Main Street Deadwood (Photo from here)
I think most of us could agree that before the series aired in 2004, Deadwood was probably not very familiar in the average American household. So while we were exploring the ins and outs of the Black Hills National Forest, we took an afternoon and headed into the town Deadwood, SD. And I'm sure that Yvette would agree, the motivation came primarily because of what we saw in the series. Now if you remember back when we were in Chugwater WY, the nice man that I had a conversation with at the Stampede Saloon, was very helpful in giving us some pointers about what to see. When I mentioned Deadwood to him, he scoffed a bit, “Big into gambling are you?” At the time, I wasn’t exactly sure what he meant. Well, I do now.
Other than the museum in town, it’s pretty much like a small “Atlantic City” except they try to keep the appearance of an older, historic town. Thinking we might have lunch there, it was surprising to learn how many of the eateries had mediocre ratings, some even less than mediocre. Frankly, I don’t have any great praise for anything in Deadwood except for perhaps the people that live there. In my opinion, other than the facade on the buildings, the history in town is a lot more difficult to find than a slot machine.
After talking to one of the locals, I understand why the town took the type of development route that it did. They did what they had to do to keep the town alive. “Nobody was interested in the town's history to the extent people who live here could make a living. Gambling was a way to bring in jobs and keep other types of businesses alive.” our server said at “Jakes”, the spot we picked for lunch. While doing some background research for this post, I came across an article from 2017 that I found interesting and you might as well. CLICK HERE. Time will tell.
But as one door closes, another opens. And so were able to find a silver lining in seeing a few friends that lived near Deadwood, Gabby and Ron, the owners of "Beastie", a Siberian Tiger. They were extremely gracious and such good company. Loved their beautiful home and surrounding views. And, their three dogs were funny and friendly...and big!
Ron and Gabbie's "Beastie", a Tiger Adventure Vehicle Siberian.