Bikers and Gun Fights

Tuesday, 8/24

25 miles west of Rapid City is Biker Heaven, AKA Sturgis, SD.  Home of the annual Biker Weeks in early August, Sturgis was fun for us.  Doris had a tough time finding the correct biker chick t-shirt for herself, but it sure was fun helping her.  The selection ranges from the really cute to the "Oh MY GODDD!!!".  I'll guess you know which one she bought. 

May He Rest Easy

Tattoo shops almost outnumber the t-shirt stores, so it was time for Doris to, shall we say, "identify" herself.  Unfortunately, she resisted the opportunity.  Despite the picture, so did I. 

Biker Heaven at Its Worst

So much of Sturgis is now closed, as it does annually once the 600,000 biker visitors leave, so we moved on to nearby Deadwood.  With a river as one boundary, a very close mountainside as the other, Deadwood became famous for its gold and silver mining was famous for something else.  Wild Bill Hickok, once sheriff and also a good shot with the highly inaccurate guns of the time, lost his life here.  Shot in the back by an assassin, Hickok's demise began with breaking his own rule:  Always sitting with his back to the wall. 

Deadwood's downtown is still essentially one long street, now filled with boring tourist oriented shops and, uh oh, casinos.  Every hotel, and there are numerous, has one in the lobby.  Restaurants depend on them for profits more than the all-you-can-stomach buffets. 

We didn't leave in time for Doris's husband from paying more for his lunch than the posted price.

Back home, we're watching the news of the Chilean miners who seem in high spirits, but who will have to spend months underground before coming to the surface.  Our sympathies and prayers go out to them from this beautiful part of the world.  We are so fortunate.  We wish the same for them.