Purple Pie and the Midnight Star

We left Rapid City to head south again, but then west toward Deadwood, basically making a big loop around the area we covered yesterday. Driving out of town, we stopped again at Fort Hays. Phillip had really liked the tin plates and learned ;last night that they were for sale. The tinsmith (who was also the variety show’s comedian) had already started making tin plates for the tour bus patrons who leave from Fort Hays for Rushmore tours. He showed Phillip hoe he makes the plates from round sheets of tin, even allowing Phillip to shape a plate. We bought a plate embossed with a wold and a tin cup for the ranch, then continued on our drive.

We re-drove a segment of Wildlife Loop Road and what did we see… buffalo! Not the herd today, but several lone male buffalo walking near the road. We also saw a small herd of antelope. My research material indicated we might find elk in Wind Cave National Forest, but all we saw were elk tracks!

In the town of Custer, we stopped at the National Woodcarving Museum. We didn’t actually go thru the museum, but we did spend some time in its gift shop. I asked the clerk for a lunch recommendation, and she suggested the Purple Pie Shop, saying their chicken pot pie was delicious. That sounded really good to us, and the restaurant was certainly easy to find, as it was painted purple, A TCU shade of purple. And the shop clerk had been right, the pot pie was delicious, chunks of real chicken in a tasty gravy with a flaky, not soggy, bottom crust. Even though I’m not a big dessert eater, I had to have the raspberry rhubarb jalapeno pie. Not too sweet and with a kick. It gave me some ideas for the jams that I make during my garden year.

North of Custer on Hwy 385 is the turn-off for the Crazy Horse Memorial. Most of the reviewers were not impressed with the operation of the Memorial, calling it over-priced and too commercial. It is a private, not park service operation. So, we did as suggested, took pictures as we drove by. With a zoom lens and high resolution, I got the same picture that I’ve seen on postcards.

Hill City was our next stop. Phillip and I both like metal art and I can always use more for the garden and flower beds at the ranch. What should we see but metal art on the main street of Hill City. The store had other amusements for its customers, including a jail cell! And yes, I bought a piece of metal art for my garden.

 

We had seen advertisements for rhubarb wine, made at a winery just north of Hill City, so we stopped to buy a bottle. I would have done their free wine tasting, but as you might imagine for a free wine tasting of five wines, the lines were long. Phillip actually rushed to take this picture of me as a storm was approaching. We managed to get back to the SUV and started before the rain came. We had a fifteen second period of pea-sized hail, but this weather system was mainly just rain and we soon drove out of it. The benefit of rain storms: clean windshield as the bugs are washed away.

The land on the way to Deadwood is still part of the Black Hills National Forest, same as the Mount Rushmore area. The land is so named because the pine trees are so dense and dark, they seem black from a distance. The temperature is lower than we felt as we drove thru other states, as the elevation, the shade from the trees that overhang the road, and the rain have cooled the air. The area is quite beautiful, not exotic and strange like the Badlands, just beautiful.

We stopped at Pactola Lake, not because it was part of my itinerary, but because it looked pretty set among the mountains and had a pull-off and walk to a small cliff for views of the lake. While taking lake pictures, I saw this guy. My first thought was “rat squirrel,” as he’s about ¼ the size of Texas squirrels. Then, I noticed his fat cheeks and realized it could be Alvin, Theodore, or Simon. Well, not Simon, he didn’t have glasses on. Yes, it is a chipmunk.

Deadwood was our next and final stop of the day. We parked and walked around the main street. All the buildings in Deadwood are required to be built or renovated in the style of the 1880s. The State of Wyoming gambling as follows: on Indian reservations, up to 10 video gaming terminals in any business, and in the entire city of Deadwood. We played $2 blackjack in the Midnight Star casino. We got free drinks and did not have to pay to play like we do at the Oklahoma casinos. Kevin Costner is part owner of the Midnight Star and has decorated the casino with glass display cases containing costumes and clothing from his movies. We also ate dinner, pretty good Reuben sandwiches, in the sports bar of the Midnight Star. Our hotel for the night, The Franklin, also had a casino. It is one of those grand old hotels with carpet covered stairways and heavy wood furnishings.