On the Road: Part Two

After our three nights at Custer, it was time to get on the road again. There were other destinations! Not far away was Spearfish Canyon, and we took our time getting there. Our home was to be Spearfish Canyon Lodge, a beautiful, elegantly rustic place with a lovely lobby, immense fireplace, and spacious rooms. We found a stuffed buffalo toy waiting for us on our bed, available for purchase in the gift shop.

 Our room was on the second floor, not far from the hot tub which we enjoyed on our first evening. 

Spearfish is located about midway between Deadwood and Lead. We didn't have any particular interest in either town, but thought we should put in an appearance. Deadwood was full of casinos, but we did find a fine, old-fashioned saloon for dinner (I like fine, old-fashioned saloons). There was the requisite sawdust on the floor and an appropriately rough-looking clientele, but when we said we wanted dinner, we were sent upstairs to the "social club," where, unfortunately, the waitresses were wearing traditional garb rather than the corsets I'd anticipated. Atmosphere to the contrary, the walleye was delicious!

The next morning Joe got up early and went out to lie in a gulch to wait for animal sightings while I had the good sense to sleep in, enjoy the lobby area, and catch up on postcards.

Upon his return, we were off to Lead, home of a museum dedicated to the gold mining era. Our guide there, like every other guide we met on this trip, was knowledgable and personable and I enjoyed the mining museum much more than I had anticipated, despite some of the dangerous individuals in the area.