We enjoyed our little adventure at the Sugar Shack and the Boondocks but it was time to get back on the road to Deadwood. Now if you don't know about Deadwood it's where Wild Bill Hickok's grave is.
From the Deadwood website:
Welcome to Deadwood!
With ongoing restoration, Deadwood is being transformed back into the frontier town that once drew legends and legions in search of their fortune. The entire town is a Registered National Historic Landmark, but don’t let that fool you. Behind all the historic facades is plenty of modern-day fun. The famous and infamous have left their marks here. Men, like Wild Bill Hickok and Seth Bullock, and women, like Calamity Jane and Poker Alice, made this town legendary. Come and discover the lure of Deadwood.
Follow in the footsteps of legends as you explore the beauty and history of this one-of-a-kind Wild West town.
The cemetery is located on the top of what seems to me like a small mountain but Nick says it's considered a hill. As our car headed higher and higher I kept thinking, seriously how do these people get around in the snow and ice! People from Texas would be completely immobilized for sure. It seemed treacherous enough in dry weather but Nick got us safely there.
To get to the cemetery we still had to walk up an incline. I am not in shape. Well I am a bit round and that's a shape but I am by no means able to skip my way up what felt like a very steep incline.
Interesting to note that both Wild Bill and I were born on the same date. Just 130 years apart.
If you look closely at the back right corner you will notice that there's something there. Here's a close-up of what it is.
Assorted coins, a cigarette and several cards that I presume represent Hickok's dead-man's hand. From Wikipedia:
Hickok's dead-man's hand
Main article: Dead man's hand
"Dead man's hand"
When shot, Hickock was holding a pair of aces and a pair of eights, all black. The fifth card's identity is debated, or had been discarded and its replacement had not yet been dealt.[49] In 1979, Hickok was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame.
Death
Wild Bill had a premonition Deadwood would be his last camp, and expressed this belief to his friend Charlie Utter (also known as Colorado Charlie), and the others who were traveling with them at the time.[47] On August 2, 1876, Hickok was playing poker at Nuttal & Mann's Saloon No. 10 in Deadwood, in the Black Hills, Dakota Territory. Hickok, as a precaution, usually sat with his back to the wall. The only seat available when he joined the poker game was a chair that put his back to a door. Twice he asked another player, Charles Rich, to change seats with him, and on both occasions Rich refused.[48]
A former buffalo hunter named John McCall (better known as "Jack" or "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.[citation needed]
The assassin's 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.[citation needed]
Calamity Jane was also buried nearby.
We headed back to the car to continue our adventure.
So we head back to the city and park in a parking garage on the top floor. M and Nick wanted to wait on the elevator and I said it would be faster to use the stairs. Plus think about all the amazing health benefits! So we made a bet to see who would make it down first. We knew the elevator was about to open up so I had to work fast.
I take off down the stairs but what they've both forgotten is I'm clever. Very clever. I'm so clever that I went down one flight of stairs and ran to the elevator and pushed the button. ::haha:: That's right folks now the elevator was going to stop on the way down on that floor. I proceeded to do that each flight of stairs that I went down. Guess who won? I have to admit I'm pretty awesome blossom. Extra awesome.
A pretty cool little town that had a lot of personality.
We arrive at the No.10 Saloon.
We were expecting and hoping to see the actual table that Wild Bill was sitting at when he was shot. We were told that it was temporarily off display. Ummm...okay. That's weird. Nick later found out that we weren't even at the right place and the actual table was at the real No.10 Saloon. Oh well we'll catch it on our next trip and it was still kind of cool inside there anyway.
They did have a chandelier that I of course took a picture of.
The trip was not a total bust as they did have this!
Not only do I love phones but I also love water towers.
We had already packed so much fun in one day but we weren't finished yet. Off we go to visit the D.C. Booth Historic National Fish Hatchery and Archives!
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