machines are everywhere.

Most tourist attractions are manufactured reincarnations of a less than accurate depiction of what they think we think the Wild West was like.  It’s great mindless entertainment but after yesterday our expectations had evolved.

I’m not being completely fair though since we decided against venturing into many of those attractions.  Maybe we were just tired.

We watched another reenactment, this time of a street gunfight.   What I'm hoping escaped Reese's comprehension and that of the other children in the audience, was that to be a truly accurate shot and successfully hit your target you should stop walking and take aim.  Great family show!

Next we headed to Broken Boot Gold Mine.  As it turns out it was never a very successful gold mine in its time.

We decided to do the tour since Reese and Tom’s gold lust had reached a fever pitch. 

The mine was nice and cool, a respite from the extreme heat of the day.  I didn’t even take a sweater and if you know me, you know I’m always cold.  This wasn’t so bad.  Our very young tour guide was very informative and tried her best to answer every question.  I’m in the minority of people who thought it was cheesy.  Tom, Doris and Reese enjoyed it thoroughly.

The mine itself had some points of interest that were engaging, but when our guide pointed to the area of a recent 2010 collapse, I lost my calm, cool exterior.  Yes, I have one.  It just seems like I’m always freaking out!

Anyway, after she shares this minor (pardon the pun again) little detail I want out! But it gets better.  She decides to show us what it would have actually been like for a minor way back in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s…she lights a candle…and turns out the light.

Really not having fun now.  It’s not as if it’s burning a strong flame either.  It’s the worst candle in the whole world.  Who would use such a bad specimen of a candle in a demonstration?

Let’s get this over with and turn the lights back on shall we?

So what does she do, now that I’m nearing hysteria?  She blows out the inadequate candle that I’ve grown VERY attached to!!

SERIOUSLY?  

We are in pitch, and I mean pitch-black darkness.   Is there any other kind?  This isn’t funny.  This isn’t a nice thing to do to people.  TURN THE LIGHTS BACK ON GIRLIE!!!!!!

She makes a joke about raising our hands if we want her to turn the lights back on.  NOT funny!

Finally as I’m nearing a heart attack, she turns them back on.  I need to run, not walk, out of this cave now!

The ceilings were getting lower too.  Did I mention that?  I'm not making this up.

When she finally released us to freedom I held myself back from kissing the ground outside.  Our lovely guide said some minors would go crazy under these working conditions.  Really?  I can’t imagine why.  I am not minor material. 

As part of our tour Tom and Reese got to pan for gold with guaranteed results.  This is like going to Bear Country USA. 

The good part?  That they learned how to properly use their recently purchased panning tools. Dip and shake, dip and shake, dip and shake.  Now you all know how to do it.

It really was fun watching them pan, and they both found gold, as advertised.  We’re rich!

Gold in hand we headed out of Deadwood with no particular destination in mind.  We discussed whether or not to head in to Hill City or instead back to Rapid City.

Literally at a fork in the road we decided on Rapid City and Tom did a little U turn.  As he turned we came face to face with a sign for a Korean War Memorial.  We took this as a sign from my dad that we made the right choice.

We grabbed some dinner, but we’ve eaten out so much I can’t even remember where we went.

As some of you may know, Reese and I got Tom a telescope for his graduation.  He really wanted to bring it with us out to South Dakota to take advantage of the unobstructed skies and the lack of light pollution.

With the clear skies we decided tonight would be the night to take the telescope out if we were going to get the chance to do it.

We choose Custer State Park again because it really is out in the middle of nowhere.  It’s flat and dark, the perfect location.

The drive out seemed longer than the day before but it could have just been that we were all tired.  It was well after 9 p.m. when we started out since that’s when it begins to get dark.

We finally got to the park and Tom decided to drive in a bit to get us off the beaten path and find a good spot to set-up.

Before long we found a pull off spot for picnics so we stopped.  Apparently we were close to at least one house because dog started barking as soon as we pulled in.  Unfazed Tom went to work putting the scope together.

Now this is the same park we visited yesterday so there’s a long list of wild animals that call this place home.   We’re in their backyard now.  Buffalo, mountain lions, snakes, etc… 

Telling yourself that you’re safe and no animals will approach you, and believing you won’t get viciously attacked by a rabid mountain lion are two totally different things.

So we got out of the car, grabbed some lounge chairs, and acted brave.  When I heard an owl in the vicinity I stated how much I liked the soothing hoot, hoot sound.  Inside I’m thinking: “That’s a warning of some kind!”

Nothing fazed Tom at all.

So here we are in the middle of nowhere, ready to see some stars.  This is best done in pitch darkness.  The gold mine chick would have loved it.

So imagine yourself out in a desert, hundreds of miles from civilization, no light, no sound, just lots of sky.

Now imagine a flash mob of traffic and that’s what it was like for us out in the woods.

A steady steam of cars traveled up and down the Park roads, into the Park, out of the Park, up the hill, down the hill, car after car after car.  This does not create the best scenario for star gazing, as every time the light hits your eyes it takes longer for them to adjust.  You look through the viewfinder and can’t see a thing.

There was so much traffic it became comical.  We would all try to shield our eyes from the lights, but I think all this did was make us look like we were doing something we shouldn’t be doing in a State Park.  Any minute a Park Ranger was going to pull up and escort us form the area.

It was very late by the time the car traffic subsided so we surrendered and packed up.  We were lucky enough to see some amazing stars and at least one galaxy so it wasn’t a total loss. 

Reese fell asleep a little after 11 p.m. in the car on the way back, as Tom, Doris and I laughed about our defunct star gazing trek.

There were fewer cars as we approached Rapid City than came through the Park while we were there. 

How nice.