This bison statue is the sign that you are almost at the Wyoming state border.

Specifically mules, not horses!

There were two of these giant alien spaceship clouds right next to each other. It did look suspicious!

There were many long loooong coal trains that passed us in both directions. Along with the American flag on the engine was the slogan "Building America." And yet they were transporting an exhaustible fossil fuel that would someday run out and America as we currently know it would collapse if it were still dependent on it. Hmmm.

Giant snow barricades lined the road, indicating they get some harsh winters up here!

Don't you just want to know who they are?!

As a driving treat, we decided to open our Cracker Jacks... both excited for the prize! I remember as a little kid, these things were great... lick and stick tattoos, or silly games, jokes or puzzles. But when we opened the bag (I remember it always being a box in the past), and dug out the prize.... it was just a code for a game you could download onto your smartphone. What?? First, is this to imply that all 6-year-olds now have smartphones, and second, the reason you are having this treat in the first place is because you are so isolated and bored (without any kind of contact to the outside world... long before cell phones, smart or otherwise). It was a self-contained present not dependant on anything else. I was sooooo disappointed.

The excitement builds...

... what it is going to be?!

No prize at all

When we arrived in Deadwood, we first checked into our motel, which was just outside of town in a lovely hilly valley. The room was nothing special, just simple and clean. It was at the end of a long hallway and didn't have any direct access to the outside. Our window faced a hill. Hopefully that will make it nice and quiet for a change.

My faithful little Elantra

In the lobby were a couple of posters with the current going-ons. We were lucky! We could still make the next gunfight as well as see Wild Bill get shot.

We headed into town, hoping to walk the streets a bit before the big showdown. Everything was paid parking... but eventually I found an after-hours city employee lot for free. I didn't grow up with having to pay for parking, so the thought of it still irks me.

Deadwood was started by the gold rush in the spring of 1876. People flooded in with the hopes of getting rich quick. Prospectors lived in canvas tents and the streets were riddled with mine shafts. Technically, it was illegal for them to be there since it was land that had been given to the Native Americans.

The "town" in 1876

The Sioux rose up to defend their land, which lead to the death of General Custer at the Battle of Little Big Horn (or Custer's Last Stand) in June. But in spite of that victory, the war was short-lived due the US's superior resources. And so might made right, and treaties were "renegotiated," giving up the Black Hills.

Deadwood is equally famous for the death of Wild Bill Hickok. Wild Bill was an expert sharpshooting and a frontier scout. He arrived in Deadwood in June 1876, perhaps looking for a job as a lawman. He wrote to his wife back in Ohio that he was busy prospecting and hoping to strike it rich any day... but in reality he spent most of his time in the gambling halls. On August 2nd, he was playing poker in the Number 10 saloon, when a man by the name of Jack McCall walked in and shot him in the back of the head, killing him instantly. The next morning, Jack was acquitted by a hastily assembled miners' court on the grounds that Wild Bill had killed his brother... but he was later sentenced to death by a proper court and hung.

The Poker Dead Man's Hand of aces and 8's... Wild Bill's last hand of cards

We then moseyed (one is allowed to mosey here) up and down the main street. While it was overly touristy, it was still cute.

The current location of Saloon 10...

... and the historic one a bit farther down the street.... or at least a building on the location of the historic one (as the sign actually says). Lots of the real places and things don't exist here anymore. Most of the town has been leveled several times by fire.

In case you were wondering

Enclosed balconies above the historic Green Door Club contained mannequins of ill-repute.

The reason all this is here now

Yup, they aren't happy about it either.

Statue for Travis Calvin Holloway, who entered his first rodeo at the age of 5 but was killed in a car accident at the age of 24.

At 6 pm, we made sure we were back at the Silverado Hotel to witness the big gunfight. The sidewalks were lined with spectators. A woman dressed as Calamity Jane told tales of the wild west to entertain the crowds until the show was to begin. Calamity Jane had arrived on the same wagon train to Deadwood as Wild Bill. She allegedly spent many of her days quite intoxicated but didn't have much connection with him or these gunslinger fights. She was just an entertaining local character they decided to throw in.

The sheriff and Calamity Jane

Hi-tech meets the old west

The sheriff showed up and called all the kids to come around him so he could swear them in as deputies. It started out well, with phrases such as "I shall uphold the law", to which all the kids avidly kept their hands raised. But when he started throwing in little things like "and I shall help mom do all the dishes," some of the hands seem to quickly lower!

The story went roughly like this:

Three men sauntered into town, having recently robbed a stage coach and killed one of its guards (often called messengers, these men were often some of the fastest guns in the area). An old miner, named Raspberry, happened to recognize them and alerted the sheriff. A shoot-out ensued, resulting in the injury of one of the robbers. Ironically, one of the other robbers later became a guard on the very same coach line. But such things were typical in the old west... a very hazy line between 'good' and 'bad.'

The robbers strut into town, boating of their recent deeds.

Raspberry identifies them.

The sheriff orders them to stand down..

... but shots are fired...

... in both directions.

Eventually one of the robbers is taken into custody.