It was an early wake-up on the official heartiversary day, October 22. We needed to be back early to get all dolled up for the ballet in the evening. On the itinerary, I had “no showers, get up and go!” Amanda had her alarm set early. I asked why it was so early, and she said to get pretty for heartiversary photo op! We were heading to Spearfish Canyon, south of Spearfish and west of Deadwood. While loading our snacks and lunch I got some amazing photos of the cabin as the sun rose.
We hit a little construction that cost us about 30 minutes of waiting. Not long after that, we arrived in Deadwood. It was a steep grade going down into the town. It seemed like most of the mining towns we’ve been to. Mountains surround the town. It surprised me how tall the mountains towered; feeling like a Colorado mining town. This town was not up our alley at all. It was a tourist trap casino town under the cover of a quaint mining town.
We were going to make another large loop not returning the what we came. The original plan was to go from Deadwood to Spearfish and go south down the canyon. Steve suggested going northward, though. So we changed it but needed to find a coffee shop; I’d picked one in Spearfish but hadn’t looked at any in Deadwood.
We found one in an old filing station; their coffee was good. After coffee, we made our way downtown and hit a few shops. Many were closed for the winter or not open until later in the morning. We had a friend who wanted a picture of Buffalo Bill and a stagecoach. When I saw things around town about Wild Bill, I thought I had heard wrong. We got a few postcards with Wild Bill but none with a stagecoach, though. Then, we found an acrylic-covered picture of Buffalo Bill and a stagecoach. I guess I heard right the first time, so we also picked that up.
The shop we bought the Buffalo Bill picture from was owned by a Frenchman who also had a shop in Red River, New Mexico. He was friendly and had a touristy gift shop. He said Deadwood was so busy because of the casinos. There were casinos and biker bars in every other store. I told Amanda I was glad we hadn’t come when it was busy; if we had, we wouldn’t have stayed as long as we did!
Leaving Deadwood, we went through Lead, another mining town with a lot of history. There was Homestake Mine, where you could peer down in the pit. The best view was at the visitor’s center, which was closed, but I walked up a nearby trail to get a view. This was the site for the Sanford Lab, a National Science Foundation facility for low-background experiments on neutrinos, dark matter, and other nuclear physics topics, as well as biology and mine engineering studies. I bit over my head, but Steve had great info on the mine and history.
After our quick stop, it was off to Spearfish Canyon. We were waterfall chasing. Not far out of the canyon, we stopped at a cafe, gas station, convenience store, and motel all in one to use the bathroom. We couldn’t find anything we needed, so I grabbed a couple of local blonde ales. It was odd they had tons of single beers and didn’t sell hardly any in six-packs. Which was fine with me; I didn’t want but a couple. When I checked out, I nearly fell over when the total was almost $9 for two beers!
As we wound our way by the river, Steve told us of a few hikes to falls, then mentioned with only a few miles down a dirt road, there was the filming location for the last scene of Dances with Wolves. I got excited and started hollering out, “Sunkmanitu Tanka Ob Waci!” At the end of Dances with Wolves, they set up a winter camp, and Wind in His Hair shouts from a cliff as John Dunbar, Kevin Costner, leaves the tribe: ”Sunkmanitu Tanka Ob Waci!” Dunbar’s Lakota Sioux name Dances with Wolves. He repeatedly shouts it, telling him that he is his friend and will always be his friend. These two had been enemies. It is one of the most moving endings to a movie. I can remember watching the film in the theater as a child with my parents. It is still one of my all-time favorites.
After I excitedly recited the ending to Amanda, explaining the entire scene and how I could visualize it in my head, she told me I needed to calm down! There was no way we were going to miss going to that location. First, we had a waterfall to hike to Roughlock Falls. There were a couple of trails we could take. I wanted to do the longer one that started downstream and skirted the creek, but I didn’t think Amanda was up for that. We chose a shorter but steeper one that started at the top of the falls and went downstream a bit. It was paved but steep coming out; the stroll along the steam may have been a better choice. I was hoping she would have been up for more hiking this trip.
We had plenty of heartiversary photo op opportunities with “Her” on this short road trip and hiking day. She is a plaque honoring Amanda’s donor with a heart and angel wings, and “Because of an Organ Donor” with 10/22/20 on it. We made Her on our first heartiversary and have traveled with Her even while flying last year. As I sat my backpack down to take Her off my off, a man with his family said, “What do we have here?” I explained, and they were so sweet, his wife taking pictures for us. I much prefer people to ask than gawk at us. I’d be happy to tell you, but most won’t. During this trip, many asked, or I’d just come right out and say that today is Amanda’s 4th heart transplant anniversary!
After taking shots at different locations, we made the steep trek back to the parking lot. Then, the couple-mile drive down a bumpy road to the Dances with Wolves sight. There was an inconspicuous sign that indicated the movie’s filming location. Steve said the shooting location might take a minute for you to notice since most of the scene was shot from above. He was right, but then I spotted the cliff where Wind in His Hair sat horseback and shouted. This was a stop for me; Amanda sat in the Yukon, recovering from the hike, until I asked her to take my picture at the sign. As we left, I told her she would have to watch the movie with me again!
From there, we passed the falls and onto the pavement. We soon started the canyon a few miles before I realized we’d missed Spearfish Falls, just where we entered the pavement behind a lodge and restaurant. The few mile drive down and back, I had to lean down to see the canyon walls. That’s when I knew this was my favorite spot on this trip. I knew that was my area once I had to lean down to see the sky. And not just because of the Dances scene!
The falls we missed were not marked well, and the trailhead location was kind of confusing. A park potty was ideally located for when Amanda’s diuretics kicked in. I looked for the trailhead location on my Alltrails app. We had no service, but I’d downloaded all the trails in the canyon. The trailhead was right next to the potties; I should have known. I got my backpack and headed out. Amanda emerged just as I got there, and I said it this was, and we made the hike to the falls. Despite being located by the restaurant, this location was the prettiest of the day. The trail wound down below the falls, then through a thick grove of trees that lead to an overlook area at the base of the falls.
The overlook was close enough for Amanda to complain she was getting wet. Her hair was on point, and she needed to keep it that way for more photos with Her! We took a few good shots, then made the steep hike again. She is having more issues than I expected on this trip. It’s not entirely the knee, heart, or her lack of rehab now, but I think it’s this weird combination of all those things. On some of the pulls, I can feel my heart beating and my knee hurting, and I start getting out of breath. It just all exacerbated with Amanda, though.
Once back to the Yukon, we made our way down the canyon, me leaning down and loving the drive and views. It reminded me of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park’s windy road and frequent one-car pullover spots. We came across more snow mountain goats on the side of a hill, with no pullover, and straight away, I stopped and took some pictures and videos. I don’t like to be the tourist who makes others wait while I get my photos; I’m vigilant in watching others on the road and frequently make Amanda the lookout!
The next stop was Bridal Veil Falls; a million of these falls must have the same name. I know of a few in Colorado and Tennessee; just like chimney rock, they are everywhere, too. There was no hike for this fall; it was right off the road, and all we had to do was cross the road. We were getting a shot when an older lady commented who had just walked up. She said she could just cry looking at that shot; I thought, wait till I explain! I told her group, two couples, about the occasion, and she almost cried then. She had a close friend who received a heart transplant as well.
We were hunting for a spot to eat lunch when we pulled over and saw a man fly-fishing. Not wanting to bother him and wanting solitude of our own downstream, we went. We found a nice spot not far from the fisherman’s spot and had our veggie-loaded pitas. Caves were on the cliffs on one side of the road and the steam on the other; it was a great lunch spot. Amanda commented on the possibility of a mouton lion in the caves, and I wasn’t planning on finding out!
We were crunched for a time as we exited the canyon into the town of Spearfish, where we ate the Nepali/Indian food. With a later lunch, we decided to skip dinner until we returned from the ballet. But first coffee, before the nearly 2-hour drive back to the cabin. The Green Bean coffee house had the best coffee of the trip; most of our coffee had been dismal, but this one was perfect. They had a honey bee latte on the menu. An oatmilk latte sweetened with honey, it was like they knew we were coming! Too bad they weren’t closer, or we’d have been there every day.
The drive back was partly down the interstate; we didn’t have time to backtrack and deal with the constitutional delay. We still went a different way. Once in Rapid City, we’d go the way we came in, but now it would be in the daylight. It was quick till the turnoff to Custer; then it was windy. It was faster than the alternative from Rapid City, which goes north of Mt Rushmore and west of Custer. It was pretty, and the drive was much more fun in the daylight. I believe some of the trees have been changing colors while we’ve been here; they are a beautiful color.
I was going to eat soup for dinner, but we decided to have it after the ballet. I still made it and left it out for when we returned. It was a queso fundido soup we really love and always have with spiced-up tater tots. I cooked while Amanda got ready, then got all dolled up myself.
The ballet was Swan Lake in Rapid City, about an hour away. I was on Amanda about the time frame. I wanted to be there early because I knew we might not be sat till an appropriate time if we were late. We got there in plenty of time, and they didn’t even open the theater doors till show time!
We wanted a picture together, all dressed up, but we couldn’t get a good selfie. Even after pulling over in the wood to get an autumn foliage shot with our gimbal/selfie stick, there was still no good shot. I did get a perfect one at the cabin for Amanda. While waiting in the balcony lobby, we went to get a selfie, and someone asked if we’d like them to take one of us.
While we waited, we decided to get a photo with a ballerina in the lobby. Without the doors open, we had to wade through a sea of people in the lobby to get to the booth where they were taking photos.
I was full-on cowboyed up with my jeans, paisley shit, brand belt buckle, and ostrich boots. Boy, did I get the stares, too! I’m used to being stared at; maybe it’s my height, but this night, it was extra! On the note of being tall, I overheard a lady in the lobby talking about always getting sat behind someone tall. Then, I motioned up and down and said,” Like,” while pointing at me. She was right, when we got to our seats. She was behind me!
We had a front-row balcony. I thought they’d be good, but the banister in front was high, and Amanda couldn’t see the front of the stage. There was an elderly lady beside her who was even shorter, and she couldn’t sit up straight enough to see much. They eventually moved, and Amanda folded her coat and sat on it. Turned out it wasn’t that bad because the act was pretty far back on the stage.
The show was great. I wish I’d paid more attention to the synopsis because I was a little lost trying to put it together in some spots. We had a great time; Amanda had always wanted to see Swan Lake. We’ve only been to one other ballet. That was years ago, on a heart trip to Cleveland. On a weekend layover, we drove to Washington, DC, for a couple of days.
Once back at the cabin, I started getting dinner ready. I turned the soup on the heat but forgot about the tots and didn’t turn the oven on. So I just cooked them in a sauté pan instead. I also made squash quesadillas. A fire was rolling in the wood stove by the time dinner was ready, so we sat by it and had a late dinner.