May 20th Walk 2: Deadwood, South Dakota

There is nothing more desirable to mankind than that of the sounds of clanking chips permeating from a brightly lit casino. For this "desire lines" walk, I was fortunate, or one could say unfortunate, to be in Deadwood, South Dakota; famous for being the place where Wild Bill Hitchcock faced his fate with the "deadman's hand", a hand I basically faced myself. Walking the streets, in and out of casinos, loosing black jack hand after black jack hand, it was very apparent what the desire lines of this area were. As my chips (desires to win) were fading away, my dad who was down to his last two chips, with the intent of just calling it a night, turned his shortcomings into a miracle.

The human fascination with gambling goes hand in hand with that of desire. The street designers of Deadwood, lining both sides with casino after casino, tapped directly into the human psyche for this purpose. Without having to think, the gamblers path is set for him/her. Subconsciously the visitors of Deadwood follow this path, blindly spending upwards of thousands of dollars to fulfill their desire; this being the fantasy of walking home with riches.

I felt this was a perfect place to experience the lines of desire. My own desire ended up costing me $100, but I still had a good time. Below are pictures of my father and I's experience with these lines, teaching us both a lesson that Hitchcock himself learned. Desire, if too abundant, can lead to despair.