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Friday, May 7, 2010

Culture Comes to Sturgis and a Drive-by thru Deadwood

The Sculptural Walk of Sturgis runs from May 1st to October 31st, 2010. There are a total of 14 sculptures that grace Main Street (mostly). We missed those on other streets. The artists hail from all over the United States. Click here if you want to read more about each sculpture and artist.

Both this sculpture, and another nude sculpture have not gone without controversy. It seems that the local Sturgis clergy are upset with their nakedness. They feel the sculptures should not be right out in public; rather they should be in a place where people would chose to seem them. Would they feel that way if they visited the Sistine Chapel I wonder?

"Eve" by Gary Mitchell


"Scrap Iron Angel" by John Lopez


"The Spirit Speaks" by David Norrie


"The Human Link" by Jon D. Hair


"Seven, Seven, Seven" by Bruce Niemi


"Nurture" by Jeff Laing


"Golden" by Parker McDonald


"Waitin' for an Answer" by George Lundeen


"Grace" by Richard Arfsten


One afternoon we took a drive to Deadwood.

Road to Deadwood - Beautiful, curvy, and could be dangerous if there are hazardous road conditions or if the driver is drunk.



There were many of these signs posted. The State of South Dakota puts these up wherever there is a traffic fatality.



Entering Deadwood



It was a spur-of-the-moment decision to go there, so I hadn't done any research on what to look for in the area or interesting stops to make. I didn't find out till later which casino that Kevin Costner owns, (The Midnight Star), which is located right on Main Street, and I DID NOT get a picture of it!

We drove down the main street, I shot some pictures, Jim turned the truck around, and we went back up the street. The End. Truthfully he saw that Deadwood consisted mostly of casinos (I later learned that they have 80) and he thought it was too dangerous to let me out of the truck.

"*#$$%#@#*&&!!*"

Those were my thoughts.

Main Street Deadwood. As you can see, it was the height of tourist season. (kidding, of course!)









Maybe the tourists were all on this cute trolley taking a tour of the town?



Or, maybe they were busy exploring the Bullock Hotel, built in 1895 and named after Sheriff Bullock, who is said to haunt the place. You can read about accounts here and here where it is listed in the Top 10 Haunted Hotels.



Click on photo to enlarge to read the sign hanging under the light.



Last, but certainly not least, is the famous Fairmont Hotel, built in 1898. First known as the "Mansion Hotel", it had a Turkish bath and barber shop in the basement. The upper floors were used by, shall we say, "ladies of the evening". In 1915, after finding illegal gambling devices in the basement, police piled the items up and burned them in a public display behind the courthouse. Today the hotel is used as a casino.

13 comments:

Brian Miller said...

thats some wicked cool art...the scrap iron one...rocks! deadwood would be a cool place to visit. have a wonderful weekend!

Anonymous said...

OMG Ive been there, yrs ago, but so cool;)

have a wonderful weekend my friend

Mike said...

I love your pictorial tours.

I also was intrigued by that human link sculpture!

Gail said...

I enjoyed the tour and my feet did not hurt one bit.

Amy said...

I really enjoyed this post. We went to Deadwood quite a few years ago and stayed in the Bullock - no ghosts that night!

It must be wonderful to roll around and see America!

Kathy's Klothesline said...

You make me long to hit the road and see things. Wander lust? But, alas I am here..... for the time being.

becky said...

I'm lookin' at "home sweet home," and I'm definitely thinkin' you've got room for one more! :)
I enjoyed the sculpture... "Nurture" in particular.
How can there be love in an abstract object? But there is! The artist did a wonderful job in invoking the feeling of a mother looking after her young.
Deadwood looks like a cute town... but 80 casinos?! Is Deadwood big enough to support 80 casinos? Crazy!
Can't wait to see where you go next!

Betty Manousos said...

Cool art, Pat.
Wishing you a great weekend!
B xx

Linda Bob Grifins Korbetis Hall said...

tasty arts,
uplifting nature shots..

award winning post!
Happy Mother's Day!

Jientje said...

I enjoy touring with you. To me, Deadwood looks like a setting for a wild west movie or something.
Have a wonderful weekend Pat!

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Nice tour. Those sculptures are pretty nice and a real surprise to see them in that area. (and yes, we have stayed there for about a month exploring the area -- not during cycle week ---- same opinion of Deadwood as you have btw). You actually think Sturgis clergypersons have heard of the Sistine Chapel?

James said...

I love taking pictures of sculptures and old buildings. It looks like you hit the mother lode. Great shots!

A New England Life said...

I can't believe your husband wouldn't let you out of the car! What was he thinking???!! lol!

Neat old town with plenty of history to boot. At least you caught of glimpse of it! ; )