Rapid City is where the plains and the Black Hills meet. The stretch continues to present kitschy billboards for miles and small no-name motels with odd names like Lamplighter, Big Sky, Budget Host, Penny Motel, Powder House and Holy Smoke Inn.
There really wasn’t any “true city” experience anywhere in South Dakota. The towns became a blur….we stopped in Sturgis, which is known worldwide as the annual gathering ground of up to 500,000 ‘hog’ (Harley-Davidson motorcycle) lovers. We just missed the Sturgis Rally & Races event, but some of the color remained as we witnessed one night at One-Eyed Jack’s Saloon on Main Street, a biker bar that served little other than buffalo burger and happy hour beers from 4-7 pm.
Just before we reached the Wyoming border, we hit Spearfish, which is at the mouth of the scenic Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway (US 14A). Spearfish was closer to the actual Dances with Wolves film site than the ghost town that housed most of the props up the road.
The drive was beautifully but sadly serene in an old Wild West kind of way. Run down buildings, old character, charm and colorful history bled from these towns…..Sturgis, Spearfish, and then just beyond a beautiful body of water called Pactola Lake, we hit Deadwood.
Settled by illegal gold rushers in the 1870s, Deadwood is now a National Historical Landmark. Its Main Street is lined with many restored gold-rush-era buildings. The town had a hell-raisin’ reputation for years, however it apparently has been replaced by a gentler crowd of poker players. Old red brick buildings lined the main drag, which in many ways reminded me of parts of Gloversville.
Deadwood is most known for the shootings of Wild Bill Hickok, Jack McCall, the drifter who shot Hickok, gunslingers Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp, and lest we forget the brothel owner Poker Alice Tubbs.
Also worth noting was a 944 foot deep open cut of the Homestake Gold Mine a few miles away in Lead.
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
