Deadwood, South Dakota

 We have visited the Deadwood, Sturgis, and Spearfish area a time or two in past years, but have not spent much time here. This time we’ll give it a better look.

After a short ride from Wall, we ducked into the Creekside Campground, six miles south of Deadwood, site number 3.

US Highway 385 is the preferred route to Deadwood from the east, but is essentially closed at SD44 for reconstruction, so we had to go a bit north on Interstate 90 to Sturgis, SD, and backtrack to the campground. Not a big deal. Just a few miles longer. There are several rv parks in this area and all of them cater to offroad vehicle enthusiasts. There are miles of logging roads snaking through the woods. This is in addition, of course, to the thousands of motorcycles that own the road hereabouts. We’re here the week prior to the famous Sturgis motorcycle rally, and hope to escape before things get scary,

Our first full day in Deadwood was, unfortunately, spent driving an hour plus back to Rapid City. A combination of haircuts, pedicures, grocery shopping, and propane tank refills took most of the day, but we reacquainted ouselves with “the city” and got the errands taken care of! On the way into RC, we passed a small sign locating what we believe to be a church retreat camp. It’s been surprising to see the many places with this name as we travel around the country!

Our plans for a the next day out have been foiled.

A combination of rain and power outages has kept us from enjoying a day trip to downtown Deadwood. Well, the Days of 76 parade and festivities as well as preparations for the semifinal PRCA Rodeo this weekend also had something to do with it. 

The rain came down like a cow…never mind…

Donna took advantage of intermittent power to run a few loads of laundry while Sasha and I cleaned house and did some Donna directed dinner prep. It’s been a quiet day…in Lake Deadwood…apologies to Lake Woebegone.

Eventually we found a nice day, weather wise, to explore the area. The skies have very hazy and smokey, evidently due to Canadian wildfires, but we haven’t let that stop us, and after an experimental breakfast on the Blackstone, we left Creekside, heading north on US 385. 

Turning west on the CanAm Highway, US 85, took us through the mining town of Lead, pronounced “leed”, and on to Cheyenne Crossing, where we turned north onto US 14A, the Spearfish Canyon scenic highway.

The canyon lived up to its reputation, providing dozens of awesome views.

Nearing Spearfish, the canyon impressed us again.

And brought us into the bustling town of Spearfish, population north of 12,000. Established at the base of the Black Hills, along Spearfish Creek, it was a main supply point for miners who flooded the area in 1876.

Spearfish Creek is internationally known for being a fly fisherman’s nirvana. Small pools, rippling riffles, and short waterfalls make for a challenging fishing experience.

Lunch at the Millstone, a shared Monte Cristo sandwich and a couple of visits to a very nice salad bar satisfied our hunger pangs, and a quick look at downtown gave us pause as to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally preparations.

On the CanAm Highway again, it was back to Deadwood, completing a circle daytrip. It’s been a nice day!

Our last day in Deadwood began with bright sunshine and warm temperatures. A perfect day to investigate downtown. The Days of 76 celebration was complete and all the rodeo cowboys were ridin’ away, so we figured that a quiet tour of some touristy western shops and maybe a nice lunch would be a great thing to do.

Well, maybe not…

It would seem that most of the motorcyclists that have been passing the rv park we’ve been staying at decided to enjoy the afternoon downtown as well!

To console ourselves, we drifted a half mile or so west and found an out of the way casino that contained a highly rated restaurant.

When we entered, we arbitrarily turned to a corridor on the right, leading us in the direction of …a couple of hundred slot machines. Fancy that! Well, since we’re already here…

A half hour later we were enjoying a steak and a burger in thr Flyt Steakhouse, on the complete opposite side of the casino.

Courtesy of Cadillac Jack’s slot machines!

We were back at the trailer when a sudden thunderstorm popped up, leaving us with a beautiful sky to remember Deadwood!

It’s been great being in the mountains, smelling pine forests and enjoying the sound of hundreds of unmuffled motorcycles, but we must be off. Heading south on the CanAm Highway on the morrow.