Spearfish . .continued

Amazon came through and received my CF reader today.  Retrieved several photos from the Badlands. Out of order, but here goes . . .

We arrived early, before the anticipated crowds:

A photo of the violent storm that we hit leaving the Badlands, described in a previous post:

Now, back to the timeline . . .

Yesterday, I got on the trail at 0600 to hike to this waterfall.  Wanted to be there before the winds increased, as they seem to do as soon as the temperature begins to warm.  15 mile drive to trailhead, saw virtually no traffic, but did see three large bucks on the way.  On the way back, the road was considerably more crowded with traffic.

This morning, we were visited by two turkey families.  Two hens, each with four chicks walked through our campsite and spent about 10 minutes hunting for crumbs.  Our cat went into full “stocking” mode.  Would not take here eyes off the birds until they walked away and out of sight down the hillside.  Fun to watch the chicks trying to follow the mothers and the mothers circling back to keep track of them.

After the turkeys left, we drove about 10 miles into Spearfish Canyon to find a trail the locals told us about. We found the described trail, and hiked “up the creek” in a steep walled, narrow  side canyon. The trailhead and trail were not marked but the canyon was so deep and narrow (similar to a slot canyon), it would have been hard to get lost.  We had to cross the stream numerous times due to the narrowing of the rock walls. We were the only ones on this trail, very serene.

We made it to these depressions, some of which were 6 or 7 feet deep and LOADED with Brown trout in the 10″- 12″ range.  Note the steep canyon wall behind me, it was on both sides of this canyon. Very interesting colors in the strata.  We spent time watching the trout and dipping our feet before heading out.

My first attempt at a GoPro video went bust.  Biked 13 miles in the canyon, strapped with the camera, only to discover the device was not active. Have to get better at this, maybe read the manual?

Spent the afternoon walking in “downtown” Spearfish, visiting several antique shops and a few specialty stores. We picked up our race numbers and  materials for tomorrows races.  In the morning,  Cathy is running a 5K in Spearfish and I am catching a race shuttle to Savoy. I will be running from Savoy back to Spearfish, a little over 13 miles.  It should be 80 deg at race time so loading up with saltwater drinks.  After the race, we are heading to Hill City, near the Mt Rushmore and Crazy Horse monuments.

Yes Mike, South Dakota is beautiful !!