Devils Tower

It was another great day in South Dakota and we were off to find adventure along the road to Devils Tower.  We headed up highway 385 through the Black Hills.  Normally it would take about an hour to get to Deadwood, but we were in no hurry and we were enjoying the sights.  When we arrived in Deadwood, it looked like a city that was frozen in time.  The city has a great western feel as soon as you get there.

We decided to take a look through town and get a bite to eat at one of the saloons.  Before we got into the saloon, there was a gunfight on the street, which was cool.  When we got into the saloon, the employees were dressed in period costumes also.  The saloon we happened to be in, was Saloon No. 10, where Wild Bill Hickok played cards.
 
Wild Bill was having a run of bad luck that day and was forced to borrow a poker stake from the bartender. That run of bad luck worsened when an ex-buffalo hunter called John (“Broken Nose Jack”) McCall walked in unnoticed. Jack McCall walked to within a few feet of Wild Bill and then suddenly drew a pistol and shouted, “Take that!” before firing.

The bullet hit Hickok in the back of the head, killing him instantly. The bullet emerged through Wild Bill’s right cheek striking Captain Massie in the left wrist. Legend has it that Hickok had lost his stake and had just borrowed $50 from the house to continue playing. When shot, he was holding a pair of aces and a pair of eights, all black. The fifth card is debated, or, as some say, had been discarded and its replacement had not 

yet been dealt.

It was time for us to hit the road again.  Deadwood is a place I would like to see again someday.  We headed toward Devils Tower on I90 West and before you knew it we were crossing into Wyoming.  The ride from the border to Sundance will take you about 25 minutes.


When you get to Sundance you need to be looking for Hwy. 14 because you'll be heading up that road to the Tower.  It'll take you about 45 minutes to get up there.  Once there, they have a information office, vending machines and restrooms.


After we found as much adventure as we were going to we headed out.  We stopped at a place on the road up to Tower that had all kinds of cool things.  We packed up our purchases and headed back to camp.  Russ and David took I90 to 16, which brought them back to camp.


Cherrie and I on the other hand couldn't go with the flow, so we took Hwy 585 out of Sundance.  It was well worth it because it took us through some beautiful parts of the forest.  Russ and David may have beat us back to camp but we had enjoyed our way much better.

Thus ends another day on the trail to adventure.

 
"Happy Trails"