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4月30日 $3.52 a gallon gasoline$3.52 a gallon gasoline
Today I passed a gas station that had $3.52 a gallon gasoline boldly plastered for everybody to see. This is the highest price I've seen in South Saint Paul so far. The way it sounds it is going to go higher before the summer is over. In another six weeks Laurie and I will be heading to Deadwood again and I really am expecting $4.00 a gallon gas. Is this going to prevent our trip?
No.
The simple fact that the Vue has a 14 gallon gas tank and we have to fill it five times for one of our Deadwood trips. I have been budgetting at $3.50 a gallon for a couple years now. If you figure we use 70 gallons of gas over one our our trips the $4.00 a gallon price only adds about $35 extra dollars in fuel expense.
The real problem is not at the gas pump. I don't often take the 'Chicken' down the road of politics; there are plenty of other blogs blathering away on politics. The thing is this time the politics are banging at our door. It looks to me like the high price of gas is becoming the proverbial 800 pound gorilla in the room you can not ignore. It seems to be dawning on people that we have more of a problem here than the shock of filling the gas tank.
First off let me say this; ethanol is a disaster in the making. It is taking food crops out of production and raising the price of food commodities. For the citizens of the United States this is an additional economic hardship. For people in Third World Countries this is a matter of survival. We are already seeing food riots in some countries. If somebody is worried about how the impoverished people of the world view the United States wait to see what they think of us if they're starving.
We don't want to rely on foreign oil reserves. I agree with this idea. I think Canada is getting enough of our dollars already. Yup, the principle nation we import oil from is Canada. The thing is we would have to import a lot less oil if we started drilling for our own reserves. Some people think we have run out of our own domestic reserves. This is wrong. We have run out of domestic reserves that we can bring out of the ground at $30 a barrel. As I understand it we could start bringing it up for $80 dollars a barrel. There are substantial reserves apparently right under North Dakota. The $80 dollar a barrel price tag beats the market price we are paying OPEC today of $115 a barrel. I would also bet that if OPEC found we were drilling wells their price for oil would drop.
Do we have to destroy the environment to get at this oil? I think the potential impact has been overstated. We have drilling technologies today that are not the same as what we did in the 1950's. We do have to accept the fact that we will need to open up certain areas that have been traditionally defended by the environmental movement. I think that now that we face starving people with a misguided fuel program we might have to rethink some of these environmental concerns.
No amount of good ecological intentions will convince starving people that we are their friends. 4月29日 Ghosts in the NewsGhosts in the News
Crown Point pastor has haunting love of ghostshttp://www.post-trib.com/news/manes/916312,salt.article This pastor doesn't seem to have a problem with ghosts.
Ghosts in the NewsGhosts in the News
History walk cites Greenville's past, options for future
I always think it is
interesting how often ghosts
slip there way into tours.
It doesn't matter how much of
a skeptic you might be; ghosts
seem to addto tourism.
Ghosts in the NewsGhosts in the News
Homestead police station roof leak not caused by ghosts
Looks like they can't blame this
one on the ghosts. It doesn't mean
there are no ghosts there,
just doesn't mean they're messing with
the roof or the plumbing.
4月27日 Ghost Hunters and the Cashtown InnGhost Hunters and the Cashtown Inn
Laurie and I finally had a chance to watch the 'Ghost Hunters' episode about their investigation of the Cashtown Inn. This was of particular interest to me since it covered one of the most interesting allegedly haunted locations of the American Civil War. This was just the sort of thing I am fascinated by. I remember reading about the Cashtown Inn in 'Blue and Grey' magazine probably close to twenty years ago. Now TAPS was going to visit a bit of haunted history...
I personally don't think that the war was decided
at Gettysburg. This was not the decisive battle of
the war. I don't think any one battle in the Civil War
decided the fate of the Confederacy. This battle did
prove to be the only time the South launched a serious
assault on the North.
The sound of boots in the third floor room are very
interesting. I imagine this could imply the ghosts of
some of the Southern officers. The popular legend
was that Lee came to Gettysburg because there was
a shoe factory there and he desperately needed
boots for his troops. I believe this is more legend than
fact but it is known that many of his infantry were
literally marching in bare feet.
Laurie made an interesting speculation on the witness
reports of seeing Confederate soldiers aiding the wounded
in the basement area. As stated during the initial tour of
the building people would not see the furnace or air
conditioning equipment in the basement. They only saw
the soldiers and the stone walled basement. Could this
have been the sort of 'time slippage' phenomena that
some experts have speculated on? This would be much
more than a residual haunting then.
Laurie and I were both a little disappointed in the
EVP evidence they got from the basement. We could
not make out the voice saying "Yes" to Tango's
question. It would be great if we could get our hands
on the raw audio file so we could examine it.
The 'Fear Cage' effect is of particular interest to me.
If you accept the idea that the phenomena needs
some sort of energy source in order to manifest this
basement would be perfect for apparitions. I don't
know that all of the wiring is exactly code though.
The reveal was particularly interesting. The video
evidence from Grant's room is pretty amazing if
you accept the credibility of both the TAPS team
and the hotel owners. The fact of the matter is that
some skeptics will probably not be able to accept
this on face value. I personally believe the TAPS
team is not trying to hoax anybody. Grant even
states that he examined the picture and table
to verify there were no strings or magnets to
pull such a hoax. This is a pretty interesting bit
of visual verification of the phenomena.
So when this is all done would Laurie and I be willing
to spend a night in the Cashtown Inn?
Definitely!
4月26日 Ghosts in the NewsGhosts in the News
Preserving a landmark Nevada barhttp://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-saloon13apr13,1,4887907.story?track=rss There is a ghost story just waiting to be investigated in this!
Ghosts in the NewsGhosts in the News
This particular story is getting a little old now but still seems like an interesting one. 4月24日 Ghosts in the NewsGhosts in the News
Chad and Terry in the
News Again!
Two of my favorite paranormal investigators hit the news again! Ghosts in the NewsGhosts in the News
Ghosts attack Women?
Sometimes you never know where or how a ghost story will show up. 4月23日 Research Resources: Western DigitalResearch Resources
Western Digital Hard Drives
When it comes to doing research on the road Laurie and I are literally a pair of 'Road Warriors'. We travel with enough computer equipment to run a small company. Usually we load up two laptops, sometimes three, two digital still cameras and one videocam. We also have a small collection of other digital recorders, scanners and wireless equipment. When we return from even a short trip we will have gigabits of data!
Now the thing is that it is amazing how all this data can pile up. Especially if you shoot any amount digital video. The storage space on a laptop can suddenly seem very finite. The answer is portable hard drives and my hard drives of choice are Western Digital's 'Passport' series hard drives. You can buy a 320 GB drive for about $150. The drive is only a 5400 spin but it is amazingly durable and can fit in your shirt pocket.
They also allow a very easy back-up solution and redundant storage. The way I see it allows me to duplicate and protect what I get on any given trip. If an accident should happen with the equipment I am all that more likely to preserve my research. I can always buy another laptop if I have to but I might not have the opportunity to gather that information again.
Western Digital's Website
Western Digital's Passport Ghosts in the NewsGhosts in the News
The Ghosts of Yankee Stadium
don't want to move!
Paranormal expert says the ghosts won't move to the new stadium. 4月22日 Investigation ResourcesInvestigation Resources:
South Dakota State Historical Society
Due to a situation that I was made aware of recently I started doing some fairly intense research to find specific research resources for South Dakota. I have a feeling that similar services are probably available with other state historical societies. Right now I want to focus on what the South Dakota State Historical Society has to offer:
The Website for the South Dakota State
Historical Society
The particular question that I was researching was what buildings might have been at a specific location earlier in history. I had a good idea of what was on the present day location through Google Earth but I wanted to know what was on that same location a hundred years ago. Sometimes there is no easy answer for this question; the records might simply not exist.
The South Dakota State Historical Society has something wonderful in this regard!
The Fire Insurance Map Collection
These are two collections of insurance company maps starting in 1883 and in the case of one collection covering over 300 South Dakota communities! Some of these are fairly detailed building maps.
Now the only down-side to this is that the only way to get access to these maps is to visit the Heritage Center in Pierre. The thing is this is really a one of a kind collection and probably of serious research value. If a person decides to take advantage of this I will recommend that you stop at your nearest photographic supply store to get some white cotton lab gloves. Some museums require this and it is best to be prepared. Laurie and I regularly travel with a box of a dozen pairs just in case.
The Heritage Center of the South Dakota
State Historical Society
Ghosts in the NewsGhosts in the News
Got Ghosts?
Ghost hunters hit the news again! 4月21日 Ghosts in the NewsGhosts in the News
Resurrection of the Ritz: A Paranormal ExperienceI thought I would get this feature of the 'Booming Prairie Chicken' started again.
Here we have a news story out of Texas about a paranormal group hunting for
ghosts in an old theater. 4月20日 Online Search Services, What good are they?Online Search Services
What good are they?
Somebody just asked me today about using online search websites to do background research. These are sites that promise you the ability to search available public databases. The fact is I actually use one every so often. I actually use it enough that I keep a yearly contract with it in order to keep the cost of it down.
These sites are not perfect. I see two big drawbacks with them. First off, if they are any good at all they will generally charge you stiffly for each search. This can be as much as 30 bucks a shot. The other thing is that sometimes they are charging you to search a website that is actually free to use! I know of two such websites that access the South Dakota State Historical Society archives. There is no charge to search the archives but the SDSHS will charge you for copies of certain information.
The other problem is the potential for abuse. Some of these websites can provide you with a lot of information that, even though it is publicly available, you need to be careful with it. When you use such a service you must apply discretion to how you use the information.
Can one of these services help an investigation. Absolutely! This is why so many private investigators and collection agencies use them! Can they help somebody doing the background research on a paranormal investigation. Certainly, to a certain degree, they can provide hard information. There is certain work they will not replace. I hate to tell you this but there is no quick way to do some of this work.
What service do I use? The Booming Prairie Chicken is not really in the business of commercial endorsements but if you are really interested:
Search Systems Net Background Research Sources for the Ghost HunterBackground Research Sources
for the Ghost Hunter
This morning I had an E-mail from a young man starting to do some serious parapsychology research. He had a hot investigation and needed background information. It sounded like he needed it right now! This can be a daunting task at the best of times simply because gathering information can be a time and labor intensive process. I was originally thinking of writing something about using Information Technology and how to best preserve the collected evidence.
Today we will put that on a back-burner while we provide some different information:
First off let me tell you about what is definitely one of the most valuable research sources in the 'Booming Prairie Chicken' library.
Red Book, Third Edition
American State, County, and Town Sources
Edited by Alice Eichholz Ph.D, C. G
Copyright 2004
Ancestry, a division of MyFamily.com, Inc.
ISBN 1-59331-166-4
This book is simply amazing. It was created for professional genealogists as an authoritative guide to local information sources within the United States. It is definitely this and much more. It can be an essential tool in research on more levels than the title even hints at!
Let me give you an example, in this case we will use the State of South Dakota. Now South Dakota seems particularly challenging in that it doesn't seem to have the readily available research sources of other states. This is absolutely wrong; South Dakota has a lot of sources at every level but you need to know where to find them!
This book has them all.
Starting on page 613 (yes, this is a physically massive book and you won't want to haul it with you) there are ten pages devoted to South Dakota. This is not as much as other states but wait to read what they pack in those ten pages! The sources for...
Vital Records, statewide vital record registration for births, deaths and marriages dating from July, 1905.
Federal Census Records, population schedules dating from 1860, agricultural schedules, mortality schedules and Union Veteran Schedules.
Census Records on other Territorial and State levels.
Extensive listing of Background Sources, Most of these are available through the South Dakota State Historical Society.
Sources for maps. This section goes so far as to list the county atlases available through interlibrary loan from the South Dakota State Historical Society. It even has access information for the Sanborn Fire Insurance maps located with the South Dakota State Historical Society. This is an amazing source in itself from a private source. Sometimes the only thing holding the dedicated researcher back is that they are not aware such sources have been donated to various state historical societies.
Land Records. This includes information on getting the tract books and township plats from the Federal Bureau of Land Management. Many of these records have actually been turned over, again, to the South Dakota State Historical Society.
Probate Records. Many of these have been turned over to the South Dakota State Cultural Heritage Center.
Court Records. They have a valuable section here with information particular to obtaining these records from many of the counties in South Dakota.
Tax Records. Most tax lists for South Dakota have survived and are available at the state auditor's office. You might have to learn to use a microfiche.
Cemetery Records. In 1940 the Works Projects Administration (WPA) attempted to compile a grave registration for South Dakota. This is just one such record available through the South Dakota Historical Society and various genealogical societies. One such set of records is published in four volumes byt the Rapid City Society for Genealogical Research.
Church Records. This is a source a lot of researchers are unaware of or underestimate. Some of these records literally go back to the territorial years.
Military Records. It has been my experience that the best way to get at such military records is to go through federal sources. I will do an update in the near future to talk about using the 'Freedom of Information Act' in this regard. South Dakota does have some interesting records at the state level though; the 'Memorandum and Official Records Concerning Dakota Militia, Organized in 1862 for the Protection of the Frontier Settlements from Hostile Sioux Indians'.
Periodicals, Newspapers and Manuscript Collections. These can potentially be the most difficult to search but most rewarding records of all. This does provide the researcher some potential sources that have archived sourcing on them. This is a lot better than ruining your eyes scanning through page after page of microfiche.
Archives, Libraries, and Societies. This lists mainly sites for the genealogical researcher again but it also lists a couple of useful contacts within the South Dakota academic community. Many of these can even be contacted online!
Special Focus Categories. Contact information for naturalization records and Native American records. Most of the reservations have their own colleges that can be useful sources of documentation.
County Resources. Every county has their own record systems. Each varies with the task for which the county set it up. The good news again is that in 1990 the South Dakota State Historical Society started a project to survey the existing records. The goal is to eventually have all these records available at a central location. There is information on how to access what information if currently available.
The final part of the South Dakota section is a rather extensive directory of county by county contacts for various records.
Yup, all of this is packed in just ten pages.
The book also has a section explaining how to use these records. Sometimes I think this is worth the price of the book in that it provides some good basic tips on doing literally any kind of research.
4月19日 Researching History and the ParanormalResearching History and
the Paranormal
Every person or group interested in researching anything from either history or the paranormal will use a methodology unique to them. This method is usually the result of a combination of formal education and personal experience. The result of this research can only be measured in terms of the final results. These results will be evaluated according to a wide variety of criteria. What ultimately must be determined is the accuracy of what is learned and whether that new knowledge is applicable to the understanding of what is being studied.
I've been asked to share some of my methods by a number of people lately. I often try to share what I have learned on a variety of different online forums. To me this is the saving grace of the World Wide Web that trancends the blights of the web; the range of intellectual discussion that is readily available. If you are genuinely interested in something you will be able to find a place to discuss it. Now some people want to know how I get some of the information that I have.
Thirty years ago, long before I had any idea I would be working for the telephone company, I went to the University of Minnesota to study history. Eventually I would go to another university and get a degree in a entirely different field. Before I left 'U of M' I learned some very valuable skills though; I was taught the scientific approach to historical research. It was also in this same time that I worked for a University group called MSPR - The Minnesota Society for Parapsychological Research. This combination of formal education and personal experience has largely shaped how I research things today.
Paranormal research today has been largely shaped by the popular media. Today most people's perceptions of this sort of work are shaped by such shows as 'Ghost Hunters', 'Paranormal State' and (God help us all) 'Most Haunted'. The sort of field research done by groups such as TAPS is incredibly valuable in the final determination of the truth of any phenomena. The fact of the matter is that this sort of field work is only a relatively small part of research. Quite a bit of research into the paranormal falls more into the auspices of the traditional historian. The popular entertainment media is not nearly as interested in this sort of 'bookish' work; hunting through library shelves is not nearly as photogenic as hunting with an EMF meter.
This is what I do...
The first step is relatively simple. Establish your research topic. I usually create a set of physical and digital files to keep all the information I gather in. Sometime I will do an entry on this blog discussing the computer hardware and software that I use for this. Some of the things I use are probably not commonly considered by a lot of people; major kudos to the genius that thought up Ziplock bags!
Once you have decided on this research focus you will need to hunt for background materials. You will almost always start with a general overview of what you are going to research. Let me give you an example; if you are going to research the alleged ghost of Seth Bullock you will need to learn some basic information on Seth Bullock. The internet can be a fast and relatively easy way to start this. You will need to learn what you can about the life of the man. For those of you more interested in field research than this sort of background research this can still be incredibly valuable if you decide to try to either 'invoke' or 'provoke' as a stimuli to the phenomena. If you follow current theories about such phenomena it stands to reason that you will have better results with good information about the subject.
In the course of this sort of initial research you will need to examine the sources of the information you gather. If you get a book on Seth Bullock check the bibliography and take the time to check any footnotes. As a researcher one of your responsibilities is to examine the accuracy of others research. See if they are using primary sources. Record these primary sources for your own research. If they refer to a personal interview then note who they interviewed. Record the publisher of what you are reading. One of the underestimated sources of information can be the publisher. This can be a way for you to contact the author about their research. Even check to see what edition a particular book might be. Sometimes older editions might have information that the current edition doesn't have. There are ways to hunt down these older editions so that you can find this missing information.
This is a good time to get to know the online resources of the libraries and publishers. In particular get to know your state university library sytems. You might be amazed how much material they can get for you. Many of them have incredible online search utilties that might take some time to learn but can prove of incredible value:
The University of Minnesota Library System.
One of the largest libraries in the world.
Briggs Library at SDSU.
Well worth knowing for regional information.
When you are doing this initial research you might find that your information falls under two categories; the traditional historical and the paranormal. This is not unusual and the traditional histories seldom stray into the paranormal. The paranormal often mentions the traditional history but seldom goes into it at depth. This is the natural result of the inherent prejudice you will often find in the academic community about anything hinting at the paranormal. In terms of finding information on alleged hauntings among traditional histories you might find you have more success using search terms such as 'legends' and 'myths'.
You will eventually want to move your research from these broad initial sources to more direct information. This is where any first person sources you have found in your intial research come into play. When you examine a bibliography look for the first person accounts; journals, letters, reports. Look for the documents that writers and historians use to construct their histories from. Sometimes you will find that some journal has information in it that has been overlooked by others.
Start looking for local historical resources. In the case of any area like the Black Hills this can take a variety of forms. Some of these fall under the realm of the traditional academic, some do not. Let me give some valuable examples:
The Homestake-Adams Research Center.
This could potentially turn into one of the best research archives in the Black Hills.
The Deadwood Public Library.
Learn to use your public libraries.
Most will have a local newspaper database.
Not every public library has an online presence.
This site will help you find the ones that do.
It will also provide you contact
informaton for the others.
Learn to use the telephone; work on sounding
patient and professional. If you look at this site you
will see that it lists a number for the city
archives. Sometimes you can arrange to go
through documents that will answer questions.
Sometimes, if you are really good, they
will point out the documents you need.
Now when you start getting down to these local resources some of your research will start crossing from the traditionally academic into the sometimes simple fact gathering. This can be the gathering of the publicly available information on a given location. Two lessons I have learned here is to bring plenty of small change. Usually bring about ten dollars in mixed rolls of quarters, dimes and nickles. There are a lot of places that will let you make copies but it usually won't be for free. It can be frustrating to discover that the only copy machine they have available needs money that you don't have on you at the times. Laurie and I actually travel with a portable flat-bed copier now but not every location is going to let you set it up. Bring plenty of change!
The other lesson is storage materials. Research is seldom a fast process. You will be doing this for months, sometimes years, on a particular topic. Material that you collect will possibly need to be preserved for a very long time. Preparing for this can be as mundane as bringing a box of manila envelopes. You will also probably want to bring a soft felt tip marker for putting recording information on the manila envelopes. Doing this sort of preparation before you arrive will save you time later. It also seems to impress the heck out of people if you look well organised as you do the work.
There are some wonderful books available on doing this sort of research on public documents. I am going to try to put some of these on my reading list in the near future. There is one simple fact though; the people who work with these same documents day to day will probably know more about them than you do. One of the underestimated research tools you should learn to use is 'relationship building'. The more you gain the trust of people the more they will generally be willing to help you. When you deal with a librarian or a writer or some poor slug working in a public records office you should be friendly, professional and patient. Sometimes they can save you unbelievable amounts of work and time.
Another good source of information that most people never think of is message boards. If you are interested in researching a particular event in history you will often find others also interested in this. In the case of the paranormal you will often find people with information on these same forums. Let me give an example and some advice.
This is a message forum for the Little Bighorn Alliance.
This is just one such forum for people interested in
the Battle of the Little Bighorn. If you search this forums
similar to this one you will often find discussions of the
paranormal around various historical events.
The Great War forum is an excellent discussion site
for the First World War. If you search it carefully you
will not only find discussion of various First World War
ghost stories but even people reporting encountering
phenomena on the old battlefields in the current day.
Now here is my word of advice. When you use one of these forums you are essentially entering a community of sorts. Try not to get involved in their disagreements. You will find debate in almost any such place. Some events in history readily bring on heated disagreement. Be professional, remain polite, stay out of these arguments. If one side or the other believes you are taking a side in one of these disputes you are essentially preventing any valuable contributions to your research by the other side. It also pays to provide your personal E-mail when you use one of these sites. You will find people who might contact you via E-mail rather than in a open forum. This is particularly true of people who have a professional stake in a subject; this would be professional historians, park service employees, people who actually work on an allegedly haunted location.
Okay, I think this will be enough for now. Next time I will try to put up more information on interviewing and online technical resources I use. Interviewing might be one of the most valuable techniques you can use in the case of phenomena that lacks readily available background documentation. Your digital recorder might be good for a lot more than gathering EVPs!
4月13日 Another Black Hills trips coming to an end...Another Black Hills trip coming to an end...
Laurie and I are currently at our favorite 'Flying J' along I-29 in Sioux Falls. Once we fuel up and leave here we will cross the Minnesota line within 20 minutes and somewhere over three hours we will be home. We are coming back with a lot of stuff to go through. I'm going to be experimenting with some audio software that might help people working on EVP research. It always just seemed funny to me that as concerned as the telephone industry has been with sound quality they wouldn't have some utility that could be used to enhance EVP recordings. The thing that amused me was to find that other people in the telephone industry have been thinking along similar lines...
We are already planning to come back within the next sixty days. I'll be firming up those dates tomorrow once I get back to my office. Planning is more up in the air this year since Qwest got a couple of major contracts that it looking like I will be tied to. It is also a contract year for Qwest and August 15 could potentially be a strike date. Since Laurie and I are both members of CWA 7200 it looks like we might be out on the picket lines. It wouldn't be the first time we have been on the line together.
Things come together for us in an odd way though. We will make it through this year like we have made it through so many others. We will attain our goals, maybe not the way we originally planned, but we will attain them. This trip was just one more step in that direction. 4月12日 Deadwood Tobacco CompanyDeadwood Tobacco Company
It seems like we can't visit Deadwood without discovering something new and good. Now I have been blaming my wife for getting me smoking cigars again - this was a habit I quit a good twenty years ago - but I think it was really the Deadwood Tobacco Company. Now it wasn't like these people forced me to light up the darned thing. You gotta visit this place and you'll understand. It is the sort of comfortable, mellow place that begs for kicking back with good company and a good cigar. It just happens that they are happy to provide the fix for the need!
The people there took good care of us. I just wish we had more time to stay. They had an unbelievable selection of beers and people tell me they have excellent live music. The sad thing is we learned all of the rest of this on our last night in town on this trip!
Well, I tell you right now, we are coming back!
This is the link! You gotta check them out!
Look for this sign!
By the way, they tell me this place is haunted. When you walk in the front door of the place check out the old door across from the entrance. They tell me this was the original jail for Deadwood.
Man, do we love this town. Deadwood Dick's Antique Store and SaloonDeadwood Dick's Antique Store and Saloon
Now the weather wasn't looking too good this morning so Laurie and I decided to stick around town for another day. I originally planned for a little field trip up to Keystone to check a few things. The fact of the matter is these things can wait until another trip later this summer.
We did have to stop at the Adam's Museum today to pick up some research materials from them. Right across Sherman Street from the Adam's Museum is a antique store that Laurie really wanted to visit. We have said we needed to visit it for a few months now. Well, today proved to be that day and what a find it was!
Deadwood Dick's is something of a revolutionary idea! This should be the way we do things in Minnesota but, no, they would just write a law against it. This place is the potential saviour of men all over this country. Here you have this wonderfully large antique store that also has a saloon in it! You read it right, you can sit down and get a drink. For that matter they also have food and even an ice cream stand! Now you can turn your wife loose on the antique store while you sit down for a drink. If she gets a little too excited about the shop you can probably order a double.
Now I am no expert on antiques but I do know old stuff when I see it. This place has a wild variety of items. They had a lot of interesting mining gear and even some stuff particular to the Homestake Mine. They also had some antique firearms; some of these definitely dated from the gold rush era! They even had an old German motorcycle down in the basement!
The building itself is something of an antique but a beautifully preserved antique. The structure dates from 1895 and was originally a grocery storage warehouse for the Adams family. You can still see the underground coal storage tunnel in the basement though for safety sake they have prevented access with a somewhat ornate looking log chain. The building also boasts the oldest elevator in Deadwood.
This elevator brings up another wonderful thing about Deadwood Dicks; the place is also a hotel! I kid you not, you can stay there if you want. If the wife gets too enthused with it all you can just plain stay there. They have 12 very reasonably priced rooms there. Now this isn't far from downtown and I can't help but think it would be very nice during the tourist rush.
Now I also want to thank Tim Gray for showing me around the place and for Cindy Kersey for entertaining my wife. Tim also took the time to show me this amazing photograph they have on the wall in the bar. It shows a huge, highly detailed relief of Deadwood circa 1900. Deadwood Dicks actually managed to save and preserve this picture which, in my mind, is just another credit to them.
You really have to visit this place to believe it. Don't worry about spending a little time there, they keep the beer cold...
Here is Deadwood Dick's Website.
The Bar in Deadwood Dicks
The Wife indulging a bad habit inside a bar.
You can't legally do this in Minnesota anymore.
The exterior of Deadwood Dicks.
Right across from the Adams Museum.
Don't miss it!
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