THE OLD AND THE NEW IN DEADWOOD, SOUTH DAKOTA

Ha, ha, ha! On our way to the Boomerang here in Sturgis, SD, I imagined all sorts of interesting day trips and photo ops, history and hiking, lots of interesting stories and photos, with plenty of relaxed time in the evening to add them to the blog.

HAH!

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Odel and I are taking over one of the volunteer positions for the Boomers, Membership Coordinator. Our plan was to get together with the current Membersip Coordinator, Bob, during our week-long stay here at the rally and transfer the responsibilities from him to us.

We didn't totally realize what we were getting into (understatement). I've loaded three - or is it four - new software programs on the computer, and need to learn each of them... which appears to be only about 1/3 of the job. We are spending a couple hours a day with Bob learning the procedures, and another couple hours a day on "homework" - loading software and data, learning new programs, going over our notes and trying to figure out how we can drain his brain before we go our separate ways at the end of the week.

Reading over the above paragraph, it sounds suspiciously like a complaint... but it isn't! We are having a great time learning all this new "stuff". On our way to Sturgis, I had a few qualms - mostly, that I had lost my "edge" and would not be able to mobilize enough brain cells to get focused and organized again. I guess it is like riding a bicycle - once a detail fanatic, always a detail fanatic. We both are enjoying learning a new "job" again.

When we were in Sacramento, we bought, for a $5 donation to D.A.R.E., a Pizza Hut folder that has 10 coupons for "Buy 1, get 1 Free" deals. We visited the Pizza Hut in Sturgis to see if they would honor the coupons (as the very fine print says, "good at participating dealers"). When the answer was "yes", we volunteered to organize a Pizza Party here at the Boomerang for Friday night. That has been Odel's big project: while I stay at home working on the computer during the Happy Hour socializing, he is in the thick of things selling tickets and signing up Boomers for the party.

Somehow, between our two volunteer jobs, the time we would usually spend hiking and exploring has slipped away. Oh, and we also had to renew our driver's licenses ($8 apiece and 30 minutes or so) and get some minor medical work done... and attended a potluck last night, which takes a bit of preparation...

This morning, we met with Bob at 8 am (now a standing appointment) for a two hour session on our new responsibilities. Odel sold more Pizza Party tickets, we ate lunch - and took off for some leisure time and badly needed exercise. YAY.

Our destination was Deadwood, about 30 minutes away. Although we went there to pick up a good biking/walking trail, Deadwood's claim to fame is this: Deadwood is where Wild Bill Hickok was shot in the back while playing cards, and where he is buried on Mt. Moriah next to Calamity Jane. In the top photo, you can see Odel admiring the memorial statue to the man.

As we were leaving the memorial and heading back to the car, what did we see on the sidewalk coming our way but a touring group riding Segway Personal Transporters, and I took a quick photo. What would Wild Bill have made of that??