Shopping, Shootouts, and Singing

  • Day Four of Our Wild West Vacation

Day four started off rainy but again cleared off by the time we left our hotel to explore Deadwood a bit. We did some shopping in the area around our hotel, visited a model train exhibit, took some pictures and went to the Adams Museum, which houses a collection of exhibits related to the history of Deadwood and the surrounding areas.

One of the places I wanted to be sure and visit was Mt. Moriah Cemetery, the final resting place of Will Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane, and many other legends of the area. Interestingly, all of the street names in the cemetery are affiliated with both Judaism and Christianity and the symbols on the entrance sign represent both religions as well. The cemetery itself is lovely, situated high above the town, and would be a peaceful place to sit and reflect (at a time when a tour wasn’t present!)

After we left the cemetery, we decided to drive into Rapid City – Sarah had an independent bookstore she wanted to visit and we needed to make a Walmart run. While there, we ate at a local Mexican restaurant and it was excellent – if you are ever in the area, El Sombrero has wonderful service and the food was outstanding.

We returned to Deadwood in time for part the historical reenactment that Historic Main Street Deadwood has in the evenings. There are a variety of shows and educational programs that are free to the public each day culminating in the Trial of Jack McCall at the Masonic Temple. We watched the card game/assassination and then the capture of Jack McCall but didn’t attend the trial/play. Then Trever and I headed over to see some live music. The musician was really good and we both would have enjoyed staying longer but we knew we needed to turn in early.

Day four was our last night in Deadwood. We enjoyed our time in South Dakota and looked forward to the next part of our vacation in Colorado.

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