Saturday - Sept 23rd Lead, Deadwood, Sturgis, SD

The day began with a promise of clearing, with patches of blue sky to the north. I was awakened early with the sound of “rolling thunder”, well not exactly because that was the phrase for B-52 bombing runs in Vietnam, but Ellsworth AFB is less than 15 miles from our campsite – we can see it in the distance since we’re on top of a hill. At 6:30 a.m., several B-52’s took off. It sounded like one continuous jet engine roaring and went on for about 30 minutes until they were clear of the area.

We rolled out and after a hearty breakfast at Perkin’s Pancake house, headed north toward Sturgis, Deadwood, and Lead (pronounce leed – as in the verb, to lead). Unfortunately the weather didn’t cooperate and turned into a gray, overcast day with gusts to 40 mph.

Thinking it was not going to be “good” photo shooting day, we didn’t take any cameras. Big mistake. We saw things we didn’t expect to see, including one of the world’s largest open pit gold mine – the Homestake mine in Lead, SD. This mine was the start of the first gold mining company to go public on the New York Stock Exchange and made many people very wealthy. The following description is taken from www.homestaketour.com web site. We did not have an opportunity to visit the mine processing facility this trip but we will when we return.

Before its closing in 2002 Homestake Gold Mine was the oldest, largest and deepest mine in the Western Hemisphere, reaching more than 8000 feet below the town of Lead.

Today’s photo is from the Lead, SD, web-site and is attributable to Johnny Sundby Photography. The photo is of the Open Cut Gold Mine in Lead, SD

The town of Deadwood is a story in itself. Besides being the site of Wild Bill Hickok’s murder here in 1876 (his grave site is here along with Calamity Jane’s), Gen George Custer led an expedition through here looking for a site for a fort and his men found gold nuggets “lying” around. People flocked to the area in search of riches. The town was almost washed away (it lies in a canyon / gulch) and later a series of fires almost destroyed it. After it was rebuilt in the early 1900’s, locals tried to make it look like a Wild West town with fake fronts. But a historical restoration society (shades of Fernandina Beach) stepped in and made all renovations adhere to the style of the late 1800’s at the time of the gold rush. Because of the enormous cost of renovation, the city fathers decided to utilize gambling to raise revenue. It was a tremendous success and raised far more revenue than anyone expected. As a result, the town was rebuilt about 40 years sooner than planned.

Today, almost every building in town has a casino and/or slot machines. This includes all the hotels, bars, motels, and restaurants. About the only buildings that don’t have slots are the schools, churches, and the local chamber of commerce visitor center. (We didn’t have time to do a thorough check of all establishments!) Because of it’s history and location, it doesn’t have the appearance, however, of a Vegas or Reno. More of a small town with lots of charm and ambiance – and gambling!

Driving back we passed through lots of forests and hills – with some snow on the ground from the previous night. We were only about 7,000 feet in elevation, so winter must be coming. Of course it is supposed to be 60 degrees here tomorrow and 75 on Monday and Tuesday! Is this a taste of Indian Summer?

The other town we went through was Sturgis. Not being Harley-Davidson people, we’d never heard of Sturgis. I know Lou Goldman has heard of it – right, Lou? As I understand it, Sturgis has a Bike Week and is similar to the one held in Daytona every year. The posters claimed this year is the 66th annual Bike Week in Sturgis. Harley-Davidson web-site has major coverage of this event. Lots of shops around the area selling shirts proclaiming Sturgis Bike Week, Harley-Davidson, and other paraphernalia. More than I need to know I think.

Tomorrow we’re going to explore the area east of Rapid City including the South Dakota Badlands and Grasslands.