Death in Deadwood

10 June, 2011 0 comments Leave a comment

No, nobody died here recently, at least that I know of. But in 1876, Wild Bill Hickock was shot at the Number Ten Saloon in Deadwood and we got to see a couple of re-enactments while we were in town.

The actual Death Chair of Wild Bill Hickock.

We stayed two nights just outside of Deadwood at the KOA, a small but tidy campground constructed in tiers up the side of a mountain. Rather tricky to manoeuvre a big trailer around tight turns and very steep hills I thought, but John had no problem of course. The weather continues to be nice and mild (70's with occasional sunshowers). All of Deadwood is squeezed into little valleys so it looks like a small town but there are lots of casinos, hotels and stores and the western theme is very prevalent in their architecture.

Re-enactment of Wild Bill's Fatal Poker Game in downtown Deadwood.

In the morning I did four loads of laundry and right after lunch we caught the free hourly shuttle bus into downtown Deadwood. There was a hardware store with a owner-retiring-sale so we poked around in there and John picked up a few bits and pieces he needed for the trailer. We had a cold beer in a saloon, saw two re-enactments of the poker game and shooting of Wild Bill and enjoyed a display of famous movie cars in one of the casinos (James Bond car, the Love Bug, a Honda dirt bike owned by John Wayne).

We had overheard someone say the best burgers in town were at Mustang Sally's Cafe so we had a seat at their outdoor patio on the main drag. While we were enjoying our excellent cheeseburgers and draft beers, listening to live bluegrass music, a family sat down at the next table and they had a pet parrot with them. Some kids came over and the owner was very friendly and let them hold the parrot so I went over and had a go too!

Karen holding Crackers the Parrot, who is busy preening his feathers.

We caught the 6 pm shuttle back to the campground, just before it rained. We relaxed for the evening, doing some reading and playing on the computer. What a great day!

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