Monday 9-16-24 to Sunday 9-22-14 South Dakota & More

We were camped for about a week with almost no cell phone access. Today is 9/24 and we may again be without access to cell phone access. We will see.

 

South Dakota welcome sign

 

Monday 9/16/24    New State, Site Seeing & New Campground

We had three outstanding days at Devils Tower. Now it’s time to move on. 

As we were exiting Devils Tower National Monument we saw some longhorn cattle on a private ranch. At the same place there were wild turkeys. We drove 42 miles before leaving Wyoming and entering South Dakota. The scenery changed a little in Wyoming, there was a lot of flat plains and South Dakota had some rolling hills and more trees. We saw some of the trees starting to change colors for the fall.

Our next destination was 84 miles away but on the way we did some stops. 

The first stop was in Bell Fourche. Bell Fourche is known to be the Center of the Nation. There’s a few other cities, that claim the same thing. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration moved the stamp from Kansas to South Dakota because they added Alaska and Hawaii. The museum was closed on Mondays. But we walked around the grounds. They had all the nations flags flying and an old log cabin, that was built in 1876 by Buckskin Johnny. The visitor center was being remodeled so there was a lot of construction going on. The grounds were very well kept up. It was disappointing that the museum was closed.

Tri-State Museum 

 

National Oceanic And Atmospheric Administration Seal

 

 

 

Map of the United States

 

Buckskin Johnny's cabin

 

Next stop was in Bell Fourche at the Bell Fourche Rec. Center to take a shower. It was a very nice facility and they only charged $2.14 for a shower. The building appeared to be a high school gymnasium that was convert into a rec. center. We gave the lady our change and an extra $5 as a donation. She said she would put in the can for coffee. She said we could have coffee if we wanted. We’re not coffee drinkers. We had a great experience.

Then we moved on down the road 15 miles to Spearfish. It’s a very nice city and had a great city park. It had a walking trail and huge playground. People were playing pickle ball, walking the trail and walking their dogs. We had lunch and then walked around the park. The reason we stopped was they had the Spearfish National Fish Hatchery. The entrance to the hatchery was very nice. You walked over the creek via a bridge and there were a few big ponds with the trout in them. This was cool. It was a great hatchery and very well kept. It only had a few raceways and half were being cleaned. They had a visitor center but it was closed because they were remodeling. They had a gift shop that had souvenirs and sold food for the rainbow trout. They had the food already bagged, a small bag for $1 and a large bag for $5. This was better than the machines. Larry bought a dollar bag for me, it was on an honor system you throw the money in a donation box. While doing this a lady opened the window in the gift shop and gave us a map and explained the facility. She was very friendly. We walked through a train car, that had transported the fish to the hatchery. A gentleman explained the history of the train car. It was manned by a captain, three assistants and a cook. We saw the captain’s office, the bunks they slept in and the kitchen. We walked by the Ice House and a few other buildings. There was a half mile trail around the historic reservoir but it was too hot to walk. I fed the fish. It was cool to see the fish swim to the food and the ducks liked the food also. I had a little bit left over and Larry suggested I give it to this little boy because I was already giving some of it to him. I gave the remaining food to the little boy. He was thrilled to get it and thanked me. The hatchery was very impressive.

 

Entrance to Fish Hatchery

 

Gift shop and where you buy fish food

 

Some of the trouts at the hatchery

 

One of the raceways

 

The kitchen in the railroad car that transported trout to the hatchery

 

The statues that symbolize caring for the trout at the hatchery

 

A statue of a father and son

After touring the hatchery we went back to the Minnie and continued our adventure. Our final destination was about 20 miles from Spearfish but most of it was through a mountain road. The mountain pass was through the Black Hills National Forest. It was very slow because the speed limit was 35mph and curvy. As we were driving we passed a waterfall but it was too busy to stop. A lady had stopped at a turnoff because she saw something. It was a mountain goat so Larry turned around and went back. There a few mountain goats climbing up the mountainside, one of them was walking along side the road. I got out and took a few pictures. I think I scared Larry because the goat came walking towards me and was getting too close. I got back in the Minnie and we watched the goat for a little while. Then we continued on our way.

A mountain goat on the side of the road

 

The campground was called Rod and Gun Campground and it was down a dirt road. Usually Larry doesn’t do dirt roads but he did this one. It was about three miles, he said it wasn’t too bad. It did have some chuckholes. The campground only has seven sites and works on first come first serve. After Labor Day the water is shut off and they don’t maintain the facility but the camping is free. The toilet is a pit toilet and you have to use your own toilet paper. 

The entrance sign to Rod and Gun Campground

Tuesday 9-17-24 to Sunday 9-22-24     Rod & Gun Campground and Hiking

 

We stayed at Rod & Gun Campground in the Black Hills National Forest for a week. Rod & Gun was an old CCC campground and is very beautiful. There was a site close by where they filmed part of Dancing With Wolves. During our time there we hiked five gorgeous hikes in the mornings. The rest of the day we relaxed with a book. The temperatures in the morning were in the 40’s and 50’s. A couple of days in the high 30’s. The high temperatures were in the high 50’s and 70’s.

 

Camping at Rod and Gun Campground

 

 

The sign to Dancing With Wolves site

 

Black Hills Mountain view across from Dancing With Wolves site

 

Spearfish creek at Dancing With Wolves site

 

Spearfish creek at the campground

 

Tuesday 9-17-24 Motorcycle Ride & Hiking to Falls

After the sun warmed things up we loaded up on the motorcycle with things we did for our hikes and drove to the lodge where there were a couple of trailheads. There were two trails at the trailhead, one was the Savoy (2 mile one way) and the other was to the Roughlock Falls (1 mile one way) We took the Savory trail to a bridge, that took us over Spearfish Creek. Then we hiked by the Spearfish Lodge and Latchstring Restaurant. They both were rustic looking. Once at the restaurant there was a trailhead for Spearfish Falls, which was a 1.5 miles round trip. They had a couple of observation platform. The first one was the upper and you really didn’t see anything. We hiked to the the lower platform and the view was excellent. The falls were gorgeous. After taking a few pictures we headed back. We stopped at the lodge and rested. Larry had a little internet so he checked his e-mails. Once across the bridge we turned left and decided to hike the Savoy. We hiked it to the end, where there was a ladder system for the trout (brown trout, rainbow trout and creek trout). They use to use the stream for power for Lead and Spearfish. There was a nice parking area and a dock for people to fish from. We saw a lot of people fishing. The trout were all over the place. The scenery was beautiful of the mountain range. We turned around and hiked the trail back. The trail was wide and well used. By the time we got to the parking lot we had hiked 3.6 miles. I think the signage was a little off. The Roughlock Fall was a mile from the parking lot. You can either hike the trail or drive to the parking lot. We decided to drive to the fall. There was no problem finding a spot. We parked by a couple of cones, that way we didn’t take up a parking spot. We walked the paved trail to the falls, which was a mile round trip. It was about 11:00 so we saw a lot of people enjoying the falls and trails. We had an outstanding morning of hiking and site seeing.

 

Latchstring Restaurant

 

 

Spearfish Lodge

 

 

Spearfish Fall

 

 

A view of the Black Hills at the fish ladders

 

The fish ladder at the end of Savory trail 

 

 

Roughlock Fall

 

 

Wednesday 9-18-24 Hiking Rimrock Lower Loop

Today was a windy day but it didn’t stop us from going on a 3.5 mile hike.

The trailheads were right at the campground at site 1 and site 7. There was a trail map at the registration booth so Larry looked at it to see where to go. There were a few trails. There was Rim Rock Upper Loop (4.7 miles), Rim Rock Lower Loop (3.2 miles), both loops (6.7 miles), Little Spearfish (6.3 miles) and Old Baldy to Rim Rock Spur (1.3 miles). We decided to hike the Rim Rock Lower Loop. The trail took us up 700 feet in elevation but it did it gradually. We hiked through the pine trees and Aspen trees. The trail was very well kept up and used. People hiking kept the trail clear of growth. It was narrow and dirt but didn’t have a lot of big rocks. The wind was blowing hard but you didn’t notice when you were in the trees. But when we got on top of mountain and we were in the open the wind blew us off the trail and we had o hold on to our hats. We walked by a site that was used in the movie Dancing with the Wolves. The scenery was beautiful with all the trees and the Aspens were starting to turn to the fall colors. We rested when needed. When we were on top of the mountain we saw four blue and gray birds trying to fly against the wind. They ended up landing in a tree and waiting for until we got too close to them and they flew away. 

 

Fall colors from the lower loop trail

 

Part of the lower loop trail we hiked

Blue birds in a tree during our hike

 

 

Thursday 9/19/24 Hiking Three Trails

Today’s hike was a 6.5 mile hike on a few different trails. We started the hike from the campground at site #7 at the trail entrance sign. This trail was through the trees and the Spearfish creek ran along side of it. This trail wasn’t maintained like the other trail on the other side of the campground. But at least the trail didn’t disappear, we just had to work our way through high weeds. We hiked this trail for 3/4 mile to a gate. At the gate there was an opening in the mountain that looked like an old root cellar. Also there was a sign that said in 1997 they had cut down a 75 year old Black Hills Spruce Tree for the White House for Christmas. The tree was cut down 11/14/97, traveled 2500 miles, through 13 states and was delivered to the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol Building and lit on 12/10/97. This is so cool. Then we walked to the gate and opened it. The gate was built by the horsemen in South Dakota. This took us to the main road. We took the road about a half mile to a trail sign. We took this trail to the next campground up the road from us. Then we got to a trailhead marker. By this time we had hiked 2 miles. We took the Little Spearfish trail. Spearfish creek ran by the trail and we crossed it a few times using a bridge made of logs. We hiked a mile of it and Larry checked out where we were. He found we were on the wrong trail so we hike back the mile. There was a parking lot there and it had another trail map. We walked to the road and found the trail we were suppose to be on. Then we had to make a decision either hike the trail we hiked back to the campground three miles or do the trail we wanted to hike for three miles. We decided to do the trail we already hiked and hike the other trail tomorrow. The hike we did was very beautiful through the trees and had the creek ran along side of it. The trail signage wasn’t that good but now we know where the trail are for tomorrow hike. 

 

Opening in the mountain (maybe a root cellar)

 

Sign for the National Christmas Tree site

 

One of the pines in the same area

 

Spearfish creek flowing through a meadow on Little Spearfish trail

Friday 9/20/24 Hiking Rimrock Upper Loop Trail

Today we did the Rimrock Upper Loop Trail for 5.2 miles. We started at the trail marker on site #7, where it Yd off yesterday we went to the left today we went to the right. The grass in the campground was damp with dew and we knew that the growth on the trail will be damp and we didn’t want to hike with wet boots. The hike started out going up the hill and at places it was very steep. By the time we got to the top we had hiked up 600 feet in elevation. I had to stop a couple of times to catch my breath. I think I pushed myself too much and over exerted myself. Larry’s a great sport, he stops and rest with me and makes sure I’m ok. Once we were on top, where there was a trailhead sign about the upper and lower loop. After resting we continued on with our hike. The trail went up the hill through beautiful pine trees and Aspens. At one point the Aspens formed a beautiful canopy. When we started going down hill it was very hard because there was a lot of loose rocks and it was very steep. It seemed like it went a long ways. We were glad we had started the hike the way we did. The trail took us by Spearfish Creek. There were some down trees but they weren’t on the trail. By the time we got to the parking lot we were at yesterday we had hiked 3 miles. Then we got back on the trail we were on yesterday, it was Little Spearfish Trail. We crossed Spearfish Creek a few times using the bridges or logs. We also hiked partly to the Range Draw we were about ¼ mile away when we took the bridge off the creek and crossed the road. We crossed the main road a few times and to get back on the rail we had to go through a few gates. By the time we got back to the campground we had hiked 5.2 miles. 

 

A beautiful grove of Aspens on the trail

 

A view the campground above us from the trail

 

Saturday 9-21-24 Hiking on Four Trails

Today we did a 7 mile hike. We had hiked all the trails so we decided to combine different trails to form a loop. We started at site #1 on the lower loop trail. The trail took us through the grass and trees up the hill. It was pretty easy to hike until you started the climb the hill. The climb was 500 feet in elevation but we did this slow and steady. It wasn’t as steep as yesterday’s trail. The grass was dry but you had to be careful of loose rocks. Once on top where it Yd off we went to the right because the left kept us on the lower loop trail and we hadn’t done the other trail yet. The trail we took was 55, which went almost forever. As we hiked this trail we saw a mountain bicyclist and two ladies hiking. The ladies said they had been hiking for five miles already. We hiked his trail for 2.5 miles and decided to find away back. We could have hiked the same way but we decided to old logging road back. Larry looked at his GPS and it showed the road close to where we were. Larry checked it and said it was real close we would just need to hike through the field. We hiked a little farther because we won’t have to rough it too far. We were 3 mile into our hike when we got on 4X4 road 8050. Larry checked his GPS to make sure that this was the right road to hike. It was very rough and had big ruts in it. The trail curved around towards the upper loop trail. As we were hiking we stopped to let a group of 4X4 go by (7 of them). A little farther down the road we met up with two more 4X4. We saw a hiking trail sign and we thought it would get us on the upper loop trail. We had to get around a tree at the beginning of the trail. We hiked it about a mile and Larry checked hie GPS and found we were going away from the trail. Once again we hiked back a little bit and cut through a field to the trail. Once on the trail we turned left and it led us right to the trailhead sign for the campground, lower loop and upper loop trails. We took the campground trail, which we had hiked a few time. The hiked on this trail was for 1 mile through the trees and a long the creek. It was all downhill so we had to be careful of the loose rocks and roots and rocks on the trail. Our hike was four hours and 7 miles.

Sunday 9-22-24 Relaxing Day

 

We woke up to frost on the grass and it was in the high 30’s. We slept with the Wave3 running but it was still cold in the Minnie. When Larry woke up he turned the heat on high and the temperature in the Minnie stayed at 54 degrees. We didn’t do any hiking today. Instead we just hung around the Minnie.  I finished The Engineer’s Wife by Tracey Enerson Wood. It was a very good book about building the Brooklyn Bridge in 1883. Today, I started to read 2001: Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke. Larry read.

 

  Relaxing with a book