Mother's Day Weekend Adventure

This week my mom is visiting from Maine. She happened to plan her visit to fall on her birthday, the 7th and Mother's Day, the 8th and so we decided that this weekend would be her chance to drag us around town to all the things she wanted to do. It turns out that there were more than a few things that we had been talking about and so we all went adventuring.

5.7.11 View of Lead SD from White Rock Ridge

On Saturday, we hung out locally and explored a few corners of Deadwood that were still a mystery. Early that morning Josh, my Mom and myself headed across the valley and crawled up to the ridge above Mt. Moriah. Wu & Brady accompanied us and kept us on our toes. It's amazing how two pups can make everything 3x's more hectic. It's a gift. We walked the ridge up to White Rocks and enjoyed the vista from there. It was a bit windy so we found a spot to hunker down and enjoy being on top of the world for a few minutes. When we made it back to the jeep we cruised the ridgeline and discovered a few places that had previously been covered in snow. It's an amazing area up there with some unbelievable views of Lead/Deadwood. We were able to see two Homestake entrances, the open cut, Mystic Miner Mountain and Terry Peak- it looked like an advertisement for Lead.

5.7.11 White Rock Ridge, Deadwood SD

Once we made it down White Rocks, we headed over to Forest Avenue to spy Seth Bullock's house. Just a few weeks ago we heard that his house was still around and went in search. We found it and thought maybe my Mom would enjoy it too. It's just a quick jaunt up from Main Street and is marked by a plaque in the wall.

After that to the Kirk trailhead of the Mickelson Trail. It's a railroad grade trail that runs through the hills for a hundred of miles or so but this section is just a few miles long, runs along a
small creek and is just slightly uphill. It's a perfect

5.7.11 Bullock House, Deadwood SD

spot to get away from traffic and let the dogs run a bit. Along this section Wu has a favorite swimming spot and though we hadn't seen it since last year, he remembered exactly where it was. He whipped off the trail and was wading in the water when we caught up with him. Little Brady ran right up to the water's edge, stood on a rock, looked at us, then turned and jumped into the creek. He was a little more than surprised when the water was icy cold and the current began to pull him. He dipped under for a second and when he surfaced be did the doggy-paddle like no puppy had done before and made it to shore. Within 5 seconds he had successfully completed his first swim. After all that excitement we got back on the trail and within a 1/2 mile we had found a better spot for the dogs to swim but apparently only Wu was interested. Brady stayed back, sitting on the edge and watched. Apparently he'd had his fill.

After all that swimming and walking we brought the dogs back to the house so we could enjoy the more adult things in Deadwood. First stop, Schade Vineyard & Winery. It's just inside of Boulder Canyon and about a mile from our house. It turns out that at this winery you can try however many wines you would like. Oh, no. I would feel pretty comfortable saying that their dessert wines dominated the menu. My mom ended up buying a bottles of the Buffaloberry, Chokecherry, Rhubarb. Josh & I bought a bottle of their 10th Anniversary Signature Red. All off us went a little crazy on the tastings because we had always been limited on the number. Mom tried every dessert wine- she was in it.

5.7.11 Belle Joli Winery, Deadwood SD

We were getting into the spirit of things and headed downtown Deadwood to hit up the Belle Joli Winery. It turns out that when you pay $5 for a tasting, you really get your money's worth. We tasted everything on the menu. Delicious. There were a couple that weren't too memorable but the rest were tasty. I should have stopped at the tasting but Mom and I decided to indulge in a glass and we all sat out watching people pass by.

Bertha at the Midnight Star was the next stop. She's a super large slot machine but she didn't pay out at all after $5 so we headed up the street to the Miner's Den Steakhouse. We ordered burgers and fries and drank water. After that wine tasting it was perfect and cleansed our pallets. We were full, exhausted and ready to head home only to begin it all again the next day...