“South Dakota? Why South Dakota?” That is the question just about everyone has asked when I’ve shared my summer vacation plans. Truthfully, I was inspired by “The Awkward Tourists”, a YouTube couple I follow who spent a couple of days here on a road trip. When I watched their videos, I thought, “Why have I never been to South Dakota?”. And so, here I am!
I woke up at 2:00AM this morning, so to say I am exhausted is an understatement. In the time between 2AM and now, I caught up on last night’s Olympic gymnastics team announcement (priority #1 this morning!), caught the Logan Express bus to the airport, took a pre-6AM flight to Minneapolis followed by a mid-morning flight to Rapid City, picked up a rental car, spent the afternoon in Deadwood, and made my way to Spearfish, which will be my home base for the next three nights. Phew… I’m exhausted just recounting all that!
My first impression is that western South Dakota is absolutely beautiful and feels like a “place where the soul can breathe”. As for Deadwood, it was an interesting introduction to my 39th state (unless we’re counting my brief visit to Minnesota this morning, in which case this is my 40th state). I mean, where else can you visit the graves of two famous wild west outlaws, gamble to your heart’s content, and watch a shootout in the town square, all in one place? The weather was somewhat uncooperative, with rain and some rumbles of thunder while I was in Deadwood. Between raindrops, I walked along the historic Main Street, which is lined with casinos, Old West saloons, souvenir shops, and restaurants. I also watched the short “shootout” at Outlaw Square and won a whopping $6.65 at the Tin Lizzie casino.
After pocketing my winnings, I headed up to Mount Moriah Cemetery to pay my respects to two of Deadwood’s most famous residents, Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane. The woman at the visitor center wisely suggested I drive up to the cemetery, which is perched atop a high hill overlooking the town of Deadwood. The cemetery is quite peaceful despite the crowds and I wandered around for a little while enjoying it. A quick stop at the famous Chubby Chipmunk chocolate shop rounded out my visit to Deadwood.
As I was leaving Deadwood, a sign for Mount Roosevelt caught my eye and I remembered reading about it in my guidebook. A short 2.5 mile detour and half mile walk took me to the Roosevelt Friendship Tower, with 360 degree views of western South Dakota and Wyoming.
Once I made my way to Spearfish, my final two stops of the day were at Dough Trader Pizza for an alfredo pizza and Leone’s Creamery for a small scoop of vanilla bean with salted caramel for dessert. I’m excited to explore more of this area tomorrow, but for tonight, bed is calling my name!
If you’ve made it this far, here’s your laugh for the night: my hotel room. Which could easily double as a doctor’s waiting room…
Traveling with Laura 