There’s Gold in the Black Hills

Although we’ve spent two summers in the Black Hills, we’ve never been there in the fall.  We’ve always wondered what it would look like when the Aspen and Birch changed colors, and so this year we decided to find out.  Our first drive was up Spearfish Canyon to the Savoy Intersection and Roughlock Falls, one of the areas used in the filming of the movie Dances with Wolves.  This is an area that is spectacular on a summer day – this time of year it was absolutely magical!






Roughlock Falls is a pretty area with a rushing, crystal-clear stream, just down from where the closing scene of the movie was filmed.




We were thrilled to have a visit from an old friend from my Air Force days.  Sheryl and her mother had never been here, so the day after they toured Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse, we took them on a day trip to Devil’s Tower, Lead, and Deadwood.  On the way to Devil’s Tower, we stopped for lunch in Sundance, where Sheryl and her mom had a chance to sit with the Sundance Kid.  Then it was on to Devil’s Tower, one of the real wonders of the west.  Even though we’ve been here before, we’re always amazed at how this strange tower erupts from the landscape.  We had a great time showing our guests around – it’s always fun for us to share our knowledge of an area.
We returned to the Eastern Black Hills a few days later and were surprised at how the Aspen and Birch trees had changed.  There were so many great views – here are a few:





We took the scenic route back and came through the old mining town of Lead (Leed).  It’s an old town that reminds us of many of the rust-belt mining towns in Pennsylvania – narrow streets with homes built on steep slopes.  As we drove down Main Street, we could see the Homestake Mine headframe.  Gold was discovered here in the 1870s, and the mine became the largest and deepest gold mine in the world.  Closing in 2002, the mine produced 31 million ounces of gold and seven million of silver.  The mine reached an astounding depth of 8000 feet before closing, and today the Sanford Laboratory conducts “Deep Underground Neutrino” experiments near the 5000’ level.  I have no idea what a ‘Neutrino” is but I think it’s good that they’re experimenting with them way, way, underground.
Finally it was time to leave South Dakota and head for New Mexico for the winter.  We headed south to Valentine, Nebraska to visit two US Fish & Wildlife refuges, hoping that the fall migration of waterfowl and Sandhill Cranes had begun.  But the warm weather has delayed the migration, so we had to be satisfied with the surprisingly beautiful scenery along the Niabrora River.  But we did see Prairie Dogs – lots and lots of Prairie Dogs, madly eating to put on fat for the winter.  This one doesn’t look like he needs to eat much more:
During our years on the road, we’ve encountered a number of obstacles while driving;  dust storms, construction, accidents, etc., but nothing like we encountered entering Kansas.    Cresting a hill, I looked ahead at what appeared to be a large brown mass in the road.  Moving closer, we realized we were watching a cattle drive.  Apparently it’s easier to move the hundreds of cattle by herding them down the highway instead of trucking them.  We pulled to a stop behind the herd, and were a bit surprised when the young lady on horseback motioned us to follow her.  So off we went, straight through the mass of bawling, mooing, and obviously unhappy cattle.  Amazingly, they moved aside as we slowly drove through, and although there were a few close calls, we managed to escape without  any damage to us or the cattle.  We try to stay off of the interstate highways because they’re boring – but hadn’t quite expected something like this!
And finally, we’ll leave you with this beautiful sculpture from outside the Wyoming visitor center:
We’re in New Mexico now, and there’s always a lot to see and do here – check back and see what we’re up to!

Traveling East

We're in Ohio now, having crossed the middle of the country through spring winds and rains with only some minor mental damage. Our schedule didn't allow for a lot of touring, but we did manage to see some interesting sights. We left I-40 in Tucumcari, NM, and headed northeast on US Route 54, which took us through some great examples of small town America. The flat ranchlands of Dalhart TX, Guymon, OK, and Liberal, KS gradually changed to horizon-to-horizon views of winter wheat fields, and finally into gently rolling hills. Getting off of the Interstate and driving through so many small towns with their interesting storefronts and brick streets made us wish we had more time to spend exploring, but we'd made plans to be in Ohio and had to continue on. With high winds making driving a chore, we spent three days in Wichita, KS, a town that amazed us with it's beautiful housing areas, active downtown, and beautiful river drive. We stayed at the All Seasons RV Park, a nice little park with friendly owners and a great location just West of town. Along the river drive we stopped at the Keeper of the Plains Plaza, located on an island at the confluence of the Big and Little Arkansas Rivers. It's a beautiful place; the sculpture of the Indian warrior is truly impressive and the island provides a great view of downtown Wichita. Crossing into Missouri, we passed through the neat town of Nevada, and then on to the Lake of the Ozarks area where we spent three days at the Majestic Oaks Campground, a beautiful park set in the trees high above the lake. This is one of the better parks we've stayed in; a quiet, tree-covered setting with huge sites, immaculate facilities, and meticulous landscaping that made our visit truly enjoyable. We extended our stay to three days to explore the area, catch up on chores, and do some shopping. During this time of year, the area is fairly quiet and most of the restaurants and attractions are still closed. Still, the traffic on the only highway through the area makes getting around difficult; we can only imagine how bad it must be turning the height of tourist season. We didn't find the area all that picturesque, and it seemed that every inch of shoreline was taken by marinas, condo communities, or waterfront restaurants, but one area that was interesting was Ha Ha Tonka State Park. Despite the whimsical name, we found it to be an interesting place; the terrain was striking and the history was intriguing. We stopped first at the visitor center, where we saw this Pileated Woodpecker raiding the suet feeder. The largest woodpecker (unless there's an Ivory-billed one out there somewhere), it's always a treat to see one with it's "Woody Woodpecker" head and colorful body. We were surprised to find that there was no entrance fee to the park, and after picking up a brochure, headed up the road to the "castle", the ruins of a mansion that burned in 1942. It's an interesting history - built in the early 1900s by a wealthy Kansas City businessman who was one of the city's first automobile owners.....and first traffic fatalities. Both the mansion and carriage house, which were being used as a lodge, were destroyed but the stone walls and foundations still remain standing and are surrounded by a system of paved trails and overlooks. We also explored other areas of the park; one trail led to a beautiful natural bridge in the thick woods, and there were many examples of sinkholes, tunnels, and other examples of karst geology. It's a beautiful park, and once they figure out how to level out all of those up-and-down trails it will be perfect! From Lake of the Ozarks, we continued on US 54 until finally joining I-70 West of Saint Louis. From there it was an easy drive to Edwardsville, IL, where we spent time at a nice little park, the Red Barn Rendezvous. We lived here for over three years back in the early 80s, so there was not much new to explore, but we did spend time visiting with old friends. One place that we always visit while in the area is the Soulard Market in Saint Louis, a historic place which bills itself as "the oldest farmer's market West of the Mississippi". OK, it's only 1/4 mile West of the river, but it's still old (built in 1843), and even at this time of year has a large number of vendors with fresh vegetables. With the refrigerator full of fresh veggies, we headed Northeast for a night at Casey, IL, a place we used to visit frequently when we lived in the area, and then on to Wright-Patterson AFB and Dayton, OH to visit with old friends and get some needed dental work done. We'll be here for almost three weeks before heading North to the Cleveland area, and hope to get in some time revisiting some places of interest. Thanks for looking in - stay tuned!