Day 12

Dakota Minnesota and Eastern train heads through Black Hawk, SD, led by #6084, a former CP Rail engine. This is the only train pic for the day since we shot this train more than once and this is the best of the lots.

It's Wednesday and Monday is the beginning of the Sturgis, SD motorcycle rally. Many of the anticipated 500,000 attendees were already here and the vendors were putting up tents everywhere. Sturgis may be the hub, but there were cycles everywhere we went this week.

We visited Fort Meade in Sturgis and its Cavalry museum. The museum had some very rare artifacts from some of the people involved in The Battle of Little Big Horn. Most were in excellent shape. Fort Meade is also where the idea began for using the Star Spangled Banner as our national anthem. The song had been used for marches at the base for many years before the wife of the base commander suggested that the governor try to make the song the national anthem.

This is the Adams house in Deadwood. This house was built by one of the richest families in Deadwood in the late 1800s. In 1934 the house was locked up with everything inside, including cookies in the pantry. In the late 1980s the owner of the house finally sold it and the wealth of old antiques inside. The house only had two owners before 1987 and so provides a very complete picture of life from 1890 to 1934.

Deadwood is where Wild Bill Hickok was shot will playing poker. Holding two black aces, two black 8s and a 9 of diamonds, Hickok was shot in the back on a rare occasion when he didn't sit with his back to the wall. Hence the "dead man's hand". Hickok and Calamity Jane are buried next to each other in Deadwood's Mt. Moriah Cemetery.

Today's funny photo has a serious side. First we saw the Chicago cows, then the St. Paul Charlie Browns, the Toronto moose, and now there's Lead ("leed") / Deadwood, SD has the "Deer, Dough, and Van Gogh" to raise a few "bucks" for community organizations. Next, a Casper bison.