Following our visit to Mount Rushmore, we decided to take the hour long drive over to the storied town of Deadwood, South Dakota.

 

There's loads to see along the way and,. of course, we stopped to take some of it in: 

 

 

Deadwood was founded by early settlers who got the name for the town from the dead trees found in a nearby gulch. While this area of the Black Hills was, by treaty, owned by the Lakota, the discovery of gold in 1874 took an unofficial precedence, and the population had grown to over 25,000 by 1876. As of the 2020 census, though, that number had decreased to a far more manageable 1,156. In the late 1800's, old west figures Wyatt Earp, Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickock, who was murdered here, called Deadwood home.

During the rally, the streets of Deadwood become packed with bikes and parking is at a premium. Even people on motorcycles had trouble finding parking. Once you find it, though, you'll be glad you decided to tough it our until you found a spot. The local Harley Davidson dealer (appropriately named Deadwood Harley Davidson) pretty much takes over the entire town square with motorcycle displays, music,demonstrations and, of course, the obligatory swimming pool:

We decided we need some adult beverages, so we wandered into a joint called the Bodega Bar which had the two things we needed more than anything: beer and air conditioning. 

 

The drinks were cheap and, anytime you come to an event like this, the people watching opportunities are plentiful. I don't remember their names, but these to guys were having almost as much fun as we were, so we decided to hang out for a bit and buy rounds for each other:

 

It was a great day, and the Deadwood experience was more than worthwhile (even if it did take us a half hour to find parking). Even though this was just my first time to the rally, I can't imagine a tip here during the rally being complete for anyone without a visit to Deadwood...