June 16th-20th 2007 - Gigs in Sauk Centre, MN. & Deadwood, SD.
“We got to be tourists in Deadwood!”

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Hello! We are now in West Fargo, ND., getting ready to do a show along side Joe Nichols. The past few days for us have been really fun! We did our gig in Sauk Centre, MN. (June 16th) with Trick Pony and Travis Tritt for the “Country Music Fest.” It was nice to see some of our old road friends again, hang out with them, and catch up on some chat. The show went really well and to have Becky back with us on stage with us was awesome. We felt “complete” again!
We then bussed out to Deadwood, SD. Along with Trick Pony to perform for the “Wild Bill Days” festival in Deadwood, SD. (June 17th). We fell in love with the town the minute we pulled in and we were especially excited about being there because we were going to have a few days off to see the sights and be tourists. Trenna’s dad, Delbert met us there and he’s always such a bright ray of sunshine. It was perfect because it was Father's day so at least we got to spend it with one of our dads! We did our sound check, did an interview with Nate Brown from “The Eagle” and met some special guests of the festival. One in particular was a little seven-year-old bull rider named “Tanner.” He’d just won 1st place in a bull riding championship. He was quite the little charmer, and he was happy to show us all three of his photo albums. Inside of them where many pictures of him riding in various competitions and events. It was so neat to see someone so young to have such a great interest in riding. He and Debbie chatted about horses for a good while!
After the meet and greet, we walked around a little and took in some sights. We were looking forward to doing that in depth the next few days after this show. The weather was a little bit of a concern for a while. Clouds rolled in followed by a little bit of rain. It cooled down a little, however by show time, the sun had peeked through once again. Our show went really well, I had a little bit of an issue with my wireless, but we made it through just fine. I just had to make sure that I didn’t unplug myself in the middle of the show.
We signed autographs for a while after the show and we were free afterwards. We ended up at “Saloon 10,” where The "Drew Davis Band” was playing. We’ve been running into those guys a lot lately, and it was really nice to see them again. They actually had a keyboard issue, so Becky let them use hers for their show.
We didn’t stay out too late though, we had a days worth of sight seeing to do the next day!

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June 18th Visit to Crazy Horse and Mt. Rushmore

Yay! We got to be tourists! There’s so much to write here, because we got to see so many cool things. Thanks to Trenna's Dad, our day started in downtown Deadwood where he had lined up a photo session at “Woody’s Old Time Photos.” It’s a photo studio where you could have old western/mobster type portraits taken. We thought that it would be so cool to have a few “Western” portraits taken of the band. We got to dress up in these vintage western dresses and hats along with garter belts, stogies and guns! Our first shot was a bar scene shot in which we all hung around like we worked in a brothel, and the second shot was of us playing. They happened to have an old piano that Becky could sit behind, and we rigged up a washtub bass for Debbie, consisting of a washtub, broom and some wire. We had Kim playing the jug. We had to get Trenna up on the piano in the shot, because, well, it just wouldn’t be Trenna if she wasn’t! I took my fiddle in with me as well. They turned out so well, we’ll definitely be using them in the future.
Afterwards, we went back to the hotel, dropped off our gear and were on our way to go see Crazy Horse, Mt. Rushmore and whatever else we could see in a days time. We were in such a big hurry to go that we left the hotel once and realized that we’d left our road manager “Eric” behind. Ha! we went back and picked him up - He’s been such a trooper on this trip!
We had a really sweet gentleman by the name of “Ole (O-lee)” , take us on the trip. We also had a cameraman come with us to document our trip. So one at a time, each one of us had to wear a clip mic. Don't cuss Trenna! Ha!
Our first stop was to go see the “Crazy Horse” memorial. The construction of Crazy Horse started in 1949 by a man named Korczak Kiolkowski. He’d been invited to the Black Hills on May 3rd, 1947 by Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear. Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear’s vision was to have something to let the white man know that the red man had great heroes also. Kiolkowski was almost 40 when he started the project and over the decades, he battled financial hardship, racial prejudice, injuries and advancing age. He was also a believer in the free enterprise system and felt that the building of Crazy Horse should be a non profit educational and cultural, humanitarian project built by the interested public and not the taxpayer. He twice turned down ten million dollars in potential federal funding.
The Indians chose Crazy Horse for the mountain carving because he defended his people and their way of life in the only manner he knew. Crazy horse, as far as the scale model is concerned, is to be carved not so much as a lineal likeness but more as a memorial to the spirit of Crazy Horse – to his people. With his left hand thrown out pointing in answer to the question asked by a white man, “Where are your lands now?” he replied, “My lands are where my dead lie buried.” This monument will become the world’s largest Mountain carving, standing at 563 feet when finished. To give you an idea of how large it will be, the entire Mt. Rushmore monument will be about the size of Crazy Horse's face! There are also plans to put in the Indian Museum Of North America and Indian University Of North America and Medical Training Center. Check out their website : http://www.crazyhorsememorial.org/.

After visiting Crazy Horse, we loaded back into the van and took the scenic route, driving on “Needles Highway.” There we took many beautiful photos and literally drove through rocky tunnels! There were many windy roads going through the Ponderosa pines and the rocky cliffs of the Black Hills. Each time we’d stop, we’d not only take photos, but we would pick up pretty rocks that were glittery and shiny as well. Some of them looked like they had gold flakes in them!
At Mt. Rushmore, we took the walkway all around the Monument and took pictures. Along the walkway, plaques of each of the presidents, Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln of Mt. Rushmore were displayed.
“Until the wind and the rain alone shall wear them away.” Those are the famous words of sculptor Gutzon Borglum used to describe the length of time his most famous work Mt. Rushmore, will endure.
The mountain itself was originally named after Charles E. Rushmore, a New York lawyer investigating mining claims in the Black Mountains in 1885. Borglum chose this mountain due to its height (5700 above sea level), the soft, grainy consistency of the granite, and the fact that it catches sun for the greatest part of the day. The presidents were selected on the basis of what each symbolized. George Washington represents the struggle for independence, Thomas Jefferson: the idea of government by the people. Abraham Lincoln for his ideas on equality and the permanent union of the states, and Theodore Roosevelt for the 20th century role of the United States in world affairs. The carving of Mt. Rushmore began on August 10th, 1927 and spanned a length of 14 years. What a beautiful sight it was to see!
After visiting Mt. Rushmore, we decided to stop off in Keystone for dinner at a place called “Aruba.” Afterwards we were all pretty exhausted from the day! Some of us dozed off in the van all the way back to Deadwood. Thank you again so much Ole for taking us out. We had a blast!

June 19th A wonderful day of touring in Deadwood, SD.!

Today, we got to spend the day visiting the historic town of Deadwood, SD. We’d been itching since the show to take time to see this beautiful town and to take in the history and sights. So today was our day! The town of Deadwood, is a National Historical Landmark located in the historic and scenic Black Hills of South Dakota. The architecture is Victorian which is unique to the West. The famous and infamous have called Deadwood and the Black Hills their home over the last several centuries. Lewis and Clark, Will Bill Hickok, Wyatt Earp, George Armstrong Custer, Poker Alice, the Sundance Kid, Calamity Jane, Mark Twain and many others have passed through here in search of fortune and adventure. So you can definitely get an idea of the history and stories that this city holds.
Frontier prospectors hit a fabulously rich gold strike in Deadwood Gulch, Dakota Territory 131 years ago and that was how the towns of Deadwood And Lead were born. The gold national gold rush had caused a major frenzy, luring thousands to the Black Hills in hopes to find the next great El Dorado. Gold was indeed found everywhere in the area and Deadwood became an instant metropolis in the Wilderness, surrounded by greed, gold and gunpowder. The first few years of Deadwood had no laws or order. So there were many bandits running loose and there were a lot of fights over gold claims. Entertainment consisted of theatres, bordellos and many makeshift saloons and casinos for the miners. Many lived and died here including “Wild Bill Hickok” (by the gun of Jack Mc Call) and Calamity Jane.
We walked down historic Main Street and it is an attraction in itself. It has really been kept up and preserved over the many years. There are many structures built in the 1880’s that still remain. Taxes from gambling are what saved the antique hotels, brick paving, vintage street lights and store fronts.
Several times throughout the day we caught gunfight re-enactments.
We went and visited the “Adams Museum.” It was built in 1892 and housed many beautiful artifacts, exhibits, art and readings. It really gave us an idea of what the town was like back then and how much it has grown to this day. We especially got a kick out of the photos and the 19th century clothing. They also had many guns on display and furniture. There was a section in the museum called “Ethnic Deadwood” and we read about the Jewish and Chinese communities of the town in that period. Just loads and loads of intriguing facts and information at the Adams Museum. Debbie and I especially got a kick out of reading about “Poker Alice.” She smoked stogies, dealt Farow in Deadwood and was a madam for a prostitute house in nearby Sturgis. She was known for being good with cards, men and guns. She actually met her husband by shooting his assailant at a poker game! I admit, my attention span for certain things can be rather short, but the museum kept me “present” the entire time!
We went and browsed through the Franklin Hotel est. 1903. It was extremely elaborate and lovely.
A few of us took the Ghost tour through the haunted Bullock Hotel est. 1895 and read through a notebook of ghost stories and pictures taken by guests who had stayed there.
Debbie and I ate Buffalo burgers (that rocked!) at Diamond Lil’s, a restaurant established by actor Kevin Costner, and later returned there once again to have dinner with everyone else.
We got to see where Will Bill Hickok was shot and went and had drinks at the Eagle Saloon, which had a Cherry wood bar built in 1825.
While sitting at the bar, having drinks, we had the fine opportunity to chat with a couple of gentlemen. The first gentleman was a Vietnam Vet and a participant in the re-enactments that took place daily in the city. He actually played the part of “Jack Mc Call,” the man who shot Wild Bill Hickok. He was full of history and information and eager to tell us all about it. The other gentleman was a Vietnam Vet as well. We let them both know how much we appreciated their service and it brought tears to their eyes.
We did get some good shopping in as well! Some of us took the opportunity to buy some fine sterling silver rings crafted by the Indians to take home, and some of us also picked up some nice house decor. There were all kinds of neat gifts shops, smoke shops and a Harley Davidson Store (Being that the Sturgis Bike Rally is held not to far from there every year).

What a wonderful city Deadwood is. We felt so welcome there and it was like the town took us in as family. We felt like we’d lived there for years. We so encourage anyone and everyone to make Deadwood, SD. a plan in their travels and vacations. Deadwood has a very special place in our hearts forever. Thank you so much Chuck Turbiville, Joe Hamm and Jade of the Chamber of Commerce for having us and thank you City of Deadwood for taking us in and making us your adopted daughters!