Day 13 - Rapid City

If anybody knows the history of Deadwood in South Dakota and the demise of Wild Bill this is located along the Main Street in Deadwood.

The infamous Gem Hotel was located here - owned by that ruthless nefarious hotel owner "Al Swerington" along Main Street Deadwood

Ladie's of ill repute along Main Street, Deadwood

Here it was where Wild Bill Hickok was shot by Jack McCall in 1876. Will Bill was playing cards and had two aces and two eights when he was shot in the back of his head- today known as the dead man's hand.

Re-enactment of the shooting of  Wild Bill Hickok - our actor played a great role

Two lovely bimbo's of the No 10 Saloon - part of the scene of Wild Bill's murder, Deadwood, South Dakota

Anne and Wild Bill - his name is forever remembered in today's Deadwood - more so than in 1876.

Neil and Calamity Jane's grave on Mount Moriah Cemetery, Deadwood. 

Seth Bullock was a well known and famous sheriff of Deadwood and Marshal working for President Theodore Roosevelt. He was a "goodie" who rode a white horse and tipped his hat to the ladies. His grave site is located overlooking Deadwood in the Mount Moriah Cemetery

Calamity wanted to be buried next to her hero Wild Bill - something that Wild Bill wouldn't wish for if he had a chance. In real life Calamity was a chronic alcoholic, swore like a sailor and basically had a miserable life.

The four presidents - Mount Rushmore, Black Hills, South Dakota

Just to prove that we were actually there!

Remember the roller game back in the 60's? It's alive and well in Rapid City, South Dakota. Notice the fallen skater - she was deliberately pushed.

We want to know how the violators are towed - cruelty for sure?

We have two days in Rapid City, therefore we drove directly for Deadwood. It's about 40 miles or so away and we spent the majority of the day in the famous or infamous place. The weather returned to glorious sunshine however the temperature was not summer like - it was still cold. Deadwood lives on tourism and casinos. The city itself is small enough to walk around and there were plenty of gift shops. We did find a place where they dress you up in old period clothes and after a serious of photo shoots give you a sepia print. Well we dressed up in those 1870'ish attire and enjoyed the experience - we'll try and put the best photo on this blogspot once we know how. At 1 pm we watched the re-enactment of the slaying of Wild Bill Hickok. This was located in the new No. 10 Saloon about 100 metres from the actual site of the murder. If anybody has watched the TV series "Deadwood" they would know most of the incidences and sites of the photos we have posted. After the re-enactment we headed up in the hills to the Mount Moriah cemetery where Calamity Jane and Wild Bill are buried next to each other. In actual life they only crossed paths briefly however over the years many twisted stories arose - the most famous one is that they were married and they had a daughter - not true say the locals. From Deadwood we drove to Mount Rushmore and viewed the famous four presidents. As we said last year it is impressive however, the size is smaller than the pictures that are taken in the tourist magazines and books. We left Mount Rushmore and headed back to our accommodation in Rapid City When we arrived at 6 pm our room was not made up. After enquiring at reception and after many apologies the manager is giving us a free breakfast tomorrow - just not we really want. We are trying to avoid American hot breakfasts and keeping to the continental meals. Tomorrow we leave Rapid City and head east to the Badlands National Park. It is located about 90 minutes from Rapid City but there is lots to see. We will be staying in a lodge away from the bustle of a city environment. Cheers.