Black Hills 10: Final Image

Our dinner stop in Cheyenne gave me one last opportunity to take out the camera.

Black Hills 9: Wind Cave National Park

Our final day in the Black Hills. Kim and Shirley headed home early. They took the dog, so that we could do a prairie hike in Wind Cave National Park.

Traffic jam in the Black Hills

View from the Rankin Ridge Fire Tower - our first hike

The first hike was a nice viewpoint, but the second was more substantial- a large prairie loop on the Lookout Point and Beaver Creek trails. Wide-open prairie, bison, a year's supply of prairie dogs, even a nice valley filled with caves. This hike had it all.

Wide-open spaces

Cave entrance

Black Hills 8: Back to the Hills

The next day Kevin and Shirley went to Wind Cave National Park to explore some caves, while the rest of us took the dog on a number of hikes.

We started with a short walk to Cathedral Spires, not far from the Little Devil's Tower of a few days ago.
Then we drove to Cathedral Lake, and took a great hike down into Sunday Gulch- a granite ravine filled with giant boulders and a rushing stream.
We lived in constant fear from the carnivorous dry-land beaver. These man-eating beasts have been eradicated from Colorado, but still pose a threat in the wilds of South Dakota.

Where old paddle boats go to die.
After our hikes, Dorinna and I took chairs and books and enjoyed some relaxation on the shores of Legion Lake. Until the riff-raff arrived...

Black Hills 7: Drive Back to Camp

Tired after two hikes, I still managed to snap a few pictures on the drive back to camp.

Bison at Watering Hole

Late Afternoon Shadows

Black Hills 6: French Creek

Our second hike of the day was to descend into the middle of French Creek canyon. At one point we considered descending through the canyon as a two-day backpack, but we decided to save that trip for another day. After following a long dirt road, we descended down steeply and followed a very rough path through the canyon. It was nice to leave the arid plains into a wetter environment. Sky certainly enjoyed the opportunity to go swimming and fetch sticks.

On the hike down, Dorinna was surprised by a chipmunk, and screamed at the top of her lungs. On the hike back, Dorinna was surprised by a rattlesnake, and calmly said "Is that a snake?"

Kevin, Sky, and Dorinna walking along French Creek

Red Columbine

Bunny was a bit shaken after seeing the rattlesnake

Me at French Creek

Black Hills 5: Back on the Wildlife Loop

After our hike, Kim and Shirley went horseback riding, while the rest of us made another pass around the Wildlife Loop road on our way to our second hike.

View of the Wildlife Loop from the Prairie Trail

"Where the deer and the antelope play..."

Drive-thru Burro Petting Zoo

Herd of Bison on the plains

Black Hills 4: Prairie Loop Trail

The next day I wanted to further indulge myself in the prairie landscape. Mountains are fun, but we have plenty of them in Colorado. We drove back to a trailhead that I had spotted the night before. We only made it a few hundred feet from the car before we disturbed a pronghorn- we got some great views as he charged across the meadow.

Parts of the hike were in forested terrain, but most of it was open prairie.

Primrose on the prairie

As we climbed up onto a ridge, we suddenly found our way blocked by a large herd of bison:


We patiently waited for the herd to mosey off before continuing the hike.

Sky and Shirley (and Bunny) stopping for lunch

"Prairie Grapes"

An idyllic little oasis of green

Black Hills 3: Wildlife Loop Road

Back at our campsite after the hike, we loaded up the cars with binoculars, cameras, guidebooks, and tripods, and set out to do a drive around Wildlife Loop Road. The weather was cloudy and stormy, but generally cleared up as we drove around. We traveled to a couple of viewpoints, and enjoyed some nice views of the peaks we had just climbed.

The fun part, however, started when we saw our first Bison.
As we traveled around the loop, we saw more Bison, Pronghorn Antelope, Deer, and several different birds. It's called Wildlife Loop for a reason!

Storm clearing over the plains

Wildflower on the red rock that rims the valley

Penstemon on the plains.

Black Hills 2: Cathedral Spires Road

After our hike, we drove back to the campground. However, we had a bit of a delay on the drive, as we had to wait at a tunnel for a bus. As you can see, passing room was a little bit limited:
A bus enters the tunnel from the opposite direction. The bus driver took extra care to line himself up properly. Once inside the tunnel, the buses traveled at about 2 mph.

While waiting for the buses, Dorinna posed by the Needle's Eye rock formation.
I had fun scrambling up the coarsely-grained granite for this shot down at the parking lot.
Another car enters the maw of the tunnel.

Black Hills 1: Little Devil's Tower

Memorial Day weekend is always a challenge. In Colorado, heavy snows prevent backpacking in the mountains. In Utah and southwest Colorado, it's already getting hot and crispy. This year we gathered up a group of friends and headed north to the Black Hills of South Dakota.

This was my first trip to the Black Hills, so I didn't know what to expect. What I found were a surprisingly rugged collection of mountains, spectacular prairies, and plentiful wildlife.

We left work early on Thursday, and spent over an hour trying to pack car camping gear into our two cars. The drive across Wyoming was very scenic, with great views of the prairie. On one stretch of road, we followed what appeared to be the busiest train track in America. On another we saw a family of deer, with a coyote checking them out from 100 yards away. And of course, enough hawks and antelope to fill a small football stadium. The best part, though, was an extended sunset that lasted for hours.

Only five hours later we rolled into Custer, South Dakota, where we had a hotel room for the night. Custer was a nice little town, with a great breakfast place. After fueling up with food and coffee, we drove into Custer State Park to our reserved campsites at Legion Lake. We set up our campsite, and then piled into one car to go hike the Little Devil's Tower.

Kevin in front of Little Devil's Tower

The trail was short but very steep. The rocks, terrain, and vegetation reminded me of the northeast, but without the pesky bugs.

Cathedral Spires

Kim in front of Harney Peak, tallest mountain in South Dakota

Cathedral Spires

Dorinna climbing on the summit of Little Devil's Tower