Are you seeing the right sights on holiday?

Sometimes I wonder if we really know what’s worth seeing while on holiday.

Travelling across South Dakota do I stop in the famous town of Deadwood, where Calamity Jane shocked the locals with her bawdy ways, which included cracking a whip, chewing tobacco and cussing?

Do I stop at Saloon Number 10 where Wild Bill Hickok was shot on August 2, 1876 by the drifter John McCall leaving behind the legacy of the Deadman’s Handhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_mans_hand ?

Do I climb the small hill to Mount Moriah Cemetery    http://www.deadwood.org/OfficialGuide/AttractionsTours/MountMoriahCemetery/Index.cfm  where Hickok’s body now rests?

Do I stop at the saloons lining the main street and try my hand at the tables or on the slots?

Do I soak up the Disney-like atmosphere of a town that was once on the frontier of the Wild West – where gun fights were the norm and hunting Indians was considered a good job to do?

Or do I drive on North towards Spearfish Canyon taking a little detour to Terry Peak?

Do I stand atop terry Peak and gaze out across South Dakota, Wyoming and Montana – 100 miles in each direction?

Do I breathe in the cold mountain air whisking through the pines and silver birch trees?

Do I watch the tiny chipmunks hunt for food and the Black Cap Chickadees flit between the trees?

Do I drive down between the canyon’s ruddy brown spires of water polished rock stopping to gawp at millions of H2O molecules tobogganing down the cliffs?

Do I watch American Dippers skimming the creek water as it rushes on its long journey to the Mississippi?

Do I stop to photograph a brightly coloured Tanager bird sitting in the trees by the road?

Do I stare open-mouthed at each corner as new views open up before me or mountains, trees and foamy water?

I guess it depends what you want from a holiday. And there’s nothing wrong with wanting both. Let’s just hope the Disney of Deadwood never spoils the stimulating scenery of Spearfish.

Travel Notes:

A great place to stop after soaking up Spearfish Canyon is the Green Bean fair-trade and organic cafe in Spearfish town centre.   http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Green-Bean-Coffeehouse/48974241498