Rockies Caravan - Part 10 - Black Hills SD - STR-2021-36

Monday, 13 September

The itinerary for today was to reposition from Devils Tower to Deadwood, SD, all of about 75 miles. A perfect opportunity to play golf enroute, especially as the KOA campground checkout time in Devils Tower was 11am and checkin time in Deadwood, only an hour away, was after 1pm.

We selected Belle Fourche Country Club in Belle Fourche, SD as it was somewhat along the route. It also had us travel WY 24 which was a very scenic drive. On the western slopes, we saw the early signs of fall with golden leaves getting a head start.

The golf course was a 9-hole course. We arrived early and were able to go right off. Having not played in a couple of weeks, we were both rusty and struggled. Kris uncharacteristically struggled with her putting which cost her several strokes. Darrell managed to lead at the turn. Kris regrouped on the back nine and we tied for the second nine holes. Starting early enabled finishing early, leaving some time for adventuring on the way to Deadwood.

Choosing the scenic route, we drove US 14 south from Spearfish, SD, through Spearfish Canyon. A gorgeous canyon. Along the way, we stopped at Bridal Veil Falls by the side of the road. A pretty waterfall, but not spectacular.

Bridal Veil Falls

A little further down the road, we saw a sign for Devils Bathtub, another water feature.

Devils Bathtub

Just a little further, we saw the remains of the Homestake Mining Company Hydroelectric Plant No.2.

As we would learn later, Homestake Mining Company was the most successful gold mine in Lead, SD. It originally started in 1876, and actively mined gold until 2002 (over 120 years) when the price of gold collapsed. Their mining shaft extended over 8,000 feet deep, with the top of the main mine shaft at an elevation of about 5,500 feet - yup, they were mining gold well below sea level. It was the largest and deepest gold mine in North America - over 1 billion dollars of gold extracted

Another interesting fact was that they did not actively mine Spearfish Canyon or the Spearfish Creek Canyon - they harnessed the water for hydroelectric power and mining operations, so the canyons are amazingly beautiful today.

At the junction labeled Savoy, SD, we turned up the dirt road along Little Spearfish Creek and hiked to Roughlock Falls, a 2.1 mile out-and-back trail along the creek.

Roughlock Falls

While at the upper falls, we noticed a parking area close by - we could have skipped the hike. However, it was the hike that drew us to the canyon to begin with, and the hike was very enjoyable.

Also located at the Savoy junction was Spearfish Falls, which we decided to save for a return visit with Darrell (H) and Brenda.

As we drove though Deadwood, Darrell (VH) braved the traffic and parking to score a parallel parking spot across from Tin Lizzies, which also housed a Starbucks for Darrell to pay up. Sprinty was quite proud of his parallel parking ability, all 27.5' long, on the first attempt. Right next to the sign we saw the next day which said no RV parking. Oops.

After checking into the Days of "76 Campground, located adjacent to Days of "76 Museum in Deadwood, SD and getting Sprinty all settled, the four of us (Darrell x2, Brenda and Kris) chose to revisit Spearfish Canyon in their Honda. We drove back to Savoy to hike the 0.8 mile hike to Spearfish Falls.

Spearfish Falls

Spearfish Falls

Spearfish Falls

A nice hike, we then wanted to show them Roughlock Falls. Learning from our stop only a couple of hours before, we drove to the upper parking lot. Already the lighting was different.

Roughlock Falls

Roughlock Falls

We also saw a sign to the film site - the site where they filmed the winter scene in "Dances with Wolves". None of us could recall the scene - just looked like a picturesque creek below some towering rocks. 

On the way back down the dirt road, we stopped at a small dam to look for wildlife. And as we were walking to the dam, a buck was walking down the road towards us. We froze in place and watched the buck continue walking until he got our scent and went up into the woods.

By now, it was dinner time, so we decided to have dinner at the Latchstring Restaurant in Savoy by Spearfish Falls, a restaurant first established in 1909.

Tuesday, 14 September

With Sprinty's stay in South Dakota last night, he added another sticker to the map - his 42nd state camped in since being adopted by Kris and Darrell.

A pretty full day of events. The charter bus picked us up at 8:15am. Our first stop was Ta'Tanka, Story of The Bison (storyofthebison.com).

Ta'Tanka is a project inspired by Kevin Costner's time with the Lakota People while filming "Dances with Wolves".  Ta'Tanka focuses on the symbiotic relationship between the Lakota Nation and the North American Plains Bison. As we were a tour group, the museum brought in Spotted Eagle, a Lakota, to share the pre-Hickok history of the Black Hills and the Lakota people.

The centerpiece of Ta'Tanka is the 3rd largest bronze sculpture in the world.  It is composed of a total of 17 pieces: 14 bison being pursued by three Lakota riders on bareback. These figures artfully depict the earliest and most effective form of hunting bison called a bison jump.

The museum had some exhibits on the Plains Indians in the Black Hills, Wind Cave, and the importance of the bison to the Indians. 

Alas, the story is somewhat sad as the bison were hunted to near extinction and the U.S. reneged on the Treaty of 1868 which had set aside the Black Hills as Indian territory.

Next, the bus took us to the Black Hills Mining Museum (blackhillsminingmuseum.com) in Lead, SD, just south of Deadwood. The museum focused on the history of mining in the Black Hills, especially the Homestake Mining Company. An interesting fact was that there has been more gold mined in the Black Hills than in all of California. 

Hmmm, if "All the gold in California is in a bank in the middle of Beverly Hills in somebody else's name, …" Sprinty wonders where all the gold in South Dakota is?

The museum also had panning for gold. Several tried their hand at it under the instruction of museum staff. Mary, from Florida, had a good time. Each of the gold panners left with a small vial with gold flakes they got for their efforts.

Next, we went back to Deadwood to visit the Adams Museum. In 1930 pioneer businessman W.E. Adams founded the Adams Museum in Deadwood, with the purpose of preserving and displaying the history of the Black Hills. He donated the building to the City of Deadwood. As a tour group, we had guides who took us through the first floor exhibits. Pretty interesting. And one of W.E. Adams's stipulations for the museum was that it would be free to visit.

The caravan had arranged for lunch at Mustang Sally's, a restaurant on the Main Street of Deadwood. We thought it might be named for some Deadwood or gold rush historical person and after several minutes of internet research found that it was just named after the song "Mustang Sally", written and recorded by Mack Rice, later covered by The Rascals and Wilson Pickett.

Due to overbooking, some of the caravan group, including us, were not able to do the Original Deadwood Tour this afternoon as scheduled - we were rescheduled for tomorrow, leaving us with the afternoon free to explore. As we wandered the streets of Deadwood, we heard a fellow in period dress hollering for people to attend the free show at 3pm where they re-enact the shooting of Wild Bill Hickok in the famous #10 Saloon. Well, not the original #10 Saloon as that was across the street about half a block away. The show was about a half hour monologue on who Wild Bill Hickok was and how he came to be in Deadwood, SD on August 2, 1876, followed by the quick shot that killed him. The fellow portraying Wild Bill Hickok did a good job - well enough we talked Darrell (H) and Brenda into attending the next day.

We wandered some more, then took up sidewalk positions for the 4pm gunfight in the street. Main Street gets blocked off for the 15 minutes for the short show.

As the four of us walked back to the campground from town, we saw the sign commemorating the first Deadwood Gold Discovery in August 1875 in the creek right by the campground. The sign said the gold rush started in 1875, however, residents celebrate the Days of '76 because the city of Deadwood was laid out by April 26, 1876. And because the great rush of miners into Deadwood came in the spring of 1876.

Wednesday, 15 September

Our day started with the Original Deadwood Tour (http://deadwoodtour.com) with driver Dave. The tour picked us up at the campground. Driver Dave shared some historical facts mixed in with one-liners - he talked nearly non-stop the entire tour. Normally the tour is an hour long - we must have gotten the overbooking bonus as we returned to the campground after about 90 minutes.

With the rest of the day a free day, the four of us went to visit the Historic Adams House (https://www.deadwoodhistory.com/about-us/properties/historic-adams-house.html), the house that W.E. Adams purchased in 1920. Built in 1892, the Queen Anne-style home is well-known for its oak interiors, hand-painted canvas wall coverings, stained-glass windows, thoroughly modern 19th century plumbing, electricity, telephone service, and original furnishings.

The house sat silent for more than 50 years after W.E. Adams' death in 1934. His second wife, Mary Adams, left everything intact, from the sheet music on the piano, the books in the library and the china in the pantry to the patent medicines in the bathroom, and even cookies in a cookie jar. The home was purchased by the Deadwood Historic Preservation Commission in 1992 and restored as a house museum in 2000.

Normally, old homes are not a major interest item for us - this one, combined with a most excellent tour guide, was amazing. Worth the price of admission and the time invested. Highly recommended. Sorry, no photos were allowed inside.

We then set off on a scenic drive. Darrell (H) really wanted us to experience a visit to Sturgis, SD. A small town, it is nearly a ghost town except for a few weeks in late July/early August when tens of thousands of motorcyclists descend on the small town for a week. Most of the businesses along Main Street seemed to be bars, motorcycle related and motorcycle apparel related. And many were closed as it was now September.

We found a picnic area at nearby Bear Butte National Wildlife Refuge for lunch, then drove the Vanocker Canyon drive. Vanocker Canyon is a beautiful 17-mile stretch of road that cuts through the Northern Black Hills.

Once back to the campground, we decided to walk into Deadwood for pizza, see the 6pm gunfight, and the 7pm reenactment of the shooting of Wild Bill Hickok in the famous #10 Saloon. The street gunfight at 6pm wasn't any better than the first. The shooting of Wild Bill Hickok show was interesting the second time - the fellow portraying Wild Bill Hickok delivered his routine just as smoothly as yesterday. One would think so, as he does it 4 or 5 times a day.

Pizza choices in the downtown area of Deadwood were limited - pizza by the slice at the Deadwood Pizza Company (which looked sad in the window) and wood—fired oven pizza at the Nugget Saloon. Despite the saloon setting, the pizza was quite good.

Thursday, 16 September

The itinerary was repositioning to Hermosa, SD, located south of Rapid City, all of 55 miles away. We decided to make it a day of independent adventuring, Sprinty style.

We headed south on US 385 which runs through the middle of the Black Hills. We passed through Hill City and Custer on our way to Wind Cave National Park, Sprinty's 23rd National Park.

The Black Hills caves, including Wind Cave, formed in limestone that was laid down some 300 million years ago.

The Lakota (Sioux), an indigenous people who live in the Black Hills region of South Dakota, consider Wind Cave, a hole that blew air, as a sacred site - the place where they first emerged from the underworld where they had lived before the creation of the world.

The natural opening is quite small - about the size of a park Ranger hat.

Natural Opening

The actual opening is in the shape of a bison head.

Closeup of Natural Opening

Wind Cave "breathes" as air continually moves into or out of them, equalizing the atmospheric pressure of the cave and the outside air. When the air pressure is higher outside the cave than inside it, air flows into the cave, raising the cave's pressure to match the outside pressure. When the air pressure inside the cave is higher than outside it, air flows out of the cave, lowering the air pressure within the cave. A large cave such as Wind Cave with only a few small openings will "breathe" more obviously than a small cave with many large openings. It is that breathing that led to its discovery by settlers.

Fortunately, perhaps, the original settlers opened a larger entrance to the cave so visitors do not have to wedge themselves through the small opening and do a 50 feet of Army crawl to enter/exit.

Arriving just before 10:30am, we optimistically hoped to be able to do the 10:30 Natural Entrance Cave Tour. As soon as we entered the Visitor Center, it became obvious that just wasn't happening today.

The cave tours are first-come, first served. The long line for cave tour tickets and park information was indicative the popularity of the tours, even on a weekday after Labor Day. We were super happy to get tickets for the 12:00 Garden of Eden tour - in fact we got the next to last tickets for that tour.

We used the time before the cave tour to watch the video on Wind Cave and view the exhibits. We also walked to the Natural Entrance which one could do without having tickets for a cave tour.

Ranger Brittany was our cave tour guide. As only 10 people fit in the elevator that took us down 120 feet, three trips were required for the maximum tour size of 30. The tour was one hour long and covered about 1/3 mile, which included 150 steps. Among the formations, we saw boxwork, frostwork and cave popcorn along this compact route. 

As of 2021, 157 miles of passages have been mapped. While that sounds expansive, all the mapped passages are within one square mile. Ranger Brittany also said that based on some scientific measurement of air flow at 20 places in the 157 miles of passages, it is estimated that the 157 miles is but 10-15% of the cave's total size.

A most interesting cave - we plan to come back one day and do the Natural Entrance cave tour.

We then worked our way to the Wildlife Loop in Custer State Park - made more challenging with the closure of two roads for road repairs. We drove miles of gravel roads, which had us approaching the Wildlife Loop from the southeast. Sprinty handled the gravel roads just fine - but Darrell (VH) has a clean up project to do. We knew from Darrell (H) and Brenda, who called us from the visitor center, that the bison were in the south part of the park. As we neared the park boundary, we started seeing bison.

Our photos were taken with telephoto lens at a safe distance away with a fence between us and the bison.

We drove as much of the Wildlife Loop as we could with part of the loop shut down for road repairs. Along the way, we also saw a herd of pronghorn grazing.

The drive to Hermosa was scenic. Our campground for the next several nights is the Heartland RV Park just south of Hermosa, SD.

Friday, 17 September

Our morning low temperature of 41 degrees was a reminder that temperatures are getting cooler, even at 3,300 feet elevation.

The caravan loaded a charter bus at 9am for Chapel in the Hills (https://www.chapel-in-the-hills.org/index.html) near Rapid City. In the 1960's, the originator and preacher of the Lutheran Vespers radio hour, Dr. Harry R. Gregerson, was looking to expand the scope of his popular radio ministry. As his dream took shape, Dr. Gregerson realized there was the perfect location for his facility right in his own state of South Dakota: the Black Hills. The Black Hills are a vaction destination for people from all over the world. The Chapel was to draw people to it and the Hills was the perfect setting to accomplish this goal.

The chapel, a stave church built in 1969, is an exact reproduction of the famous Borgund Stavkirke of Laerdal, Norway.

We had a quick driving tour of Rapid City, driving past some of the City of Presidents (https://www.visitrapidcity.com/things-to-do/all-things/attractions/city-presidents) statues - a series of life-size bronze statues of our nation's past presidents along the city's streets and sidewalks. 

The City of Presidents project began in 2000 to honor the legacy of the American presidency. Each sculpture is privately funded, and the pattern of placement was chosen to maintain orderly structure and eliminate any sense of favoritism or political gain. 

After a lunch stop, we went to Keystone, SD, a tourist trap town along one of the main routes to Mount Rushmore. Our original itinerary was to visit the Borglum History Museum (https://www.rushmoreborglum.com/) in Keystone, however, it was closed due to COVID according to the website. The guy next door selling wood signs said they had been closed for 3 years due to not being able to bring exchange students in to work in the museum.

So we had to settle for wandering the shops. Perhaps the highlight was the chainsaw art where the two Darrell brothers were able to get photographed next to their elusive other brother Darrell.

Darrell and Darrell with their other brother Darrell

Our final stop was Mount Rushmore (https://www.nps.gov/moru/index.htm).

We enjoyed the framing of the carving with the Avenue of Flags.

One of Gutzon Borglum's sculptures of Abraham Lincoln prompted Helen Plane, President of United Daughters of the Confederacy, to contact Borglum about the possibility of doing a head of Robert E. Lee on the side of Stone Mountain in Georgia. Because of World War I, work at Stone Mountain did not begin until 1923. Carving was limited to jackhammers and chisels until a visiting Belgian engineer taught Borglum the use of dynamite for precise work. The head of Lee was unveiled in 1924. Soldiers in the audience who served with the Confederate leader were moved to tears by the likeness.

However, trouble had been brewing between Borglum and the businessmen directing the project, and Borglum was abruptly dismissed. He destroyed his models in order to protect his design and this so angered the directors that a warrant was issued for his arrest and he was forced to flee Georgia. Borglum's head of Lee was removed when another artist was engaged and none of his work survived when the carving was finally finished in 1970. 

In 1923, Doane Robinson, the State Historian of South Dakota, read of the Stone Mountain venture and wrote to Borglum about the possibility of doing a mountain carving in the Black Hills. Borglum came to South Dakota in 1924 at the age of 57 and agreed in principle to do the project.

His dismissal from Stone Mountain made it possible to return to South Dakota in the summer of 1925 and set in motion the machinery that eventually led to the creation of Mount Rushmore. Work on the sculpture began in 1927. Borglum remained devoted to the project until his death in Chicago following surgery on March 6, 1941, several days before his 74th birthday.

We visited the Lincoln Borglum Visitor center, watched the video (as noted before, surprisingly as many National Park Service theaters have been closed as part of their COVID precautions). We only had time to briefly glance at the exhibits as we wanted to walk the Presidential Trail before we had to be back on the bus.

After passing beneath the sculptures, the trail passed by the sculptor studio. The sculptor studio is where Goodson Borglum worked from 1939 to 1941 and includes the 1/12th scale model of Mount Rushmore.

Our timing was most excellent as we caught the last Ranger talk of the day. The Ranger talk focused on the workers who helped Borglum create Mount Rushmore and the tools and techniques they used. Interesting, the original concept for sculpting figures in the rock of the Black Hills was to draw visitors to Southwest South Dakota.

Later in the evening, Sprinty got a knock on the door. Our caravan Tailgunner stopped by to ask for some electrical help - they were without any 12v power in their Super C RV. After a few minutes of poking around, Darrell (VH) asked if the battery disconnect was on. It had been turned off by accident. Fortunately, it was something simple. Initial suspects included the converter, which would have been a bit of a challenge to get a replacement on a weekend. While relieved it was something simple, the Tailgunner did have a sheepish look when we found it was just the battery disconnect switch.

Saturday, 18 September

An earlier start today as we loaded the charter bus at 8:15am. First stop of the day was the Mt. Rushmore Black Hills Gold Outlet (blackhillsgold.com) specializing in unique designs using Black Hills gold. Being a Saturday, the tour of the factory was closed - we had to settle for a video on the jewelry making process. Many of the caravan wives left with purple bags containing their Black Hills gold purchases.

The bus then took us to Crazy Horse Memorial (crazyhorsememorial.org). The Crazy Horse Memorial is a mountain monument under construction on privately held land in the Black Hills. It will depict the Oglala Lakota warrior, Crazy Horse, riding a horse and pointing to his tribal land. The monument is being carved out of Thunderhead Mountain, on land considered sacred by some Oglala Lakota, between Custer and Hill City, roughly 17 miles from Mount Rushmore. The sculpture's final dimensions are planned to be 641 feet long and 563 feet high. The arm of Crazy Horse will be 263 feet long and the head 87 feet high; by comparison, the heads of the four U.S. Presidents at Mount Rushmore are each 60 feet high.

The memorial was commissioned by Henry Standing Bear, a Lakota elder, to be sculpted by Korczak Ziolkowski. The memorial master plan includes the mountain carving monument, an Indian Museum of North America, and a Native American Cultural Center.

The monument has been in progress since 1948 and is far from completion. If completed as designed, it will become the world's second tallest statue, after the Statue of Unity in India.

After lunch, we visited the Indian Museum of North America collocates at the Crazy Horse Memorial. A Native American dance was performed while one of the University directors, a Lakota, provided some background to the significance of Crazy Horse.

We also got a ride-on guide and the bus took the group to the base of the monument. For a donation of $125 to the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation, you can get a tour on the sculpture itself - recent tours take you to the top of the outstretched arm.

Sunday, 19 September

After enjoying a breakfast at the campground restaurant, the four of us set off for a day of adventuring in Custer State Park.

We got an early start and headed for the Wildlife Loop Road in the southeast corner of Custer State Park. We were rewarded with active animals and few visitors.

After driving the loop road and a couple of dirt roads, we turned south to Wind Cave National Park to hike the Rankin Ridge Fire Tower. Along the way, we saw a couple of pronghorn antelope.

As Darrell (H) pulled into the parking lot, he started for the end parking place so the car would be in the shade. We then saw the large male bison right by the parking lot and suggested he not park in the end spot.  So he parked in the spot next to the end spot.

A very nice hike up to the ridge. As we returned, we kept an eye out for the bison (and rattlesnakes). Fortunately, the bison had moved on by the time we got back saving us having to figure out how to get past him to the car.

We returned to Custer State Park (the two parks share a boundary) and went to the Badger Clark cabin. 

Charles Badger Clark lived by himself in a cabin for about 30 years. His poetry earned him the acclaim of Poet Laureate of South Dakota. After touring the cabin, we hiked the 0.6 mile Badger Clark Trail.

Continuing north, we then drove the Needles Highway (Hwy 87), an epic scenic drive in Custer State Park not well suited for Sprinty as two of the tunnels are not tall enough for some of Sprinty's finer features.

A narrow, twisty, runny road, it is enjoyed by motorcyclists, sports cars and tourists like us. Along the way, we saw some awesome rock formations.

The Darrells even posed at the Hole in the Rock. Maybe trying to mimic the Hole in the Wall Gang?

At the north end of Needles Highway (nearing Hill City), we stopped at Sylvan Lake to hike the 1.1 mile Sylvan Lake Shore Trail. Rated as easy, it was gorgeous.

After completing the Needles Highway, we drove east past Mount Rushmore to drive Iron Mountain Road (16A), another twisty, winding road. The Iron Mountain Road (https://www.ironmountainroad.com) is Sprinty-friendly with its tunnels.

Along the Iron Mountain Road is the Norbeck Overlook. Peter Norbeck was instrumental in building the Needles Highway and the Iron Mountain Highway to draw visitors to the Black Hills.

Last stop of the day was the Custer State Park Visitor Center. We enjoyed the video and the exhibits. We tried to have dinner at the lodge, but they were expecting a bus load of visitors and said it might be a two hour wait. So we settled for enjoying the big horn sheep on the lodge lawn instead.

As we turned in this evening, we had spent nearly seven days in the Black Hills of South Dakota. And we still were not able to explore everything. An amazing place to visit, lots of hikes, waterfalls, history, rock formations and wildlife. We will definitely visit again.