Okay, last post before we head down to Colorado, and I'm not sure how frequently I'll be writing from there. Today, we drove into Deadwood for dinner. We stopped by a local steak house and enjoyed a great meal while watching the HUNDREDS of motorcycles passing by. While the downtown Sturgis main street is legendary, there is plenty of "spillover" in Deadwood.

As we were walking back to the parking deck, I noticed a tall gentleman walking alone. What caught my eye was that he had bright colored boots that matched his hat. He was wearing shades and paused to sit at the side of the road. As I passed and we made eye contact, I said, "Hey, how's it going?" He replied, "Fine, and you?" At that moment, I have a sudden burst of recognition. The voice and the face, even behind the shades and hat, suddenly "clicked." It was Kevin Costner!!! Whoomp!

I was still collecting my wits when I realized who it was, and turned back to say something to Doreen and noticed that she had already recognized him. She smiled and said, "May I shake your hand?" He laughed and said, "Sure." She said, "Pleased to meet you" and he repeated it. Then, we continued walking. Since he was obviously not trying to draw much attention to himself, we did not want to make a scene.

Kevin owns a building in downtown Deadwood, as well as quite a bit of property that they have been considering for development of a resort. When we pulled out of the parking garage, we saw him walking down the sidewalk and stepping into his building which houses the Midnight Star and Jake's (the former a sportsbar, the latter a fine dining restaurant with the best buffalo steak in town).

What a night! We finished the evening packing, and are excited to set out for Denver, Colorado tomorrow.

Jeremy Likness