Deadwood/Lead, SD Memorial weekend trip

We went out to visit John's mom and Al over Memorial weekend in Lead, SD. We took a different route on the way out there this time via I-94 and stopped the first night in Bismarck, ND, and then drove south at Belfield, ND. John wanted to check out the changes in Belfield since he last lived there and we drove past his family's old house and drove around the whole town since it is pretty small. Belfield was not too exciting.

We did stop for breakfast in Bismarck at a Cracker Barrel. Cracker Barrel is exciting to me because on trips down south as a kid our family always used to eat at them. John's not as in love with the Cracker Barrel concept as I am, but he tolerates it.

I forgot to take pictures on most of this trip. We arrived in Lead on Friday afternoon. After we got settled in, we ate dinner at a bar/burger place in Lead the first night. Can't recall the name of it though.

On Saturday, the weather was supposed to be rainy so John and I went to Deadwood for the afternoon and wandered around. We had dinner at the Deadwood Social Club with Susan and Al. The food was quite good and it is probably the nicest restaurant in Deadwood. Most of the other dining options in Deadwood are in the burgers, fries and buffet category and never very memorable. Apparently they want you to concentrate on gambling on Deadwood.

On Sunday, we headed over to Hill City, near Mt Rushmore and took a little tour of some wine tasting places there. I should have taken some photos because some of the wineries were quite nice. I believe we visited Prairie Berry Winery, Naked Winery and Stone Faces Winery. I liked the wines at Prairie Berry the best and they had an extensive facility with food available to order and a large gift shop. They also had a pretty patio where you could enjoy your wine on premises.

We headed home on Memorial day Monday via the usual route of I-90 and Hwy 60 and 169 in MN. Not a very exciting drive home, aside from a short stop at Wall Drug. I ordered a donut there, which was surprisingly good with lots of chocolate frosting on it.

If you go out to the Rapid City area I do suggest checking out some of the wineries in the area. Some of them are new and some are not, but I did not realize how many are in the area now. It is something different to do other than the typical tourist attractions.

Deadwood Social Club

(605) 578-3346
657 Main Street
Deadwood, SD
http://saloon10.com/DeadwoodSocialClub.aspx