Upon picking up our last passenger from the Rapid City airport, our baker\u2019s dozen of adventurers is now complete.<\/p>\n
Our crew of thirteen in matching T-shirts made for an inconspicuous entrance into Mount Rushmore, which was our destination for the day. But we\u2019re not really going for subtlety when we ask strangers to take our picture, so it was all good. Until Deadwood.<\/p>\n
Deadwood.<\/p>\n
Deadwood\u2026Deadwood.<\/p>\n
What can I say about Deadwood?<\/p>\n
The signs that things were just a bit off were evident when we pulled into the campground and Sean immediately purchased the neighboring sites around us so we wouldn\u2019t hit the RV next to us when we opened a window. The amenities weren\u2019t exactly what were advertised on the website, but we got a bonus visit from a mountain lion in the middle of the night so I suppose we\u2019re square there.<\/p>\n
After a rather sleepless night dodging local wildlife, we thought a day in the old western town would be fun.<\/p>\n
It was not.<\/p>\n
Deadwood is weird. It\u2019s not Gatlinburg-esque in its corny, touristy and fun way. It\u2019s not completely authentic even in its strange street reenactments of murders of old cowboys. It\u2019s seedy. And not friendly. And a bit NC-17. And everyone seems to be drunk. Including the public trolley car driver who regards the schedule, designated stops and traffic laws as mere suggestions. And not even fun drunk on Louise\u2019s white wine but an angry drunk on stale beer and whiskey from label-less bottles. You kind of fear for your life at all times and really hope you don\u2019t die there so they don\u2019t reenact your demise one day in the front of a Hampton Inn. You feel like everyone in town wants to stab you but not in the surly old cowboy way that can reach a resolution of mutual respect over a good poker hand and a shot; but more like the being on several FBI watch lists kind of stabbing in broad daylight over an imagined slight on Facebook or offense taken over a tacky T-shirt.<\/p>\n
And the only gambling we did was which communicable disease we\u2019d contract from the public restrooms.<\/p>\n
We promised the kids that if we didn\u2019t die by food poisoning from the inordinate number of All You Can Eat Crab places or the poison candy offered by the toothless woman at the bus stop, we would pull up stakes and head west a day early.<\/p>\n
It was the fastest camp break down to date.<\/p>\n
Good night from Gillette, Wyoming.<\/p>\n
<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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Well, it is time to begin the countdown to the time of actual departure, anyway. In this episode, Thelma and Louise, Butch and Sundance, and the 11 offspring and travel companions will embark upon this year's offseason adventure: The Halls, Falls, Malls and Baseballs 2018 Tour. 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Clothes and stuff Me: Even if we do laundry twice during the trip, that makes about 90 T-shirts and 180 socks just for reference. Butch: Over\/under that we return with 11 of the original sock total? Me: Under is how that works. 2. Outdoor Movie System with 70' Screen\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Column"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":977,"url":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/2021\/07\/19\/how-adventure-is-born\/","url_meta":{"origin":692,"position":4},"title":"How Adventure is Born","date":"July 19, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"A few months ago, Louise and I were talking about the annual summer adventure for our growing brood. Obviously, summer vacation plans have been a challenge for us all as of late, but when Louise and I talked about the summer of 2021, we were immediately on the same page.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Column"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":102,"url":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/2013\/07\/18\/43-is-the-new-22-or-something\/","url_meta":{"origin":692,"position":5},"title":"43 is the New 22. Or Something","date":"July 18, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"There\u2019s a certain inevitability on any given radio dial in the Year of Our Lord 2013, that at some point within a 3 minute time period, you will be subjected to a Taylor Swift song. 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