09 August 2010

Deadwood, SD - The Shooting of Wild Bill Hickok














Deadwood, SD. The most important event there is the poker game in Saloon #10 on August 2, 1876, where Jack McCall snuck up and shot Wild Bill Hickok in the back of the head. Hickok had arrived in Deadwood only a few weeks earlier, played a succession of card games, and never in his life sat with his back to the door. Until that day.

T
oday, the bar called Old Style Saloon #10 is neither the original saloon where Hickok was done in, nor the original location. Lots of real places and things in Deadwood are hard to come by, since most of the town was leveled in the great fire of 1879, or the medium fire of 1894, and 1948, and 1951, and 1954 (and whatever was left may have gone up in the great fire of 1987). The gulch's abundance of dry, fallen timber blessed the town with a name and cursed it with combustibility.

In the absence of anything more authentic, we visited the bar with the Death Chair. It sits in an alcove in a glass frame above Saloon #10's front door. The bar and tables were crowded with tourists. We grab dinner in the back and watch question and answer period, followed by a re-enactment of the fateful poker game. Tourists have been enlisted to sit at the card table and play parts. Shots are fired, guys run from the table, kids giggle nervously.

Wild Bill slumps dead over and over, every day, all summer long. It was a great show and dinner.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park



















One of our many stops on the way to the west coast was Theodore Roosevelt National Park. This park has a 30 mile loop that allows you to drive thru and view some of the most outstanding scenery and wildlife in the US. Included in the next several posts are some of the more memorable sights.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park























Theodore Roosevelt National Park



























Some duotone photos and a USDI serveyors marker.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park




















A sample of the wildlife we viewed at the park.

05 August 2010

Skateboarding in North Dakota

While at a picnic lunch in North Dakota, Chris burned off some calories by showing us some skateboarding tricks.

Wisconsin State Line

Taken at the southern end of Wisconsin at the first rest area off of IR90.