Here I am in Jackson, Wyoming at Pica's Mexican Restaurant trying to catch up while Jill and the kids do some quick grocery shopping. Before I go on, the food at Pica's is excellent -- try the Hanger Steak with chillaquiles...absolutely delicious!Well our last day in South Dakota was very fun, as we played at the ranch in the morning and went to the real wild west town of Deadwood in the afternoon. The history in this town is amazing, as it said this is the town that coined the term "the wild, wild west." It was the home and is the final resting place of Wild Bill Hickock and Calamity Jane, and was the subject of an HBO special titled "Deadwood."
During our afternoon in this historical town, we participated in the reenactment of the assassination of Wild Bill Hickock in the #10 Saloon. In fact, I was selected from the crowd to play the bartender, and got to see the plot unfold in front of my eyes. Jill and the kids sat at a card table and ate dinner while Wild Bill gave a soliloquy on his history, how he got his name, how he served as a spy in the Union Army, how he shot buffaloes with "Buffalo Bill" Cody and then travelled back east to Buffalo, New York, to teach the easterners about the wild west, how he married Agnes Thatcher and eventually went to Deadwood. Unfortunately, Wild Bill was killed in Deadwood, shot in the back of the head by the cowardly Jack McCall.
After the reenactment, we went up the street to watch a live robbery and shooting in the middle of the street in front of the Franklin Hotel. That was fun but too short, and not so full of history as the Wild Bill show in Saloon #10. Still, the kids enjoyed the show and got a taste for the wild west.
We ended our day in Deadwood up on Mount Moriah Cemetery aka "boot hill" to see the graves of Wild Bill, Calamity Jane, Preacher Smith and other prominent historical Deadwood citizens. It was amazing to see these grave sites, and the kids were touched by the small graves of the children who died at ages of 5, 3, even 1 year old. Josh commented when he saw the grave of a 5 year old boy: "That boy was only my age...he shouldn't have died yet." Jake said in return: "That's okay, he's in Heaven with his mommy and daddy now." I sure love my kids.
After boot hill we headed "back to the ranch" (seriously) for one last night with the horses and the Black Hills. It was a sweet night, as we watched the stars come out and listened to the sounds of the night. We all drifted off to sleep dreaming about our nextstop...the Grand Tetons!
Peace,
Brian
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