Lead, Spearfish and Deadwood

We took a tour through the "Northern Hills" area of Black Hills National Forest today.  Our first stop was the town of Lead.  Pronounced "Leed", the town was a company town supported by the Homestake Mine.  Gold was discovered here in the 1870's, and the open pit mine was worked until the about 1945.  In the 1980's it was reopened in the 1980's and closed again in 2000.

The name of the town comes from the name of a vein of valuable ore, whether gold or silver, and the shafts that are dug to follow that vein, called "leads".  Currently the mine is closed but on hold and not abandoned. Economics will dictate the next reopening.  The open pit has long ago reached it's maximum size, but shafts, tunnels and leads still exist down thousands of feet below the bottom of the pit.

It's impossible to see the bottom of the pit from behind the fence that encircles it, but I found it amazing that 32 feet wide trucks hauling ore climbed the narrow, twisting road up the side of the pit!

Our next leg of the trip took us to the Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway.

This beautiful drive along the Spearfish river is one of the most visited of the scenic drives of the Black Hills for many good reasons, but we found that Bridal Veil Falls was one of the best.

Then into Spearfish for lunch at the Mason Dixon restaurant where we enjoyed a couple of wraps for lunch with a creamy Jalapeño dip as an appetizer. Donna had a "Sweet Shredded Swine Wrap", otherwise know as pulled pork, and it was delicious.  I ordered a Sirloin Wrap because it said it was made with Cajun Sirloin.  Not spicy at all.  I forgot that we're approaching the midwest, where ketchup is a hot sauce!

Deadwood was the main attraction of the day, and we ran down I90 from Spearfish to Deadwood.  The main attraction in Deadwood these days is the casinos, which, I might add, have been tastefully integrated into the old west buildings, keeping the facades as original and completely rebuilding the interiors.

Our first stop in Deadwood (incidentally named for the large amount of dead trees on the hills and in the creek when gold was first discovered here) was the 76 Museum, which among other things contains a great collection of buggies and wagons.

Also on display is a fire wagon from the early days of Deadwood.

One of the more unusual buggies was a Rural Free Delivery buggy.  When Congress authorized the Post Office to begin mail delivery to rural addresses, the buggy was the best mode of transportation, so the mail buggy was developed, with a wood burning stove on the inside (small, of course), and compartments to sort incoming and outgoing mail.

Our last stop in Deadwood was at the Mt. Moriah Cemetery, the last resting place of some of Deadwoods' more colorful characters, including James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok, Martha "Calamity Jane" Canary, and "Potato Creek Johnny" Perett.  Wild Bill, of course, was shot at a poker game in the Number 10 Saloon, holding a full house of Aces and Eights, forever after known as the "Dead Man's Hand".  Calamity Jane dressed, acted and fought like a man in the rough mining town, but when she died years later of alcohol related illnesses, she requested burial beside Wild Bill, fueling rumors that the two had been an "item" in the early days of Deadwood.  Potato Creek Johnny plucked a 7.1 punch gold nugget out of Potato Creek one day, and became thereafter the town clown, doing handstands down the street at the Fourth of July parade!

Seth Bullock is buried on a bluff overlooking Mt. Moriah Cemetery and the town of Deadwood.  He and his wife were tireless promoters of the town and owned several businesses there.  He was a close friend of Teddy Roosevelt, and was instrumental in the construction of a memorial to the president on a mountain peak above town.

 A great road trip, some 145 miles, and we're back in Rapid City, SD, ready for another adventure!