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Friendly_Award7273 t1_j2rqhl0 wrote

I have been to her grave in Deadwood, South Dakota, beautiful and historically fascinating area

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TheyCallMeTBone t1_j2s85ii wrote

I went in fall of 2020 and it was one of the biggest letdowns of my life.

Sure the Black Hills are a natural wonder and worth visiting for the outdoor opportunities. But the city of Deadwood itself is a shithole tourist trap overrun by tacky MAGA shops, bad food options, seedy casinos and other low-class bullshit meant to appeal to the over-50 retiree Harley biker boomer subculture.

Edit: oh and you even gotta pay to get into the dumb graveyard

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slightlyused t1_j2snktn wrote

Thanks for this travel advisory. Until I read your post I was about to suggest to my buddy (we're in Seattle) that we needed to roadtrip out there this summer. I can handle tourist traps but not political BS all over it.

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TheyCallMeTBone t1_j2sqnxm wrote

This was just a few months before the 2020 election, so you know it was a charged atmosphere nationwide in general and so maybe they’ve repurposed their stock. But yeah, it was one shop after another selling the ‘Trump riding a bald eagle holding a machine gun’ kind of bullshit and it was so prevalent it was nauseating. Of course the sidewalks were crowded with families of obese leather vest MAGA hatted types and not a mask in sight. The historical value of visiting is now literally zero

If you can ignore all that stuff and want to just enjoy all the outdoors there has to offer, the hiking and fishing is some of the best in the country IMO

If you’re

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slightlyused t1_j2suzkv wrote

I can handle a smattering of that crap but if someone is wearing a political type thing it drives me kinda nuts. Go for a Ford t-shirt or even Winchester or wildlife prints. I can take that.

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SeesawMundane5422 t1_j2u8ku5 wrote

Actually I have family in that area and I’ve been there multiple times, and I think the commenter was being a bit harsh. I don’t remember too much maga crap. I mean, not any more than any other small town in America, and maybe less, because it really is a tourist friendly area.

I think you can emphasize the bad in any area if you want to. For example: I was just in Seattle and enjoyed it. But if I wanted to describe it as a shitty shore town city with a tourist trap market, a homeless problem, and trash everywhere because all the hippy dippies are so in love with recycling there’s no trash cans….

I wouldn’t be lying. But… it’s not a good representation (for the record had a really good time in Seattle).

Black hills South Dakota have lots of things to do. The hotel built by Seth bullock is still standing.

There are lots of craft breweries and… decent restaurants can be found.

The politics aren’t too in your face.

Spearfish canyon is a beautiful drive. Rough lock falls is a beautiful hike. Mount Rushmore is worth seeing once. Sylvan lake is beautiful too.

There’s honestly a lot to see and do, and in Spearfish right down the road they’ve actually got a college town vibe with sensory deprivation tanks and multiple coffee shops and a good walkable vibe. Id say go for it. If you’re not happy with this advice I’ll refund all the money you paid for it.

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slightlyused t1_j2umt6u wrote

Thanks for the counterpoint! I really do appreciate it.

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SeesawMundane5422 t1_j2uody3 wrote

My pleasure. I feel a little bad directing more tourists there.

Back in the 80s my mom put a spearfish South Dakota bumper sticker on the car (we lived in Indiana at the time).

My grandpa told her to take it off. We didn’t want to advertise what a cool place it was and ruin it with hordes of tourists. :)

Just don’t go in… august, or whenever the national biker rally is (should be easy to Google). That’s when things get nuts and crowded. Even cheap shitty hotels get sold out then.

I can’t vouch for the restaurants in deadwood (though I remember there being one or two good ones), but I enjoy the restaurants in spearfish. Good local taco place. Good local pizza place. Usually there’s a good Italian place, though those seem to rotate. Good place down by the creek next to the rec center. Reasonably good sushi place. Couple of breweries in town on the main strip.

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Meetzorp t1_j2uco3c wrote

Deadwood lost a lot of its historical buildings in a devastating fire in 1987. I remember going up there just before the fire (like one month before!) It used to be a real pretty town.

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Litup-North t1_j2t9r5j wrote

When did they start charging at the fuckin cemetery? Up that steep street with the little parking area..??

Oh, and keep walking to the top, there's more graves up there.

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1ndomitablespirit t1_j2ul856 wrote

What did you expect? Prostitution was still legal there until frighteningly recently and it was started as an illegal mining town that existed to exploit all the gold from the miners. Sounds to me that it's just staying true to its disgusting roots!

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