Hello again everyone. Just wanted to give everyone an update on what’s happening in Deadwood.

It was 75 degrees and I’ve never NOT wanted to work more than I did yesterday. All it did was remind me of how much fun this area is during the summer months.

If you folks reading this aren’t from around here, there are several things us “locals” do during the summer months. Some of the great things about living in Deadwood in the summer include:

Sitting on the Veranda above the Franklin Hotel staring up at White Rocks. (It does not get much better than that). Especially when Kenan is bartending.

Sitting outside at the Stockade & listen to Yancey sing and insult almost everyone who walks in the door.

Sitting on top of the #10 Saloon and having a great dinner.

Or just sit outside Mustang Sally’s and watch the tourists.

I also really enjoy the strange characters, dressed in costumes that tend to show up during the summer months. There are many characters that are hired by Deadwood Alive that perform shootouts and the Trial of Jack McCall each summer, but these are folks who come to town claiming to be a descendant of Wild Bill or Calamity Jane. Apparently, our famous characters had a LOT of relatives.

I thoroughly enjoy old people with long shorts and their socks pulled all the way up, so just their knees are getting sun. I’ve never actually seen a naked old person with a “farmer’s knee tan” and don’t care if I do. I’m sure I’ll see it for myself when I’m that age.

There really is nothing better than walking the Mickelson Trail during the summer months. Any portion of the trail will offer some of the best scenery anywhere.

Taking a drive through Spearfish Canyon and having breakfast at Cheyenne Crossing. What a great location, with good food and really nice people.

There are so many great things to do in Deadwood and the Black Hills during the summer I can’t even scratch the surface, but believe me when it is 75 in April I sure get the “fever”. Too bad, we’ll still probably get another snow storm before it truly turns to summer.

When that happens, you’ll read a blog entitled “Things that p%@s me off about living in Deadwood in April”. Man, I hope I’m not writing that one next week!

Until next time, keep your boots clean.

George

Hello again everyone. Can you believe summer is just around the corner? Not that you can tell around here. March is one of those months in Deadwood where there is a blizzard at one moment and five minutes later it’s blue sky and 60 degrees.

This is the time of year where as a resident of Deadwood you really get Spring Fever. There is so much to do in the Black Hills during the summer months, you just want it to get here. I want to sit on the Veranda above the Franklin Hotel and have a beer. I want to go fly-fishing in Spearfish Canyon. I want to hit the links and I want to walk the Mickelson Trail. I actually miss the shoot-outs every day on Main Street and I miss Yancey playing music and insulting people at the Stockade.

It’s funny because as a resident you would think many of these things would get boring. It’s amazing but they don’t. Every summer I drive through Custer State Park and by Mt. Rushmore. I don’t actually stop at Mt. Rushmore but drive the needles highway and wave at the faces as I pass by. Deadwood and the Black Hills are simply one of the greatest places to live anywhere, and I enjoy all they have to offer as much as possible.

Not that I don’t enjoy shoveling snow or scraping ice off of car windows….wait, I really do hate those things. Come on summer get here already. My back is starting to hurt.

Until next time, keep your boots clean.

George

Hello again everyone! I know I spoke about Deadwood’s Mardi Gras in my last post but now that I’ve fully recovered from the festivities I want to once again mention how much fun that event has become.

It never ceases to amaze me what people will do for a five cent set of beads. Why is it that the people who are most enthusiastic about receiving said beads would scare the hell out of most anybody in a dark alley? At any rate, it’s always fun to see 10,000 people in our little town having the time of their lives.

Speaking of good times. Deadwood’s St. Patrick’s Day celebration is just around the corner. This is an event that was started by the great Deadwood Irishman, Bill Walsh who owned the Historic Franklin Hotel at the time. Nobody in town would get behind the event so he had a parade that consisted of him, a friend playing the harmonica and his dog. Even though it was in the middle of a snowstorm, people actually showed up and the event received a lot of press. Obviously, the town got behind it and it’s been a great event ever since.

This year’s event features a Deadwood Pub Crawl and Poker Run on Saturday, March 15. We tried the Pub Crawl last year and I made a bet with our main sponsor Budweiser that we wouldn’t have 70 people sign up. We ended up with nearly 600 people entered. That little bet cost me a case of beer, but just to be a jerk I bought him a case of Coors Light. This year we will be much more organized with four Pub Crawls with a maximum of 50 people in each group. We will also offer a non-alcoholic Pub Crawl and Poker Runs to businesses that don’t sell alcohol.

Monday, March 17 will be our annual Deadwood St. Patrick’s Day parade at 7pm. As with previous years, past Grand Marshall’s will throw out over $1,000 in redeemable $1 tokens along the parade route. We will also host several floats and the amazing Wyoming Pipe and Drum bagpipe group.

If you’re in the area, try to stop up and join us in the festivities.

P.S. In case anyone was wondering, I did see a set of breasts during Mardi Gras. I glanced across the street and saw a fat guy named Brad with his shirt up. Lucky me.

Until next time, keep your boots clean.

The Deadwood Chamber’s first major event of the year is in the books and boy what a party! Deadwood’s annual Mardi Gras celebration did not disappoint this year with over 10,000 people in attendance. The first night of festivities was on Thursday night with the crowning of the King and Queen. April Raber and Greg Glodt representing the Silverado/Franklin were named 2008 King and Queen by a large and boisterous crowd. I couldn’t think of two nicer people to represent the City of Deadwood for our annual Mardi Gras celebration….and they did a great job.

Friday night we offered the People’s Parade, inviting anyone and everyone to join us and we had a good crowd show up. But as usual Saturday’s parade of lights was huge. We had a record 25 floats entered and 10,000 people crowding Main Street for a chance at over 100,000 sets of beads.

All in all it was a great weekend and is still one of my favorite events. We don’t have a whole lot of time to relax however because Chinese New Year is March 7 & 8 and St. Patrick’s Day takes place on March 15th and 17th. More on those next week.

Until then. Keep your boots clean.