Black Hills, Badlands, Pipestone & Petroglyphs

[redhawk]

Day 1

Pipestone National Monument, Pipestone, MN

Doug and I Arrived at Minneapolis St Paul Airport and rented a car. We drove 220 miles to Pipestone National Monument in Pipestone, MN. There are quarries here which
have been the source of the soft red stone known as Catlinite that Plains Tribes pilgrimage to in order to quarry the Catlinite for the pipestone from which they carved their sacred pipes (Canupa, Pronounced Cha-Nu-Pa in Lakota (Sioux)) The expression "Peace Pipe" is an incorrect name that is sometimes used by non-natives. The catlinite is located about 10-15 feet beneath the surface of Sioux Quartzite which is one of the hardest minerals on Earth registering 7.6 on the MOH's Geological Scale of Hardness. Pipestone on the other hand is 2.5 just a little harder then talc (1) and gypsum (2). Pipestone is consider "Wakan" (sacred) and Native Americans frequently practice ceremony there, most often "Inipi" or sweat lodge.

We pulled into Pipestone about 30 minutes after the visitor center closed, which turned out to be fortuitous because we had the whole place to ourselves. We walked the trail and felt the presence of the ancestors. It is truly a special place. Pipestone sits on the "Coteau des Prairies", French for Prairie Highland. Many of the Tills in the area are believed to be between 800,000 and 500,000 years old, deposited by glaciers during the Pleistocene Epoch (Ice Age). During the last (Wisconsin) phase of the ice age. From about 75,000 to about 10,000 years ago, an ice sheet split into two lobes near the northeastern corner of South Dakota, one lobe plowed through the old tills to form the
Mississippi River drainage and the other formed the Missouri River drainage. The Couteau was carved from the land, like an island between two streams. There is on the grounds an erratic called The Three Maidens. which was once probably a very large single erratic of granite that was most likely split apart by the seasonal freezing of water that seeped into it's fractures.

Pipestone sits in the center of a tallgrass prairie and is home for one hundred fifty four species of plants on the rock outcrop formations. Of the 154 species, 133 are native and 21 are introduced species. Pipestone is a refuge for over 100 resident and migrant bird species, including the following, Bobolink, Brown thrasher, Great Blue Heron, Broad Winged hawk, Common Flicker, Cedar Waxwing, Barn Swallow, Belted Kingfisher, Common Yellowthroat, Kildeer and Ring Necked Pheasant.

After walking the trail and stopping to reflect individually, we left Pipestone planning to stop on the way back when the visitors center would be open. I have been there several times in the past, but Doug never had. So we got in the car and drove about 30 miles to Garretson, South Dakota, just across the state line.

Palisades State Park & Campground, Garretson, South Dakota.

Photos

What a pleasant surprise!! This may have been the unexpected gem of the trip. Doug had scoped out and planned all the campgrounds for our stops, primarily to eat and spend the night. Palisades however went much beyond that.

Located on the banks of Split Rock Creek it offered us not only great tent sites and shelter, but some scenery and history as well. After a dinner of Hawk Vittles, Shrimp Whimsy, (Sorry, commercials are everywhere ) Doug and I hiked downstream. Rising up from the river are the Palisades, carved from Sioux Quartzite. There is a trail along the river from our tent site which eventually leads up to the road across a historic bridge built in 1908 and now listed in the National Register. There are several viewpoints and trails throughout the area. Doug and I crossed the bridge and continued hiking downstream. We came across two large rocks called "The King and the Queen". years ago there was an active community there and in the river on a raised platform was a grist mill, according to an informational board that was near the site. back in the 20's (I think), the whole community was located to another nearby place. The river and the Palisades were beautiful.
We returned to our tent at dusk and got a good nights sleep. The next day we have to drive the length of South Dakota to the Badlands and Sage Creek a distance of 388 miles.

(To Be Continued)

[redhawk]

Day 2:

Garretson, SD - Badlands National Park - Sage Creek Primitive Camping Ground

Up in the morning and a Grits, bacon and egg Hawk Vittles© breakfast. Then on the road for the drive across the length of South Dakota to Badlands National Park about 350 miles and then an additional 38 miles to the Sage creek campground.

South Dakota is divided geographically as well as socially by the Missouri River. Caucasian Residents refer to themselves as "East River" or "West River", and describe their counterparts on either side of the Missouri as "the other side". The only thing they are in unison in is their opinions on Indians whom they both refer to as "them" or "they". It's absolutely amazing to Doug how someone who is being perfectly polite to us, changes their attitude when they learn that I'm a "them".

We make a couple of stops on our way across the state, at Wal-Mart so I can get my Gatorade, "Rain", some salad fixings and fruit, ice and an ice chest. We stop at a
Cabella's to try to get a gas cartridge for one of the stoves, but no one seems to carry them. I am surprised and disappointed that in spite of the fact that the Cabella's is the size of a good city block and two stories high, there hiking and backpacking gear selection is rather ordinary, no better then a Wal-mart.

We finally arrive at the badlands and pull into the Cedar Pass Lodge which has a gift shop with nice native things as well as a restaurant and cabins. I have been bragging to Doug for months about it since it is owned and operated by the Oglala Sioux tribe on who's land the badlands Park exists. As we are browsing, I'm noticing that there are no Indian people around ad all the employees are wearing blue shirts with a "Forever Resorts" logo. I'm curious, so I ask her who owns the Lodge an she tells me the national park Service. I correct her that the Park leases the land from the Oglala and that the lodge was owned by the Oglala. I am wearing nothing that identifies me as Sioux. She glances around the room and then leans close to me and says in a conspiratorial voice, ""They" ran it into the ground". Doug puts the item he was going to purchase down, and I just turn my back and walk away. But for the rest of the trip, our mantra is. "The Indians just ran the it into the ground". Doug and I get back into the car and drive down to one of the pullouts that accesses three trailheads just as we get a few sprinkles. We walk the "notch" and "windows" trailheads.

Notch Trail: 1 1/2 mile (2.4km) round trip trail that is not recommended for those with a fear of heights. Meandering through a canyon, this trail presents the hiker with the opportunity to climb a steep ladder, then travel along a ledge to "The Notch" above the Cliff Shelf area. One of the best views of the White River Valley and the Pine Ridge Reservation rewards those who do complete the trail.

Window Trail: 1/4 mile (0.4km) round trip trail that is accessible to athletic wheelchair users. Offering a view of an intricately eroded canyon, this trail leads you to a natural "window" in the Badlands Wall.


About halfway along the Notch trail it begins to rain quite heavily so we return to the car, not wanting to take a chance of loosing footing on the treacherous when wet parts of the trail.

Located in southwestern South Dakota, Badlands National Park consists of 244,000 acres of sharply eroded buttes, pinnacles and spires blended with the largest, protected mixed grass prairie in the United States. The Badlands Wilderness Area covers 64,000 acres and is the site of the reintroduction of the black-footed ferret, the most endangered land mammal in North America. The Stronghold Unit is co-managed with the Oglala Sioux Tribe and includes sites of 1890s Ghost Dances. Established as Badlands National Monument in 1939, the area was redesignated "National Park" in 1978. Over 11,000 years of human history pale to the ages old paleontological sources. Badlands National Park contains the world's richest Oligocene epoch fossil beds, dating 23 to 35 million years old. Scientists can study the evolution of mammal species such as the horse, sheep, rhinoceros and pig in the Badlands formations.

Badlands National Park is located at the western edge of the mixed grass prairie. The mixed grass prairie of the central United States is actually a transition zone between the more arid shortgrass prairie to the west and the more moist tallgrass prairie to the east, but because of its size is considered worthy of separate distinction. Warm or cool-season plants, grasses make efficient use of seasonal trends. Cool-season grasses grow early in the season as well as in the late summer and fall attaining greater heights than the warm-season species that come alive during the hot summer months. They are distributed along a continuum from east to west, decreasing in height with a general decrease in available moisture.

Most of the 56 different types of grasses found in the Badlands are native, having developed over millions of years. Taller western wheatgrass, green needlegrass, and
needle-and-thread grass dominate low moist spots while shortgrass communities of blue grama and buffalo grass cover drier, rocky outcrops. A number of exotic grasses were introduced as settlers immigrated to this country.

GEOLOGY:

At Badlands National Park, weird shapes are etched into a plateau of soft sediments and volcanic ash, revealing colorful bands of flat-lying strata. The stratification adds
immeasurably to the beauty of each scene, binding together all of its diverse parts. A geologic story is written in the rocks of Badlands National Park, it is an account of 75 million years of accumulation with intermittent periods of erosion that began when the Rocky Mountains reared up in the West and spread sediments over vast expanses of the plains. The sand, silt, and clay, mixed and interbedded with volcanic ash, stacked up, layer upon flat-lying layer, until the pile was thousands of feet deep. In a final phase of volcanism as the uplift ended, white ash rained from the sky, completing the building stage.

During the Oligocene epoch 40 to 25 million years ago, the region that is now the White River Badlands supported many kinds of animals. The land was then lush, well watered, and much warmer than now. The animals, mostly mammals, roamed the floodplains; many died in floods and were quickly buried in river sediments. Conditions for
preservation were excellent; the Oligocene beds are one of the world's richest vertebrate fossil sites, though they represent only a short segment of Earth history.

Broad regional uplift raised the land about 5 million years ago and initiated the erosion that created the Badlands. The White River, which now flows west to east five or ten
miles south of the park, eroded a scarp, the beginning of what is now called the Wall.

Numerous small streams and rills furrowed the scarp face and eventually intersected to create the Badlands topography.


Badlands Photos

We drive the length of the badlands loop road into Wall to the Forest Service headquarters to get some specific information about a section of the grasslands Doug is
interested in bushwhacking that is the headwaters of the Cheyenne River. It's unclear whether we can do it or not. After talking with the ranger, we realize that it is possible,
but it would also be very easy to encroach on some privately owned land so we decide not to attempt it. Doug purchases some sweet-grass seeds to bring home. Then we return to the badlands, but turning off on the road for the 11 mile drive into the Sage Creek Campground. As we approach the campground I can picture it being a camp of the indigenous, nomadic, peoples of the past, some of them my ancestors.

Sage Creek Campground is a free facility. Reservations are not accepted, and camping availability is on a "First Come, First Served" basis only. The campground has no running
water, although pit toilets are available for use by visitors. The campground is used by horseback riders frequently.

There are several other small parties camped there. We find a spot and decide to cook supper before pitching our tent. Just as we start to cook dinner (Southwest Chili Hawk
Vittles© ) it rains hard for about 15 minutes. The Sage Creek area is composed mainly of white clay and when it gets wet it's terrible stuff to be in. It just accumulates on your shoes and itself, continuing to accumulate until it falls off from the weight. So for the moment, we are not having a lot of fun. Even after the rain (which is much needed since they've been dealing with a five year drought) has stopped, the clay has to be contended with. Doug finds a little dryer site and we pitch the tent there.

Along with the other campers, we have company, of the four legged variety. The grasslands and prairies here are home to a number of Bison, or as they are commonly
(and mistakenly called) Buffalo, or Tatanka (Pronounced Dah-Dahn-ka)to the Sioux, which actually means "Bull". A female would be "pte. The bison are not fenced in but
roam free, often picking their way around the tents of the campers. By now, they are used to two leggeds being around and go about their business, becoming agitated only if someone ventures too close.

Doug and I take some preliminary investigatory walks around the area to orientate ourselves. Along with the buffalo, we see mule deer, 2 pronghorns in the distance when we were driving to the campground, a magpie, meadowlarks and Doug heard a coyote yipping in he distance. I get to shoot some nice sunsets and Doug perches up on a hill and plays his Native American Flute. It's an experience seeing him silhouetted against the skies playing his melodic notes like a modern day Kokopelli

Finally, we call it a day and turn in for the night. It's different from the Dacks because up here you don't hear the snorting of buffalo while you are in your tent.

[doug]

The wet clay was truly amazing. It builds up on the bottom of your feet and if you don't scrape it off, it just gets thicker and thicker (and heavier and heavier). In a couple of hours it had dried enough that when walking through the grass you were okay. The Badlands are deceptive. When you look at the pictures you think you're seeing eroded rock like in Joanne's pictures of Utah. But really it's mostly layers of clay that erodes extremely readily. I wouldn't want to be out in the badlands in rainy weather and actually have to get somewhere, you could easily just be stuck where you are and have to wait until the rain stops and the ground dries up.

[Boreal Chickadee]

Uh...those bsion...do they beg for food like Old Forge deer? Maybe they were running for the dinner bell...Hawk Vittles???

OK, I know when you answer this I'm going to look stupid, but I'll ask anyway. How do the bison handle the clay buildup on their hooves?

[redhawk]

Day 3 - Sage Creek and grasslands

Day 3:

Sage Creek Grasslands

Up early for a breakfast of Scrambled Eggs & Tortillas and then a 6 mile hike in the Prairie.

We hike away from the campground, following a bison trail and looking for a place to cross Sage Creek and stay dry. The creek is not that deep and the water looks like a white mud. because of the sediment, it can't be filtered so we have to carry the liquid needed for the hike. It's pretty much a day hike so our packs are light, my camera equipment, lunch, knife first aid kit, etc.

We find a creek crossing and on the other side is a herd of bison grazing not to far away. Keeping a wary eye, we skirt the herd and climb a butte, and then follow a juniper filled draw to the top. We have a great view in all directions, about 35 miles each way. In the distance, we can see the eroded buttes of the badlands. The area abounds with juniper, cedar, sego lilies, prickly pear, heath aster, musk thistle western wallflower, Missouri milkvetch, gumbo evening primrose, prickly rose, showy milkweed, common yarrow, sunflower and goatsbeard. Barn swallows are flittering everywhere and the air is filled with the songs of meadowlarks.

We drop a short way down the opposite side of the butte onto an expansive table that seems to go on forever. It's taking away our breaths, the sheer open space and beauty of the grasslands. I take a 360° panorama scan and then zoom in and take another. Finally doing the same with my SLR shooting in panoramic mode. It's so open, we even have cell service and soon we are talking with our spouses, describing exactly what we are seeing.

A few hundred feet in the distance I spy 2 pronghorn who are looking at us and trying to determine exactly why we are there. We're not moving so they continue to come closer cautiously, stopping every 50 feet or so before moving towards us again. They get withing about 80 feet of us before their curiosity has been satisfied and the danger gene kicks in. They turn there white rumps in our direction and skedaddle out of sight. Doug and I cover a bit of distance on the table and it's quite windy. We decide which way we are going to return to Sage Creek and find a sheltered draw to stop for lunch, some salami and cheese.

After lunch we start to work our way back to camp, up and down and through some draws, having to work our way along a few to find a place to cross some ravines. We come to a prairie dog village, a good several acres in size. These aren't the one you find along the highway, "humanized" and looking cute begging for a treat. Rather, we are subject to the assault on our ears of their alarms the whole while we walk through their village. It's quite an experience.

I spot a couple of golden eagles circling in the sky and we come across more small herds of buffalo, grazing and on the move. It's been a perfectly beautiful day, clear with temps in the mid 60's.

We finally return to the campground and have some Cowboy Pasta for dinner to restore some of the energy burnt off today. We're both in out sleeping bags at dusk, it's been a long day, but a great one.

[redhawk]

Uh...those bsion...do they beg for food like Old Forge deer? Maybe they were running for the dinner bell...Hawk Vittles???

Bison don't beg for food. If they want it, they take it.

OK, I know when you answer this I'm going to look stupid, but I'll ask anyway. How do the bison handle the clay buildup on their hooves?

Since there are no treads or grooves on the bison hoofs, the clay has nothing to adhere to. They are well suited for the conditions. As usual, nature has provided what is needed.

[redhawk]

Day 4: Sage creek to Wounded Knee - Wind cave - Custer State park - Rapid City

Day 4:

Day 4: Sage creek to Wounded Knee - Wind cave - Custer State park - Rapid City


We're up at 5:45 am and it's 35 degrees After a nice Hawk Vittles© breakfast of hash browns, bacon and eggs we break camp. at 7:15 am. It's warmed up to 60 degrees. He head south from Sage Creek into the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, home of the Oglala Sioux Nation, who's notables were Crazy Horse and Red Cloud. As we pass the sign proclaiming it's the home of the Oglala Sioux, we can see that it's full of bullet holes, showing the disrespect that many people have for the proud, honest people who were the Mystic Warriors of the Plains. We travel south through Kyle and Porcupine and finally reach Wounded Knee Creek, site of the massacre of 300 Lakota Sioux on Dec 29, 1890. The majority of Indians killed were from the Miniconjou band of which I am a member, along with some Hunkpapa from Standing Rock reservation. It's a visit I must make each time I return home, and yet one that fills me with incredible sadness. As I walk in the draw that was the site of the running down of the unarmed women and children, my feelings overwhelm me, I can hear the sounds of the guns and the screams of the victims. I have to get up and out of the draw to keep from drowning in my emotions. I march up the hill to the site of the mass graves before I am able to calm myself. There is an Oglala selling jewelry out of her car and Doug and I both purchase earrings carved from deer bone to take home as gifts. We leave Wounded Knee and head for Wind cave national park where Doug wants to camp. Our route takes us through the villages of Pine Ridge and Oglala and past the site where the two FBI agents were killed in a shootout with AIM members in 1975 leading to the Leonard Peltier conviction in 1977.

We continue on and into Wind Cave National park which is crawling with campers, buses and people. We find the camping area and drive past the motorized sites, all flat, and into the tent site area, none of which seem to have any level ground. Doug decides that he really doesn't care about exploring Wind cave or camping here, which is fine for me, since I'm Sioux and not lizard. We call my Oglala brother in law and Rapid City and make arrangements to stay there this evening instead of tomorrow evening. We drive on through Wind cave national park stopping at a lookout site on Mount Coolidge (6029 feet) which gives us a nice view of Harney Peak and the Black Hills. As with many of the places we have been, there is the evidence and scars of fires, as well as the new growth coming in. I see a robin feeding her chicks in a nest and there is an abundance of golden-pea. Again we see golden eagles riding the thermals. We drive through Custer State Park (It's amazing how many places in this state are named for people who made war on the Indians) and finally into Rapid City. We go to the Rushmore Mall to the largest sporting goods store in Rapid City to ask about topographic maps for Beulah and Sand Creek Wyoming. I can see by the blank gaze when Doug says USGS Quads, that they don't have a clue. They did carry the gas canisters for the primus stove. We stop for some coffee and then locate my brother in law's house.

We meet Tim and my nephew Wesley and grab hot showers to refresh ourselves. Do some laundry and have a nice pork steaks, mashed potato, Gravy, Corn and salad dinner and visit for a good deal of the evening before retiring for the night in a bed.

[doug]

Even though I am not Lakota, the site at Wounded Knee still resonates with the vibration of that atrocity. One senses the spirits of the dead are still there, but the feeling is one of long-suffering sadness, the sadness of the ages, rather than a feeling of anger. It's the same feeling I had when I had the chance to go to the concentration camp at Buchenwald outside of Weimar.

It was a beautiful sunny day at Wounded Knee and the grasses and wildflowers were a happy sight in the draw. At Buchenwald, there were wild raspberies growing. At first, out of respect, I thought I shouldn't pick them, and then I felt that the spirits urged me to. At both places it was a reminder of the eternal (relative to a few human lifetimes) scale of the natural world, and a reminder that evil comes into the world through men.

[redhawk]

Day 5

Day 5:

Rapid City - Prairie Edge - Paha Mato (Bear Butte) Campground- Deadwood

Doug and I are gifted Eagle Feathers by Tim, my brother in law, an Oglala. Today will be an "off" day. Shopping, setting up camp and then a dinner celebration of Doug's birthday.

Our first stop is Prairie Edge on the corner of main and 6th in Rapid City. It is actually four stores under one roof, Prairie Edge, which has fine authentic Indian made articles, Pendleton & Yakima Blankets, A comprehensive native book and music store, A fine Italian bead store and "The Sioux trading Post" a store that sells Indian craft Supplies and seed beads. Doug purchases a drum and gifts for Donna and Eva, I just pick up a couple of hanks of difficult to find size 13 seed beads. Then we go to the Firehouse Pub & Micro brewery that I remember is right next door to Prairie Edge so Doug can get a local beer.

If you are ever in Rapid City and want to see or purchase some of the finest Indiane made articles, clothing, instruments, knives, sheaths, war shirts, clubs, buffalo robes, etc, etc, then prairie edge is the happening place. best colection of plains crafts I have ever seen anywhere. I guess one could say that it's the Gallup of the Plains for those of you who have been to the Southwest.

We leave Rapid and head for bear butte to set up the tent. We'll stay there tonight and climb Bear Butte tomorrow. We drive through Sturgis and as the Butte suddenly swings into view, It stands like a magnificent Sentinel of the Plains. We drive into the Bear Butte State campground. The campground is located just a short distance from bear Butte, about 1/10th of a mile on the opposite side of the highway. It's situated on the shore of Bear Butte Lake. As we're driving in, the first thing that catches our eye is the epth, or lack of water in the lake. we pass the boat launch which is at least a couple of hundred feet from the water. The lake is maybe 1/3 full.

We find a nice spot and Doug sets up the tent, we explore the facilities and then it's into the car and into Deadwood. Doug's birthday is on the 28th and today it's the 25th, but on Fridays they have real special buffets at the casino's in Deadwood. So we're going to celebrate his birthday today. I want to take him to the Gold Dust, where I often work as the buffet chef when I live in South Dakota.

We arrive in Deadwood and as we park in the lot, there is a chocolate lab in the road, stopping traffic and looking at each car in confusion. I call it and it comes to me, looking expectantly. It has a collar, but no tag. i figure it got away from someone who is visiting, but there is nothing I can do. No officres or phone nearby so we have to leave the dog and head up main Street. I still wonder if the dog is OK and if it got reunited with it's person. We get to the Gold Dust and the buffet doesn't open for another hour, so we go back into the street and do a little sightseeing. Things are the same as they were the last time I was out here, about 11 years ago, but at the same time they are different. Now some of the places are named "Bullocks" and "Charlie Utters" and a couple of the casinos have been renamed to math the names from the HBO series "Deadwood". We go to the Train Station which is a museum and information center and then we walk down Main Street and check out all the jewelry stores. Doug wants to get some Black Hills gold earrings for his daughter Eva. We check all the stores and finally the buffet is open so Doug and I go upstairs into the restaurant in the Gold Dust. Today it's prime rib and Alaska king crab legs, all you can eat for $14.95. We both do a few trips though the line, getting our moneys worth, and I also down a chocolate pastry to kill for. Finally gorged, we leave and doug stops back in one of the jewelry stores and picks up the earrings he has settled on that also have genuine opals in them.

We leave Deadwood and drive out of town up Route 85 past "Tatanka" the resort that Kevin Costner built, pi**ing off every Indian he ever worked with. We turn on Crook Canyon Road and go into Whitewood, a town I used to live in. It used to be 1/2 the size of Wells, but it's at least doubled in size in the last 10 years. We have entertained the idea of a hike up to "Redhawk Canyon", so named because I spent so much time up there when I lived in Whitewood. The road is still there with the barrier across it and we decide that since I no longer live in town and we have Minnesota plates on the car, and have to go through private property, we'll skip the hike. We leave town and head back down through Sturgis to Bear Butte campground, stopping for some groceries.

It's been windy all day and when we get to the campsite, one part of the tent has collapsed because the wind has actually caused one of the tent poles to bend. Doug gets it back up and taked out at a few more points. there are lots of barn swallows diving all over the place and I also spot a mountain bluebird. we retire for the night but don't get a lot of sleep. We have 35-50 mph winds all evening and up until about 3 am. The noise and the flapping of the tent make it all but impossible to sleep. We probably get a total of three hours all night.

[redhawk]

Day 6

Day 6:

Paha Mato (Bear Butte) - Bear Lodge (Devil's Tower) Campground

Woke up about 7 am after maybe 3 hours sleep. It was 42° with a brisk wind. Hawk Vittles for breakfast again, Packers Potatoes Plus. I need those carbohydrates and protein if I'm going to climb Paha Mato at 4,426 high, 1,253 feet above the surrounding plain.

Everyone here knows that I don't do peaks. Unless of course there is a reason. In this particular instance, it's to honor the ancestors who prayed here for centuries. in fact, the main reasons Doug and I have made this trip is as a spiritual pilgrimage. As Doug says, we're doing the Sioux Trifecta, Paha Mato, Oti Mato (Bear Lodge or Devils Tower) and Harney Peak, the highest point East of the Rocky Mountains. Actually it's a quadfecta because we've included Wounded Knee.

Paha Mato is sacred to both the Lakota and the Northern Cheyenne nations. There are two trails, one is for Indians which is used for ceremony and the other, the trail to the top is open to everyone. It was here that crazy horse use to journey each year for Inipi (Sweat Lodge) and the year he failed to make the pilgrimage was the year he was murdered.

As we begin our ascent the temperature is in the high 50's, low 60's, with a brisk breeze when we are on the windward side of the mountain. it's ideal weather for me. As we travel a series of switchbacks, we can see the effects of the 1996 forest fire which wiped out most of the trees and vegetation. Although much of the vegetation is coming back, including foreign species that got a foothold as a result of the fire, there are few trees returning. We find the pine cones on the ground and they are closed tight with the seeds inside. They need another fire to open them up. Before we have climbed too high we are able to look down to the Indian camp, there are several tipi's and tents pitched, but the three Inipi frames are uncovered meaning no one is sweating. I find that strange, just before Memorial Day.

As we climb higher the view opens up more for us and we can begin to see the black hills in the distance, including Harney Peak and 65 miles away, the Devil's Tower. There are swallows and another mountain bluebird. We're taking our time and taking in the "feel" of the Butte, stopping frequently to admire the view's opening up before us. because of it's isolation, we have a clear field of vision for miles and miles. As we go along the trail, there are prayer ties attached to any trees on the Butte. These have been placed there by Indian People along with a prayer.

After about 90 minutes, we reach the top, having gained 1253 feet in a quarter of a mile. there is a platform on top and I set up my tripod and SLR to take some panoramic and telescopic photos. Soon a couple of women arrive, and then another man carrying his camera and tripod. The women leave and we begin to hear loud voices and before long a group of pre-teen girls with counsellors arrive. Some are complaining about having to carry water bottles and one of the counselors points out that I have hiked up with a backpack (carrying camera equipment, first aid kit and water). After a round of picture taking, they head back down the butte and there is a return to some tranquility.
We finally begin the descent, Doug lags behind because he has a prayer tie he wants to leave. As I get around the back side of the Butte, I see two groups of Golden Eagles in the sky, one group of four and another group of three. I wait for Doug to come around see the eagles and we continue down the Mountain.

Once at the bottom, we have some lunch and then we go into the visitor center and look at the displays. Next we go back to the car and drive the 79 miles into Wyoming to Bear Lodge, as it is called by the Indians, Devils Tower by white people. It's an impressive sight from the distance and when we finally get to the park, the park campground which we planned on staying at is full so we check into the KOA which thankfully has a tent area away from all the motor-homes and campers.

It's a nice campground, in the shadow of the mountain and along the banks of the Belle Fourche River. Red Sandstone Bluffs rise from the banks of the river. For dinner we have some Bison Roast that Doug bought in Rapid City, along with some salad and nice fresh cantaloupe for desert.

I start a conversation with the couple who are in the next campsite and by coincidence the girl is a Rutger's Alumni who took flute. Doug is a music professor at Rutgers and when the girl sees him, she recognizes him. Small world, eh.

I take a few pictures and we both hit the sack early, still tired from the lack of sleep yesterday. It's a comfortable night and we both sleep well.

[redhawk]

Day 7

Day 7:
Devils Tower & Sand Creek, WY

Woke up about 6:30am to birdsong. Saw a Western Bluebird.

Breakfast is scrambled eggs and cheese and then we break camp and drive up to the visitors center at Devils Tower.

"Devils Tower rises above the surrounding grassland and Ponderosa pine forests like a rocky sentinel. Northern Plains tribes worshipped at this remarkable geologic formation long before white men wandered into the West, and fur trappers, explorers, and settlers alike were awed by the Tower's majesty. In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt established Devils Tower as our nation's first national monument. Many have gazed at the Tower and wondered, "How did this amazing formation get here? How did it form?"

The Stage is Set
Most of the landscape surrounding Devils Tower is composed of sedimentary rocks. These are rocks which are formed from broken or dissolved fragments of other rocks and are usually deposited by water or wind. The oldest rocks visible in Devils Tower National Monument were laid down in a shallow sea during the Triassic time, 225 to 195 million years ago. This dark red sandstone and maroon siltstone, interbedded with shale, can be seen along the Belle Fourche River. Oxidation of iron minerals causes the redness of the rocks. This rock layer is known as the Spearfish formation. Above the Spearfish formation is a thin band of white gypsum, called the Gypsum Spring formation. This layer of gypsum was deposited during the Jurassic time, 195 to 136 million years ago. Seas retreated and returned. Climates changed and changed again. Gray-green shales (deposited in low-oxygen environments such as marshes) were interbedded with fine-grained sandstones, limestones, and sometimes thin beds of red mudstone. This composition, called the Stockade Beaver member, is part of the Sundance formation. The Hulett Sandstone member, also part of the Sundance formation, is composed of yellow fine-grained sandstone. Resistant to weathering, it forms the nearly vertical cliffs which encircle the Tower itself. Seas again retreated and advanced. Landforms were eroded; new sediments were deposited. About 65 million years ago, during the Tertiary time, pressures within the earth climaxed, uplifting the Rocky Mountains and the Black Hills. Molten magma welled up toward the surface of the earth, intruding into already-existing sedimentary rock layers.

The Tower is Formed: an Ongoing Debate
Geologists agree that Devils Tower was formed by the intrusion (the forcible entry of molten rock into or between other rock formations) of igneous material. What they cannot agree upon is how, exactly, that process took place!

Numerous theories have evolved since the official discovery of Devils Tower. Geologists Carpenter and Russell studied Devils Tower in the late 1800s and came to the conclusion that the Tower was indeed formed by an igneous intrusion. Later geologists searched for further explanations.

In 1907, scientists Darton and O'Hara decided that Devils Tower must be an eroded remnant of a laccolith. A laccolith is a large mass of igneous rock which is intruded through sedimentary rock beds but does not actually reach the surface, producing a rounded bulge in the sedimentary layers above. This theory was quite popular in the early 1900s since numerous studies had earlier been done on a number of laccoliths in the Southwest.

Other theories have suggested that Devils Tower is a volcanic plug or that it is the neck of an extinct volcano (an unlikely theory, for there is no evidence of volcanic activity - volcanic ash, lava flows, or volcanic debris - anywhere in the surrounding countryside)!

No one yet has a definite answer as to how exactly Devils Tower was formed - other than that it was an igneous intrusion into the sedimentary layers above and that the molten rock comprising the Tower did not surface. In any case, geologists agree, the igneous material intruded and then cooled as phonolite porphyry, a light to dark-gray or greenish-gray igneous rock with conspicuous crystals of white feldspar. As the lava cooled, hexagonal (and sometimes 4-, 5-, and 7-sided) columns formed. As the columns continued to cool, vertical cracks developed as the columns shrank horizontally in volume.

The Tower is Uncovered
Until erosion began its relentless work, Devils Tower was not visible above the overlying sedimentary rocks. But the forces of erosion - particularly that of water - began to wear away the sandstones and shales. The much harder igneous rock survived the onslaught of erosional forces, and the gray columns of Devils Tower began to appear above the surrounding landscape.

As rain and snow continue to erode the sedimentary rocks surrounding the Tower's base, and the Belle Fourche River carries away the debris, more of Devils Tower will be exposed. But at the same time, the Tower itself is slowly being eroded. Rocks are continually breaking off and falling from the steep walls. Rarely do entire columns fall, but on remote occasions, they do. Piles of rubble - broken columns, boulders, small rocks, and stones - lie at the base of the Tower, indicating that it was, at some time in the past, larger than it is today.

Eventually, at some time far in the future, even Devils Tower itself will be eroded away"

There are already a lot of people at the visitors center, including a number of rock climbers. Devil's tower is one of the top rock climbing destinations in the world. because off the amount of climbing, restrictions have been put in place, prohibiting the installation of any new climbing hardware. All climbers must use existing equipment. Also taking place is a clash of culture, since bear lodge is a sacred place to the Sioux, Northern Cheyenne, Paiute, Crow, Arapaho and other Plains tribes. At one time, barring climbers was being considered. A compromise was reached and a voluntary moratorium on climbing during the month of June was enacted. With the exception of a few, climbers have honored this moratorium. Also for those who might not know, Devils Tower was the first national monument, proclaimed so by Theodore Roosevelt in 1906.

Doug and i choose to hike the 2.3 mile around the rock as opposed to the 1 mile trail directly at the base, which all the other visitors seem to be taking. Not long into the hike, we know it was a wise choice. We can hear the shouts and loud voices of the people following the base trail as we parallel it for a while before our trail swings further away. Les then 10 minutes into the hike, we startle a whitetail. The weather is cool, in the mid 60's. Definitely "Hawk hiking" weather. As we circle the tower, the terrain changes from open Ponderosa Pine to meadows opening on breathtaking vista's of the belle Fourche River and the surrounding grasslands, to the sandstone bluffs overlooking the river and the campground, and then through some rock formation and back to the open Ponderosa Pine Forest. There are very few people on the trail we have chosen, so we are able to take in the beauty of the countryside. At one point we see a flock of wild turkeys in a field below us, at another point we see 11 Golden eagles riding the thermals and cavorting with each other. At another point we come across a pair of rd headed woodpeckers mating. It's amazing to look into the ravines of the sandstone buttes and see the trees growing in the most unlikely of places. We finish the trail at the visitors center where a large number of people are enamoured of the climbers, impervious to the real beauty around them. Although the Devils Tower is an impressive rock, the countryside it towers over is the real attraction here.

Doug and I drive down to the picnic area near the park campground and have some salami, cheese and melon for lunch. Then we head out for Sand creek, just south of Beulah, WY. This is the hike we have been looking forward too.

First of all, about the Guidebook we are using: "Exploring the Black Hills & Badlands" by Hiram Rodgers. It's a very good book. Many hikes and descriptions are listed. however, Doug and i have to wonder if the author actually did these hikes himself. the directions to reach the trail-head were off by about 3 miles. After going the distance and following the landmarks in the book, Doug and I had to double back in order to find the actual trail-head. We had to stop at one point so i could upload the waypoints and route for this hike into our GPS's from Doug's laptop. It was early evening by the time we got to the bridge that crosses Sand Creek (dry). got geared up and on the trail which is a creek-bed, with footpaths intermittently on each side. we hike in 3/4 of a mile and it's 6:30 pm and we find a great looking camping area, so we make camp for the night. We have some Devil's gate crab Casserole for dinner, I hang a bear bag and we do a little exploring and then it's to bed for the night. there are cliffs to the North about 500 feet high and there are quite a few mosquitoes about. There are four eagles soaring in the area and we find animal bones strewn in different places. We find the confluence where Corral Creek joins sand creek come together, and the remains of an old trappers cabin about 1/4 mile beyond the campsite. It's beginning to get dark so we return to our camp and retire for the night

[doug]

I'd just like to add that having been in Wyoming and South Dakota previously only in mid-late summer, it is a wonderful experience to be there in May when the grasslands are green and the tree foliage is bright. The Devil's Tower area is geoaphically and geologically the northwest corner of the Black Hills and the longer hike around it is quiet, reflective, and an amazing catalogue of changing flora. Each compass sector has a different make-up, mosses to the north, sage and juniper to the east, and yucca and cactus facing south.

The vistas of the Belle Fourche (French: beautiful fork) River from the trail are especially beautiful. The low density of the vegetation in the West is a pleasure for the views that are available without having to be on top of a mountain. Of course, that's one of the nice things about hiking in the 'Dacks in the winter: no leaves, better views

[redhawk]

Day 8

Day 8:

Sand Creek - Corral Creek Loop, Black Hills National Forest, NE Wyoming Part I

From the guide book:

"A moderately difficult off-trail hike through steep canyons in the northwestern corner of the Black Hills."

"Sand creek is perhaps the most botanically diverse part of the Black Hills. The area is wild, rugged and little traveled. No maintained trails exist, and the only roads are abandoned, overgrown relics of early mining and logging operations. Creek bottoms and the abandoned roadways are the best routes of travel through Sand Creek. The creek bottoms are usually dry and reasonably clear of vegetation"


As much as we were looking forward to this hike, I was apprehensive. It was remote, It was little used, it was a bushwhack and we had to get out of one creekbed and then climb over a ridge and find another creekbed on the other side of the ridge. I hadn't ordered the two USGS Quads for this trio because I figured that like here,, any of the sportsman's store in the area would carry them. I figured wrong and the Forest Service office near here was closed on Sunday when we drove in, so I had no Quads. we were about to break one of my cardinal rules. Only the fact that i had been able to work out the route with my NG South Dakota Topo and my mapsource topo and transfer it to the GPS and also had been able to get a good lay of the land while figuring those routes would I attempt this. in fact if we hadn't been able to transfer the route and waypoints into the GPS, we would have aborted.

I also thought that because of the remoteness and the terrain here, we had a good chance of seeing some game, including possibly grizzly and cougar. As it turned out, other then the birds, the only game we saw was chipmunks.

So with a little trepidation, after a Hawk Vittles breakfast of Oatmeal, brown sugar, cranberries and almonds we slung out packs and hit the trail. the positive sign was the 11 eagles soaring above us as we followed the dry creekbed. We were carrying water because the odds of finding any was remote, especially in view of the ongoing drought. However, after traveling a little less then two miles, to an elevation of 4528 feet, we stopped at a place where pure, cool, water was running into a pool in the creekbed. we stopped and rested ad drank some of the water. the creekbed was filled with many, many different types of rock and as Doug noted, some were smooth, having been eroded by the one time flow of water, others were rough and had eroded from the top of the gorge. Poison Ivy was abundant the whole length of the trip of Sand creek. There was heavy aspen and Ponderosa Pine growth. It was a birders paradise, there were nuthatches, verigo, robins and we could hear the constant song of meadowlarks. I also saw a few yellow swallowtail butterflies. Like in the dacks, it was rough walking in the creekbed.

About an hour later, at 2.3 miles we're still rock-hopping the creekbed. the temperature was up to 70° and it was muggy. Doug fell and knocked a finger out of and back into joint. soaked it in a pool of cold water and took a couple of ibuprofen. we're up to 4658 feet.

At 3.0 miles the stream is running steady. Doug decides to dump the water he is carrying and use the water in the stream, planning to refill his bottles when we leave the creek to bushwhack over the ridge. We started seeing spruce at 4750 feet and there is also paper birch. Throw in some of my favorite flora, hobble-bush and it's almost like following a stream in the Adirondacks.

At noon it's 75° and we're at 4870 feet. we have some salami and pepper-jack cheese for lunch and wash it down with the water from the stream, pure and cold. Since there aren't any beaver and no sign of any human use, we're not concerned about the water quality.

At 3:30 we reach Sand Creek Crossing. there is a dirt road coming up to the edge of the stream on the other side and there is a sign on this side saying that it's closed to motorized traffic. this is where we have to go up and over the ridge at 5365 feet. and then drop down to Corral creek at 5235 feet. After a moderately rough hike through the creek and the steady ascent, I'm pretty slow getting to the top of the ridge to where I have set the waypoint to go down and meet Corral Creek. To compound the situation, NOAA is reporting heavy thunderstorms with hail approaching us from the north. We can see the skies darkening and hear thunder in the distance. We drop down and find corral creek rather easily with the GPS and follow it down stream a little to a nice clearing with a flat spot for the tent. Now we realize that Doug hasn't refilled the water bottles and Corral creek is as dry as a bone. We cook up some Black bean Stew and go over our choices. We can just keep going as far as we can before we have to get shelter so we have only a short walk out in the morning, take our chances and stay put, or Doug wants to go back up and over to Sand Creek and get water and come back. I'm not sure he can beat the storm, but we're both carrying RINO GPS's with radios and the ability to find and track each other, I agree and he heads off. he thinks he can make it there and back in 45 minutes, I'm figuring an hour and a half. So off he goes. I hang a bear bag, explore just a little, keeping an eye on the sky and then it begins to shower, not hard, but enough that I retreat to the tent. It keeps up with a gentle rain for about 10 minutes or so and then stops, but the thunder is getting closer and I can see the occasionally clap of thunder. About the time I figure Doug should be on his way back, I contact him on the radio and then track his progress with the GPS. After a while he gets into camp with the water. Soon the storm is upon us with the thunder and lightning having it's way and then we get marble sized hail. We're fascinated watching the hailstones bounce off the ground for about 15 minutes or so. the it turns to rain and it rains well into the night. The tent is snug and tight and we get a good nights sleep, hoping the rain lets up in the morning. We've hiked 6 miles in today with quite an ascent. Tomorrow it's only about 4.5 miles out and a gentle downhill.

Someof the other flora we've seen in Sand Creek are paper birch, bur oak, quaking aspen, hazlenut and violets.

[redhawk]

Day 9

Day 9:

Sand Creek Part II - Spearfish Canyon - Deerfield Lake

SAND CREEK

It rained hard all night but the tent stayed dry and we were up at 6:30 am. it was 45°. Another hawk Vittles breakfast of bacon, eggs and grits and we broke camp and started our hike out of Sand creek along Corral creek which was still dry in spite of all the rain. Well, "dry" is a relative term. All of the trees, grass and other foliage were soaked as a result of the overnight rain. Although we would only experience a couple of light drizzles on the way out, my pants and boots would get soaking wet walking through the dense grass and brush. I stayed dry from the waist up with my LL Bean Gore-TeX. Corral Creek 's bed was not as rocky as Sand creek had been, and although there were a few difficult spots, all in all it was an easy walk out. There were game trails running intermittently along the creek and we had to switch from side to side. There were no uphills, it was either flat or downhill with the exception of occasionally having to climb a bank or two. At 11:00 we arrived back at out first nights camp, we had covered the 4.5 miles in 2.5 hours. Sand creek, which had been bone dry at this point the day before was now running pretty well with water. Doug was sloshing around in his boots because the waterproofing hadn't sealed the seams at the bottom of the tongue enough. My boots were fine and at a couple of points we just slogged through the creek on the 3/4 mile hike back to the car. At the car we stripped out of our wet things and into dry clothes, socks and boots. Then we drove out of Sand Creek, checking the speedometer and the GPS mileage against the mileage's in the guide book. What the book said was 7.3 miles in, was actually only 5.06 and the trail-head which the book said was 13.9 miles was only 11.06 miles. Our goal is a primitive campground on the way to Harney Peak, but we intend to go through Spearfish Canyon.

SPEARFISH CANYON

On the way to Spearfish canyon, Doug expresses an interest in "Authentic Mexican Food". For the uninitiated he isn't talking about Taco bell or the ptomaine taco. I remember a Mexican restaurant I ate at 12 years ago in Spearfish, but I'm not sure if I can find it. We get off I90 at one of the Spearfish Exits and after a short search we stop at a gas station to get ice, coffee and directions. I'm inside getting coffee and Doug asks the attendants about the Mexican restaurant, giving him a description of my thoughts on the location. e knows the restaurant and gives Doug the directions. I try to pay for the coffee but he tells me it's "on the house". I thank him and join Doug in the car and we drive to the "Fiesta Cancun" Mexican restaurant. I stay in the car while Doug goes in and grills the staff on the "authenticity" of the food and he comes back with a grin and a thumbs up. I let Doug order, which he does in spanish. Chile Colorado (with beef) and Chile Verde (with pork) with rice. coleslaw and re-fried beans for me and black beans for Doug as well as a side of beef tamales. Doug's impressed with the food and i find it exceptional as well. The only thing I miss is being able to have a nice Mexican beer with the meal.

After satisfying our appetite we head out and drive up US 14 through Spearfish Canyon, one of the nicest drives in South Dakota. It's a total gain of 1202 feet from the bottom of the canyon to the top at Savoy. we stop on the way up to admire and take pictures of Bridal Veil falls, and then once in Savoy we drive into a parking area and make the mile hike along Spearfish Creek to view Roughlock Falls (named because the wagon drivers used to "roughlock" the wagon wheels with a log and chains and hook the hoses to the back of the wagons to skid it down the deep gulch. Not far from here is another area where at one time the "roughlock" failed. it's name? "Breakneck Gulch". The walk along the creek is wonderful and there is an abundance of birds including a Great Blue Heron. The one disappointment is that we haven't sen any mountain goats that are usually spotted hanging on the rocky cliffs or spires in the canyon. I did see a couple of mule deer and take photos with the digital. Unfortunately, I'm in the light and they are in the darkened forest so the picture is not too clear. We finally take leave of Spearfish Canyon and head out 14 through Cheyenne Crossing to find the primitive campground.

DEERFIELD LAKE

After leaving Spearfish canyon and catching route 85 out of Cheyenne Crossing, then we follow a series of County roads for a good distance before finally arriving at the primitive campground. we drive into it and inspect the sites and nothing really sets right with us. To top it off, there is one camper there and on the pickup truck is an ATV. Doug asks what i think and I tell him that I'm on vacation and don't really want to have to kill someone tearing around the campground on an ATV. So we leave there and then head out, Hooking up with Rochford Road then County Road 417 and into the Whitetail campground on Deerfield Lake. We find a nice site overlooking the lake and as soon as we get out of the car, we hear a loon cry on the lake. We know we've made the right choice. the camp hosts stop by to collect the fee and engage in some conversation. It's one of the few times that White people have treated me with respect upon finding out that I am Sioux.

We rehydrate some Cheddar Cheese Soup Plus and Doug makes a salad for dinner. After dinner we separately explore the shore. I return to the campsite and I can hear Doug playing the Native American Flute down at the lake. off and on during the evening, we hear loon song. It's a peaceful night.

[redhawk]

Day 10

Day 10:

Journey to the center of the World - Harney Peak

Black Elk's Vision:

Black Elk, a Wichasha Wakan, (holy man) from the Oglala band of the Lakota Sioux Nation and a distant cousin of Crazy Horse had a great vision when he was nine years old. In that vision he was transported to the top of Harney Peak, the highest mountain in the Black Hills, where he was allowed to experience the sacred oneness of his people with the Earth and what his role would be in maintaining that oneness. Decades later, he would tell the American poet John Neihardt what he saw in his vision. Neihardt would record this along with other reminiscences of Black Elk’s in one of the finest works of Native American literature of all time: Black Elk Speaks.

What follows is, but a tiny portion of what Black Elk experienced during a summer’s day in 1873:

“Then I was standing on the highest mountain of them all, and round about beneath me was the whole hoop of the world. And while I stood there I saw more than I can tell and I understood more than I saw; for I was seeing in a sacred manner the shapes of all things in the spirit, and the shape of all shapes as they must live together like one being. And I saw that the sacred hoop of my people was one of many hoops that made one circle, wide as daylight and as starlight, and in the center grew one mighty flowering tree to shelter all the children of one mother and one father. And I saw that it was holy.”

Doug and I got up and had breakfast (Packers Potatoes Plus). Lots of carbs and protein because today we climb Harney peak, at 7242 feet above sea level, Harney is the highest mountain East of the rocky mountains. Black Elk called it the Center of the Earth and it is a sacred pilgrimage for the Sioux. So this has nothing to do with "bagging" a peak. this is all about a walk to honor the ancestors, one of the many rites of passage for Sioux Warriors. And yes, I qualify as a warrior for the true duty of a warrior is to provide for his people, to put their welfare above his own. I have done this in my lifetime, for my Indian nation as well as for the people of the nation that subjugated my people. The first in peace, the second is war. this is why we are here, as an honoring, not to conquer a mountain, or to prove anything to ourselves or each other. We are here to stand humbly before the Creator and to remember that we are but a mote in an iota of time, and to pay homage to the Earth Mother.

We break camp and drive through the Black Hills arriving at the Cathedral Spires trailhead at 9:30 am. As we begin the climb, we see the evidence of fire in the not to distant past. However, unlike bear Butte, their is new growth all around. At 10:20 we arrive at the entrance and self registration point of the Black Elk Wilderness at 6647 feet. We stop and take some photos of the cathedral Spires and explore around them a little, taking in the view, then we continue on the trail which loops around the back of the spires, goes along a ridge and then swings back towards the peak. At Noon we reach the summit of Harney and climb the stairs up and into the stone tower. it's quite a view, we can see Bear Butte to the Southeast, about 43 miles away. There are a few people there and more coming and going as we have hiked up and then back down the mountain. Nowhere near the traffic that is in the high peaks however. maybe because it's early in the season and school isn't out. But it's pleasant, not too many people and the weather is in the 60's again. We see showers approaching in the distance so we decide to head back down. When we get to the split between the Sylvan Lake Trail and the cathedral Spires trail, we split up. Figuring that I won't have to make as much of a ascent on the descent (that's what I said), I take the Sylvan lake trail down and Doug goes back the way we came, saying he will pick me up in the Sylvan Lake parking lot.

There have been quite a few young people, late teens, who have been hiking and in fact RUNNING up the mountain. they've been brought here by some Recruiters to get an idea of training. On the way down, I'm joined by a young man about 20 years old who's huffing and puffing as he passes me and then stops because there is a split and he's not sure which trail to take. He sticks with me and we talk on the way down the mountain. He tells me that he's thinking of joining the service and that's why he's out here. I talk to him about some of my experiences in Southeast Asia and by the time we get to the bottom, he's pretty much convinced that the best path for himself is to go to college. At least while all this insanity in the Middle east is taking place. As we part at the trailhead, it occurs to me that this may be the reason i was on this mountain at this time. I hope the young man does well in his life.

I look around for Doug and the cars not in sight so I take a couple of pictures of Sylvan Lake and then hike the road from there to the other trailhead. It begins to rain quite heavily so i put on my Gore-Tex and stash my camera underneath it to protect it. About 3/4 of a mile later Doug comes driving down the road.

We drive into Rapid City and Doug stops at Prairie Edge (AGAIN!) to get a gift for Eva's birthday in the future. Something he saw on our earlier visit. I wait in the car and drink a coffee and read a newspaper while he shops and then goes back to the Pumphouse Pub for a beer.

Finally he returns and we drive back to my brother in laws house for a shower and to do laundry. We'll spend another night in a warm bed. Doug has called and asked Tim if he knows a good Mexican restaurant and he takes Tim and Wesley (My nephew) and me out to Dinner. The food here is even better then it was at the Fiesta Cancun in Spearfish. I have spinach and cheese enchiladas that have a specialty chile sauce that is outstanding. with our bellies fill, we return to Tim's and I finish up the laundry and we socialize and then get a good nights sleep.

Tomorrow we will drive across South Dakota, back to the Palisades Campground in Garretson that we stayed in our first night.