South Dakota

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Deadwood, South Dakota

Zeb gambles and enjoys lunch

Deadwood, South Dakota is fun.  Located between Rapid City and Spearfish, the drive is scenic.

Beautiful scenery

Beautiful scenery

If you are a fan of cowboy movies or western history, these towns in the Black Hills are familiar to you.  In real life, they are a lot of fun.

We started gambling in the Silverado Casino.  Not big stakes gamblers, we played slot machines.  We had fun and won some.  This was my favorite slot machine

penguins played when we won

penguins played when we won

and where mom’s friend won.  We were in South Dakota to attend a wedding and met the groom’s parents in this casino.  Popular place.  After winning, we walked down some of Deadwood’s streets.

Deadwood saloon

Deadwood saloon

The old building are interesting and the names of the businesses were very old west names.

We ate at Pump House Coffee and Deli that had been a gas station.

Pump House deli in Deadwood

Pump House deli in Deadwood

The building was recognizable as a service station

Registered Restroom???

Registered Restroom???

and lots of gas station stuff was there.  The deli menu kept the theme with the names of sandwiches.

Menu

Menu

Seating was available outside,

Pump House patio

Pump House patio

but we ate inside.   This was a great place.  Mom and her friend were amazed at every new discovery.

wake up coffee

wake up coffee

The people was very friendly and the food very tasty.  This is a popular deli in Deadwood.

Booth for friends

Booth for friends

After eating and taking lots of photos,

gas pump

gas pump

we strolled down some other streets and then gambled a little at the Wooden Nickel.

Great stone buildings in Deadwood

Great stone buildings in Deadwood

Mom did better gambling here.

Classy door handles to Wood Nickel

Classy door handles to Wood Nickel

All the humans seemed to be having a good time.  It was a warm sunny day so I saw many humans smiling.  I like happy people.

Deadwood is a small town in the Black Hills.  It is easy to find as it is close to Spearfish and close to Rapid City.  It is also an easy drive to Mount Rushmore.  You will have a good time when you visit.  The hardest decisions will be which casino to visit first and where to eat.  But don’t worry.  You cannot make a bad choice.  Everything is good in Deadwood.

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Black Hills of South Dakota

Sturgis and Mount Rushmore with Zeb

 I love road trips!  We entered South Dakota

Entering South Dakota

Entering South Dakota

through Newcastle, Wyoming.   Hills, trees and meadows were everywhere.

Entering Black Hills, SD

Entering Black Hills, SD

It was beautiful.  But, soon it started to rain and then small hail.  Here I am sitting in hail.

Hail in Black Hills--cold

Hail in Black Hills–cold

Mom, we have to talk about where you put me.  We arrived in the evening, staying in Spearfish.  Yep, that is how it got its name.  People used to spear fish in the river.

In the morning we went to Sturgis.  You know, the motorcycle place. IMG_3832 We were there last week, in early September, so the motorcycle rally was over.  But, still some bikers there as the weather was beautiful.

Zeb at Motorcycle Museum in Sturgis, SD

Zeb at Motorcycle Museum in Sturgis, SD

The motorcycle museum is really cool.  And, I Zeb, the duck, sat on some motorcycles outside.

Zeb on motorcycle

Zeb on motorcycle

Some day I may ride.

WOW! Another motorcycle

WOW! Another motorcycle

Then there was this crazy store, Hot Leathers Trading Post.  Lots of hot leather stuff.  Makes my heart race.

Hot Leathers

Hot Leathers

Next we went to Mount Rushmore.

Zeb at Mount Rushmore

Zeb at Mount Rushmore

This is a National Monument, not a National Park.  Four giant heads carved in the mountain.  This is a monument to four U.S. Presidents:  George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.  Admission is free but parking, which is necessary is $11 for a car.  Being rather small myself, I found some facts fascinating.  Washington’s nose is 21 feet long.  The other noses are only (?) 20 feet long.  The eyes are 11 feet wide.

These guys are HUGE

These guys are HUGE

Some say that we ducks have wide mouths, but these presidents have mouths 18 feet wide.  The carving, started in 1927 and ended in 1941, needed 400 workers, used dynamite as the primary tool and cost $989,992.32.  That is an exact figure—great accounting.  This monument means democracy.

Mount Rushmore honors our democracy

Mount Rushmore honors our democracy

As we left Mount Rushmore, we saw a huge piece of heavy machinery on the road in front of us.  They were shooting seed out a pipe at the top of the vehicle.

Seeding the shoulder of the road

Seeding the shoulder of the road

We believe it was grass seed or some seed to plant vegetation along the shoulder of the road.  Mom had never seen one before and, of course, neither had I.  Was interesting to see.

To see Mount Rushmore, drive on I-90 to Rapid City, SD.  Then exit and drive 23 miles southwest of the city, through Keystone.  There are many signs and the roads were clearly marked.  While you are in the area, consider seeing Crazy Horse monument, also carved in a mountain, visit Custer State Park and prepared to be amazed by the landscape of the Badlands National Park.  The Black Hills are beautiful

Black Hills stream

Black Hills stream

and this is a wonderful setting for a monument to democracy in our country.  I hope all of you go to see it.  We thought it was great!  Next time I will tell you about our day in Deadwood.  Look for me on Wednesday.