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12月30日 Things are looking good...Things are looking good...
Things are looking good for the trip! Yesterday I had our local Saturn dealership thoroughly look over the Vue and put on a new set of All-Weather tires. With almost 65,000 miles on the old set it just seemed like a good time to do it. The weather reports just keep looking better; it will be a cold drive there but we should be doing it under clear skies. This is all good!
I really want to thank the people who have been sending me E-mails about our personal investigation into the paranormal events of the Blackhills. I have to admit that most of our inspiration has come from one television series. I was also happy to find out that somebody did a tribute video to the show:
If you get the chance, watch it. You have to be objective in evaluating their evidence but they seem fairly credible to me - most of the time. It is sort of funny how often Laurie and I end up talking about what they have found and how they have found it. They don't do a lot of historical research on the background of the phenomena they check out. They have the problem in that they are literally rushing from one investigation to another with a minimum of time to prepare or research. Most of the time they are only at a location for a single night!
Still you will probably see me referring back to their show. They have a number of good videos available online - at no cost - providing people interested in this with background on the equipment they use. Now I don't think Laurie and I will be buying any FLIR cameras in the near future. The funny thing is that a lot of the other equipment they use is not financially out of reach for most people. Heck, you would be amazed how much of it is available through Best Buy or your local auto parts store!
Right now we will mainly pursue doing the historical background research that seems to be lacking. When you consider how much material we already have at home! We have thirty book cabinets of historical material! I think this bit of work is just perfect for us!
12月29日 Getting ready for the trip...Getting ready for the trip...
The weather reports are looking good for the trip! Today Laurie and I will get things ready for the road. I want to thank Scott for sending this link to me.
This link provides us with a way to actually see what the road conditions are like. When you couple this with the fact that there is Wi-Fi access at several points along the route it is a great combination!
12月26日 Christmas is gone; Deadwood is ahead...Christmas is gone; Deadwood is ahead...
Another Christmas is now behind Laurie and me. I really don't mind the passing of Christmas. I'm not a fan of the whole familial pandemonium and candy-coated commercialism of it. I actually try to remember the reason the whole holiday came to be. I know that there are a lot of historical and biblical scholars who are even questioning the validity of the holiday. I could really care less about their reasons. I really think that Christianity deserves holy days just as much as any other faith. It seems to be perfectly fine for the over-educated to question the factual basis of the Christian faith. It just seems odd that they don't support such efforts to undermine other faiths - such as Islam. Then again, I haven't heard of many Christian suicide bombings lately...
Okay, I'm straying into the political. The 'Booming Priairie Chicken' is not about politics. There are plenty of other blogs for me to ship my political rants off too. What this blog is mainly about is our travel and research. The fact of the matter is we might be on the road again soon!
I have started the practiced routine of getting the vehicle ready for our impending roadtrip. I am planning on buying a new set of all-weather tires soon. This morning I pulled the first extended forecast for our trip and the initial forecast is exceptionally good! Now the weather can change rapidly. Heck, the snow we had on Sunday and yesterday was not expected. My personal rule of safety is not to commit to a trip until the final 12 hours before we plan to leave.
The 420 mile stretch from Sioux Falls to Deadwood along I-90 can be particularly daunting. All of those snow fences and entrance gates are there for a reason. There are also long stretchs of I-90 on which you are pretty much on your own. Caution is a definite virtue in such planning.
Right now Laurie and I are going to both be optimistic about the trip. It has been more than two months since we were last in the Blackhills. It just seems to long... 12月24日 Talking about Canada probes nasty Santa letters - Weird news- msnbc.com
Okay, one more, I couldn't resist
Talking about Microsoft shuts down Santa for talking dirty - Internet- msnbc.com
Even Microsoft is getting into this thing...
Talking about Man nails Santa to cross in protest - Weird news- msnbc.com
When you're on a roll...
Talking about Rampaging Santas strike again in N.Z. - Weird news- msnbc.com
Merry Christmas - New Zealand Style
12月23日 Booming Prairie Chicken ChristmasBooming Prairie Chicken Christmas
I really wasn't planning to do a lot on the blog for Christmas. Seriously, I wasn't. I figured not that many people would be out web surfing the 'Chicken' this time of year. I sort of figured that Laurie and I would be busy getting ready for all the family festivities that will occupy the next few days.
The odd thing is that if you listen to the news it sounds like Christmas is turning out to be some sort of economic disaster! Retailers are not getting enough sales. The only thing that hasn't happened yet is for somebody to blame this on either Global Warming or the Bush Administration.
Here at the Booming Prairie Chicken Command Center we want to wish you all a "Merry Christmas" inspite of the prophets of impending doom. We simply don't buy into it. We earnestly believe that Christmas is more than simply another opportunity for merchants to sell. This is a holiday for familys to gather. Sure, we will be exchanging presents on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day but the presents are secondary. The important thing is that our family will gather in safety and love. That is the only thing that really matters!
Merry Christmas!
12月19日 Why SturgisWhy Sturgis?
I do book reviews for a website dealing in the history of the Indian Wars and the Frontier Army. For those of you interested here is that site:
The Little Bighorn Information Board
The moderator of the board was contacted by a film company about a documentary they made about, of all things, Sturgis South Dakota! This is the same Sturgis of fame for the motorcycle rally they have every year. Diane knows how fond Laurie and I are of that area and asked if we would review the DVD. Well, last night we finally got around to watching it.
We were impressed!
This documentary manages to cover an amazing amount of material in 89 minutes! This is essentially a history of the town of Sturgis but it revolves around the story of the army's role in the town and then the legendary motorcycle rally. I kid you not, the rally is an event of epic proportions. The town goes from a population of roughly 7000 to an estimated half million for one week a year!
That's right - a half million bikers.
The frontier history of the town is as interesting as the bike rally. The frontier history just isn't as well known. This is the site of Fort Meade, the frontier army post that guarded the Blackhills. This would be a post famous for events surrouding such historical notables as Colonel Sturgis, Frederick Benteen, Marcus Reno and the eventual establishment of the 'Star Spangled Banner' as our national anthem.
You even get to visit the world famous Wall Drug! I just can't imagine visiting western South Dakota without stopping at Wall Drug!
Laurie and I do a lot of Christmas shopping at Wall Drug! I should also mention that Wall Drug has a pretty nice bookstore for titles on the history of the Old West. Okay, enough of plugging Wall Drug.
I do want to plug this video. Really! It is a great video. I do question one of the historical statements made in the video; it refers to Custer's 1874 Blackhills Expedition as being "illegal". The fact of the matter was that the Army was allowed to send troops into the Blackhills under the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty. The Army was expected to be able to enter the Blackhills in order to remove prospectors and settlers who had entered the Blackhills in violation of the treaty. The problem was what Custer's Expedition did while they were in the Blackhills. The stated goal of the expedition was to look for a location for a future army post. The problem was that the Blackhills was largely a mystery to the United States and there were just too many rumors of gold. The country had gone through a pretty major economic collapse in 1873 and politicians really wanted a gold strike in order to prop the economy up again. There was actually a pretty large scientific contingent that came with Custer's Expedition, including some prospectors. They did find gold, the impact of finding gold was such that the original mission was entirely forgotten. Soon the gold rush would follow and the rest is history.
Still, we liked the video. People who are familiar with the motorcycle rally will particularly like this video. It provides a lot of background information on the phenomenal economic impact of the rally. For some of the locals the rally is a sort of "gold rush" all its own!
Okay, if you want to order the video check this site out:
12月16日 Newsweek Magazine and the ParanormalNewsweek Magazine and the Paranormal
I always love to find major news magazines and the broadcast media reporting on the paranormal. As much as some people don't want to admit it there is a great fascination in what we don't understand. Then again, I once told a friend of mine not to worry to much about the mystery of life after death. The fact of the matter is we all get to find out someday...
More Deadwood DVD's!More Deadwood DVD's!
Now it is probably a little late to be ordering these for Christmas but I have found a couple more good historical DVD's that are specific to Deadwood. Laurie and I actually watched all of these about three months ago. They are part of the History Channel's 'Wild West Tech' series. Now I am not going to claim these as being the most definitive items on Deadwood; you can only cover so much material in less than 60 minutes of video. The fact is they are informative and fun to watch. I think of them as a light break from heavy reading.
Wild West Tech: Deadwood Tech
Wild West Tech: Gambling Tech
Now the Deadwood Tech DVD is particularly interesting in that it shows how the gold rush ushered in industrial technology into the Blackhills. It also shows how Deadwood had to adapt to the changes specific to all of this. The Gambling Tech DVD goes more into how the gambling establishments of the era operated. There are specific mentions to Deadwood since gambling was one of the great social activities of the miners. The great irony of it all is that gambling is again vital to the economy of Deadwood!
Wild West Tech: Brothel Tech
Now this DVD does nothing more than mention Deadwood but it has a lot of information on how the brothels of the era operated. History often ignores the fact that most of the first women to venture to the west were prostitutes. There were not a lot of other economic opportunities for women on the frontier. Some of these women did not go there willingly. There is substantial evidence that some of the women who worked as prostitutes in Deadwood were, in fact, tricked into it. They came with the promise of being actresses and bar maids but once they arrived found themselves stranded and vulnerable. Some went to the west because when you consider the circumstances of their lives even the fate of being a prostitute seemed like an improvement!
Wild West Tech: Vices Tech
This is another DVD in the series that only mentions Deadwood but the information in it can easily be extended to Deadwood. The fact of the matter is that early Deadwood was all about vices; greed, lust, violence and general depravity! The only vice they did not exhibit was sloth. These men and women were anything but lazy! The gold rush demanded that you had to work in order to survive. I think one reason why the vices flourished so thoroughly in Deadwood was the desire to escape from the murderous tedium and stress of the frontier.
Laurie and I have gotten quite fond of the series and actually own several of them. The series is narrated by the either Keith or David Carradine, it varies from episode to episode. Some how it just seems correct to have David Carradine discussing sin and vice...
12月15日 Talking about Ghost-hunters descend on whaling ship - Science- msnbc.com
Haunted Whaling Ship and the USS Cyclops
Deadwood DVD'sDeadwood DVD's
Now Laurie and I are in the habit of watching a lot of DVD's. After a ten hour day at work sometimes the best we can manage to do is watch a DVD! Sometime we discover some real treasures in this regard. Check this one out:
This is actually part of the History Channel's 'Lost Worlds' series. They just call it 'Sin City of the Old West'. What it is actually about is Deadwood and the Blackhills. That is all this DVD is about actually. It gives a short history of why Deadwood was founded and provides some information on the Fort Meade army post and the extensive mining operations near Deadwood. It does provide some fascinating information on the Homestake Mine. I did not know that the large open pit mine in Lead actually has openings in the walls of the pit that are the old underground mine shafts from the 1880 operations! Next time I'm up there I'm going to take some binoculars and try to pick some of them out.
This DVD also shows some of the ruins of the mining operations in the Blackhills. Most of the wooden buildings from these operations are long since gone but the large machinery are still there. They show the remnants of one of the old stamping mills and give a brief explanation of how they operated. They also show the feat of engineering that the first railroads into Deadwood were. They visit one unbelievable railroad tunnel that literally went through a mountain! The tunnel looked to be in amazing condition though I personally wouldn't recommend wandering around in any of these old shafts and tunnels!
It was also fun for Laurie and I to see the modern day video of the streets of Deadwood. We know and love most of the locations they were at. It was also fun to see some of the people we have met in Deadwood. If you are interested in Deadwood or the Blackhills I really have to recommend this DVD!
Maybe I'll have to put up even more information on the DVD's we find? There are actually some very good historical ones available. Maybe my next update...
12月12日 Deadwood Travel PlanningDeadwood Travel Planning
Laurie and I are within a month of another roadtrip to Deadwood! The only thing that could potentially upset this plan is the weather. Travel across South Dakota along I-90 during the winter is entirely at the mercy of the weather. I will be carefully watching the weather reports right up until we leave. We will also be putting new tires on the Booming Prairie Chicken and packing a little more cold weather clothes. I don't intend on making the trip if the weather looks bad but it never hurts to take make cautious preparations.
The first step of this trip is going to start in a coffeeshop right here in the Twin Cities. I am busy accessing the online records available at the South Dakota Historical Society and the Deadwood Public Library to identify the records that we will need to get our hands on. I have been very pleased to see how much information they have available on the internet!
The Deadwood Public Library Online
The South Dakota Historical Society
I am trying to save time once we get there in terms of what we will be looking for. I would like to get as much historical background as I can on the 'Green Door Bordello' and three other sites I have identified. One of the odd problems I am already running into is not a lack of information but almost too much available information! It will be a bit of a sorting process. I have been very impressed with the amount of newspaper records that have been preserved as far back as 1877!
I am planning on writing letters to various property owners about getting access to various locations I have identified. The equipment Laurie and I have is relatively limited but I have a feeling I will be able to secure some assistance in this regard. Right now I need to interview a few witnesses to the reported phenomena to determine what type of equipment might work best for this.
It will also be good to visit Deadwood again...
12月9日 Deadwood can be a wild place!Deadwood can be a wild place!
I saw this in the news and just had to post it! I often tell people that Deadwood can be a little wild at times! Well, here is the proof in print! 12月8日 Haunted America ToursHaunted America Tours
Now I have to give credit where credit is due; my wonderful wife discovered this particular website. This is definite proof that 'ghostly tourism' is alive and well!
Haunted America Tours
This is a wonderful site for the person interested in the paranormal in America. When I first heard about it I had the idea it might be just another self-serving site promoting a money-making scheme based on spooky tourism. Actually the site has a lot, and I mean a lot of good links and information. Now I don't know that Laurie and I will take them up on their tours but we will definitely bookmark the site and use it.
We are particularly interested in the information they have around the haunted battlefield in America. I am not particularly impressed with the photographs they show. It is relatively easy to explain all of these as some kind of flare or natural distortion. When it comes to photographic evidence I am holding out for somebody to show me a full apparition. I would prefer it even more if the image was actually a full motion video of some sort. It should also be subject to careful examination. It is all to easy with the technology we have today to fake just about any image or video.
Now Haunted America Tour's website offers a lot of other information though. I have visited most of the sites they have listed and they have a lot of background information I don't have. This provides me further information for much of the research we are doing.
By the way!
This last week Laurie and I finally found out our vacation information for 2008. There will probably not be a grand expedition next year but there will be a lot of shorter trips! I am already putting the logistical planning in place for a trip back to Deadwood in the very near future. This trip will include a field trip to go through the newspaper archives at the Deadwood Public Library. By all accounts this could provide us with a lot of information on the 'Green Door Brothel'. We will eventually have to visit the South Dakota Historical Society in Pierre; they have even more information particular to the brothel and events around it.
The big limiting factor in our travel plans over the next three to four months is the weather. The trip from the Twin Cities to Deadwood is about 600 miles of highway travel but it goes over a lot of countryside particularly vulnerable in bad weather. It is this sort of thing that already has me planning to put new tires on the Saturn. Right now though, I am planning on another road trip in the near future!
12月6日 The Assumption of KnowledgeThe Assumption of Knowledge
I found this article recently while I was surfing around the web a bit, check it out:
Excuse the long URL; I wasn't up to messing with Tiny URL right now. I read this and couldn't help but think how little we actually know about the workings of the universe. Here I am exploring the science of ghosts and ghost hunting and I am forced to challenge the assumptions of many skeptics. How can we say anything doesn't exist when we don't really know what does exist? Science has yet to properly explore many things. Sometimes I think we are just assuming that we have the knowledge to define reality. What if there was so much more that we were just not willing to see? 12月5日 The Science of SpooksThe Science of Spooks
I found this interesting article today. The discussion below the article is almost more interesting than the article itself! Essentially this stirs up the discussion of the science in determining the reality of the paranormal. Even the term 'paranormal' is open to debate!
Now we have a hit television series, 'Ghost Hunters', in which a couple or Rhode Island Roto-Rooter plumbers investigate reports of hauntings. This show is a lot of fun to watch - Laurie and I have both become ardent fans - but it inevitably brings up the question of the reality of what they are finding. Even Jason and Grant, our two plumbers-turned-parapsychologists, question the value of various evidence. They readily discard such things as 'Orb' pictures and some EVP's. You hear them labelling certain things as 'Matrixing'; this is the human mind's habit of seeking interpretations for any stimuli that is difficult to easily categorize. You also see them establishing a process of evidence evaluation that is pretty commendable.
This brings a question to my mind; what evidence would be acceptable to a skeptic as proof of a specific phenomena? When you look at the process by which the reality of Dark Matter was established in physics you have to wonder if someday a similar revelation will occur about some aspects of parapsychology?
It would amuse me to no end if this revelation came from a couple of Rhode Island Roto-Rooter plumbers... Survey says one in three believe in Ghosts
Survey says one in three people believe in Ghosts
12月2日 Spirits of the West alive!Spirit's of the West alive in America's Ghost Towns
This is another interesting news article for the aspiring ghost hunter. It really is beginning to amaze me how much interest there is in this. From what I am reading part of this can be directly related to the success of the television series 'Ghost Hunters'. Laurie and I have been watching it on DVD and I have to admit the show is fascinating. This is not a show about so-called psychics contacting ghosts. 'Ghost Hunters' is about a couple of Roto-Rooter plumbers from Rhode Island who started their own paranormal investigation group. They have a research philosophy that calls for judgements made on the basis of firm evidence. They don't base the findings they have on feelings; they want physical evidence. They actually make every attempt they can to actually disprove the evidence they collect. I have gotten fairly addicted to their show.
Beside, who can't love Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson....
The link to their show on the Science Fiction Channel
This is the actual website for their group
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