Deadwood, South Dakota.

In 1874, gold was discovered in the Black Hills of South Dakota. By 1876, a creek flowing specks of yellow metal attracted miners. A lawless community grew out of the valley and became what we now know as Deadwood. Along with the miners came those who ‘follow the money’, gamblers, prostitutes, and other opportunists. Some well-known historical names are buried in the local cemetery including Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane. Hickok was gunned down during a poker game holding two pair in his hand; aces and eights, known universally as the ‘Dead man’s hand.’

These days, the only ‘gun-slinging’ around can be viewed during the daily street gunfight, something any town of the old west must have to be worth it’s salt. The short street melodrama we happened to see was pretty sanitized for the tourists. Not one “dead body” hit the street, only to get up again after the show was over. Lots of smoke and noise and a little Deadwood history lesson was the order of the day.

At the beginning of the show, one of the characters called all the young’uns from the audience to the center and gave them a special talk, and after they cleared the street, the story unfolded.

Nearby Sturgis was in the midst of a Camaro Rally so plenty of the iconic Chevy sports cars were driving around Deadwood as well.

Walking around the city, I was impressed with how nicely it is kept. Even those drab utility boxes that are prevalent in a town of any size were painted and decorated to hide their functionality. This pair on the front lawn depicted an early fuel station.

After the gunfight show, we found ourselves in an outdoor bar/restaurant enjoying the music and watching people go by.

Of course, I had to take a selfie to post on the personal Facebook page to let our family know we were on our way to the family reunion in Albuquerque.

By the latter part of the 20th century, Deadwood was well on its way to becoming another ghost town when some well-known investors came to town and took advantage of newly legalized limited gambling. Since the 1990’s, Deadwood has found gold, not in the hills, but in the pockets of tourists that come from all over the world to visit, gamble, and otherwise spend their vacation dollars. The gallery of images below features more sights captured on our short stay in Deadwood. In most browsers, you can click on one of the images below to enlarge it and to scroll through the gallery.

John Steiner