In early June, we finished exploring South Dakota, including Spearfish Canyon and Deadwood. After that, we headed further out west. We spent some time in Cody, Wyoming, and then moved even further west to explore the Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks.
These were all new areas for us. We all agreed that the parks were beautiful. However, surprisingly, Cody, Wyoming became our favorite part of the trip so far!!
Here's what we did!
Deadwood, South Dakota
When gold was discovered in the Black Hills of South Dakota in 1874, it prompted one of the great gold rushes in America. In 1876, miners moved into the northern Black Hills and began founding the town of Deadwood.
The town "played by its own rules that attracted outlaws, gamblers, and gunslingers along with the gold seekers." See here.
Wild Bill Hickok is one of the most famous men to arrive in the town. Shortly after arriving, he was shot and killed while playing poker. His assassin, Jack McCall, was later tried and executed for the murder.
Calamity Jane is a famous cowgirl with connections to Deadwood and is buried next to Wild Bill Hickok at the Mount Moriah Cemetery in town. (Brian and Lauren went to see their graves in the cemetery; Brady and I stayed behind.)
Picture of Main Street Deadwood. June 1, 2023.
Wild Bill Hickok
Throughout much of the town of Deadwood, you can find mementos of Wild Bill Hickok. He was assassinated while playing poker in Saloon No. 10. While the original building no longer stands, a sign shows you where the saloon used to be.
Picture of the sign commemorating the location of the original Saloon No. 10. It says: "Historic Site Saloon Number 10 where Wild Bill was shot August 2, 1876."
If you want to see the actual chair that Wild Bill was sitting in when he was murdered, you will have to walk a little further down the street. As one website said, "If the...town of Deadwood has a holy relic, it's Wild Bill's Death Chair..."
The chair is located in a bar further down the street, named Old Style Saloon No. 10. It is in a velvet lined glass case, hanging above the door to the bar. This was a must-see for Brian, who was reading a book about Wild Bill at the time, and he was so glad we were able to see it!!
Picture of the chair that Wild Bill was sitting in when he was killed.
A Shoot Out in Outlaw Square
The town regularly performs re-enactments of famous and dramatic events from Deadwood's history, including famous shoot outs and the trial of Jack McCall. When we were there, we saw a re-enactment of a shoot-out in the town square, called Outlaw Square.
Three actors sit at a table pretending to gamble.
The shooter.
The "victims."
After the show, all of the kids in Outlaw Square were given plastic Sheriff's badges by the "Sheriff" and told that they were Deadwood deputies for the day. Our kids were scared by the loud shot in the re-enactment, but LOVED their deputies' badges!!
Old-Fashioned Pictures at Woody's Wild West Photography
Probably our favorite part of the day was getting our pictures taken at Woody's Wild West Photography!
We were able to walk-in and make an appointment for a short time later. We used the wait time to explore the nearby stores.
When it was our turn to go into the studio, a staff member took us upstairs, where they have closets filled with old fashioned Western wear, including boots, pants, handkerchiefs, corsets, dresses, parasols, and toy guns.
After the staff member finished helped us get dressed, our photographer met us at our chosen scene. (They have several scenes for you to choose from when you first book your appointment.)
Taking the pictures was fun, and the photographer was very nice. Lauren had an absolute BLAST dressing up and taking the pictures and didn't want to stop!
After the shoot is finished, the photographer shows you all the digital images, so you can decide which ones you want. The store has several package options. All of them are a bit pricey (and must be paid on top of a sitting fee for the shoot itself), but it's a great way to commemorate your visit to Deadwood. If you order print copies (as we did), it takes a couple of hours for them to be ready for pick up, so if you want to do pictures here, it would be a good idea to do them early on in your visit, so you can explore the rest of the town while the pictures are being printed! (They also sell digital-copies, but we found them to be cost prohibitive.)
Darcy, Brady, Brian, and Lauren posing for a Western picture in a "saloon" in Woody's Wild West Photography.
Lauren and Brady posing at Woody's Wild West Photography.
Our trip to Deadwood was so much fun. Brian certainly wished we had a few more days in the area. If anyone is ever in the area, Deadwood is absolutely a great place to stop and spend a day or two!!
Spearfish Canyon, South Dakota:
The Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway is a 22-mile drive through the huge, wooded mountains of the Black Hills, filled with waterfalls and wildlife.
We did not do any hiking here, but stopped at a couple of waterfalls near the road. We walked to the waterfalls to enjoy the scenery and take some pictures.
If you're in the Black Hills area, Spearfish Canyon is definitely worth the drive.
Bridal Veil Falls. The Bridal Veil Falls is a 60-foot waterfall that is easily viewed from a pull off along the road.
View of a canyon from our walk to another waterfall.
View of water running over moss along our walk to another waterfall.
Brian, Lauren, and Brady standing on a boardwalk in Spearfish Canyon.
When Darcy went off a path to try to take a picture of some flowing water, she almost stepped on this little guy, which we believe is a Western terrestrial garter snake. Trust me--if there was video of Darcy running away from this snake while trying not to put her feet on the ground, you all would die laughing!
Big Horn Mountain Range
After we left the Black Hills area, we traveled west over the Big Horn Mountain range on our way to Cody, Wyoming. The drive was absolutely STUNNING! We stopped at a pull off in the mountains to stretch our legs and enjoy the views.
Our RV with the Big Horn Mountain range in the background.
Brady and Lauren enjoyed stretching their legs on a brief break in a long drive!!
Cody, Wyoming
Cody is a small town in the northwest corner of Wyoming. It is close to the east entrance of Yellowstone National Park. It has a strong Western, cowboy culture. Its main street is filled with stores with huckleberry sweets (a staple in Wyoming and Montana), cowboy hats, and cowboy boots. We absolutely LOVED checking out all of the stores in downtown Cody!! As a family from the Northeast, it was so cool to see so many cowboy hats and boots for sale!! As one website says, Cody is "one of the last real cowboy towns in America." It was also voted the best Western small town by USA Today readers in 2023.
We can see why that is, as Cody, Wyoming quickly became our favorite part of the trip so far!!
In Cody, we went to the Buffalo Bill Center of the West (FMI: see here) and learned more about the history of the area, as well as the animals that live out there. We also drove the Beartooth Highway to the Northeast entrance of Yellowstone and explored the east side of Yellowstone National Park. (We will talk more about that in a separate blog about Yellowstone National Park!)
However, our favorite part of Cody was getting ready for and going to the rodeo!
The Cody Nite Rodeo "started in 1948 and is the longest running and the only nightly rodeo (June-August) in the world." See here for more information about the history of the rodeo.
We purchased our rodeo tickets at a store in town. We decided to also dress the part, and bought cowboy boots and hats in town to wear to the rodeo.
We arrived early to the rodeo and met with Sid, the rodeo clown. He asked if Brady was blind. When we said that he was, Sid said that he would have a surprise for Brady later in the evening. Sid also graciously agreed to take a family picture of us.
Darcy, Brady, Brian, and Lauren at the entrance to the rodeo.
Darcy and Brian at the entrance to the rodeo.
Inside the rodeo, we found our seats and enjoyed waiting for the show to begin.
Darcy and Lauren waiting for the rodeo to begin.
When the rodeo started, we were amazed!! It had bareback horseback riding, tie-down roping, barrel racing, and bull riding. It was absolutely one of the most amazing things we have ever seen!!
During half-time, the rodeo does a calf scramble for kids 12 and under. They tie handkerchiefs to two calves and let them loose in the arena. The kids have to chase them and grab the handkerchiefs. Brian helped Brady in the arena, and Lauren tried as well!
Brian, Lauren, and Brady stand in line with other kids, waiting for the calf scramble to start.
Two young boys won the calf scramble. One of the boys gave his prizes to Brady, which included a pizza hut gift card, a DQ gift card, and a free horseback ride at a local ranch.
After the scramble, Sid the Clown asked Brian and Brady to wait in the arena. Sid talked to the audience about how the winner had given his gifts to Brady (which prompted lots of applause for that amazingly generous young boy). He then went on to talk about how heros and champions are people who preservere despite challenges and hardships and how Brady is a hero. The entire audience clapped and cheered for Brady, who, being the friendly extrovert that he is, LOVED all of the attention and waved at the crowd. The rodeo gave Brady a $50 credit to the rodeo store.
Darcy was sitting in the audience and cried like a baby, seeing an entire audience full of people applauding for her son. A nice woman nearby gave her a tissue and a man sitting behind her took a video of part of Sid's speech and sent it to her.
After the rodeo, several people came up to Brady to say hi. A man approached us and said that he's a veteran with the Purple Heart award, and that Brady truly is a hero.
We went to the store, where Brady used his credit on some soap (Brady is OBSESSED with scented soap!) and some rodeo T-shirts.
In addition to being a truly amazing show, the Cody rodeo turned out to be, for our family, a truly emotional, life-changing experience. It was an experience that, for both reasons, none of us will ever forget.
Without a doubt, the Cody rodeo was one of the most amazing and memorable experiences of our trip.
Horseback Riding at the Blackwater Creek Ranch
After going to Pizza Hut and DQ to redeem two of Brady's prizes (thanks again to some very generous boy!!), we still had a coupon for a free horseback ride.
Brady absolutely LOVES horseback riding. We took him for a lesson a couple of years ago as part of our family summer camp. Ever since then, he's been obsessed with horses and dying to go riding again.
Before we even told Brady about the tickets, we called the ranch and asked them if they could accommodate Brady, given his blindness. They were wonderful and MORE than happy to work with him! So, we told Brady that he was going on a horse ride and set off for the ranch!
The staff at the ranch was absolutely AMAZING! They were so sweet with Brady and even gave Lauren a free horse ride as well. (We made sure to tip them extra!)
The kids LOVED the horses and had an amazing time on their ride!
Brady riding Rusty around the corral.
Lauren and Brady petting the mini pony.
Some of the horses on the ranch.
Lauren and Brady on their horses with their wranglers. The wranglers were both in college for equine management and were SO sweet!!
Brady petting Rusty.
Lauren on her horse.
We all LOVED the Western culture out here!! Cody was one of our top favorite stops on the trip so far. Brian cannot wait to go back to another rodeo! (Spoiler alert: We are going to be cowboys and cowgirls for Halloween this year--we've got to use these boots somehow back in Maine!!
Unfortunately, we had to leave Cody. We packed up the RV and started heading further west to Victor, Idaho, which was our base to explore Grand Teton National Park! Stay tuned for a separate blog all about our time at that park!
Thanks for traveling with us! <3
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