Road Trip Day 23 - Deadwood to Rapid City

Adams House

It was a dreary and rainy day in Deadwood for Day 23 of the Epic Road Trip.  I wanted to see some of the historical sights before I left town so I kind of took my time hoping it would clear up but not this time.  First stop in Deadwood was at the historical Adams House.  The house was built in the 1892 by Harris and Anna Franklin.  Later the house was sold to W.E. Adams (for $8,500) and became known as the Adams House.  Because it was closed up with all the furnishings in place for 50 years, the house is very authentic with the furniture and decor as it was at the turn of the century in Deadwood.  Very fascinating tour by a very good docent.  I give this one five stars!

One of the main streets of Deadwood are under construction and is completely without paving and is a muddy mess.  Made me think of how it must of been in this mining town 130 years ago.  Anyway, I managed to find the Moriah Cemetery where Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane are buried along with many other old western icons.

 I did not know that Hickok was assassinated and that Calamity Jane requested to be buried next to him in Deadwood.  Fun history!

Next I headed south in the Black Hills to find the Crazy Horse mountain that is still being carved.  Much to my dismay, after paying the $5 to enter the viewing area, the monument was completely hidden in the clouds.  However, there was a great museum and gift shop there so I spent about an hour checking it out.  The closest I could come to an image was of the 1/34 scale model of the project.  It is massive!  Much larger than Mount Rushmore.

Crazy Horse model

Jars of Glass Beads

 There was a display of glass beads and beaded garments and objects that were really wonderful. Someone acquired 70 tons of glass beads from an Italian company.  This is the company that supplied the fur traders in the 19th century with beads for the Indians.
 The beaded things were really intricate.
Lots of Indian history and art.

Beaded gloves

Trying not to think that the Crazy Horse Monument was a bust, I headed then to Mount Rushmore to see the heads of stone.  Again, I was hoping that the clouds would not be covering this one.  This time, I was not willing to pay $11 to park and go see some clouds covering the monument, so I stopped alongside the road like everyone else.  Oh my gosh!  I saw the faces just like the pictures!  But the clouds were covering the tops.  I hopped out of my car and walked about 20 yards to get a better picture and this is what I got.

Mount Rushmore in the clouds

The clouds were dropping so fast that all that was showing were the bottom of the chin - sort of.  I did get to see it just not record it.  Bummer.  Maybe I can swing back by there before I leave western South Dakota and have better luck.

I still do not know what route I am going to take tomorrow.  If the weather is clear, I will drive the 20 miles back from Rapid City to Mount Rushmore to get a better view.  Then maybe down to Custer and the Custer State Park south of the Black Hills.  I missed Sturgis but will probably just skip it this trip.  Too many people there.

Not sure what tomorrow will bring but still moving onward as the Epic Road Trip continues.