28th June - Black Hills, SD

We left reasonably early this morning (well for us anyway!) as they started mowing all the grass (it was quite long) and the chippies were gone and it was quite noisy. The previous day some girls had come and sprayed all these different bits of green blue – for Canadian thistles I think – and today they were mowing and it was getting kind of annoying! Which was a shame as it was such a nice spot, with a little creek running behind us. So we said goodbye to the hiding chippies and left.

Spearfish Canyon.

We continued on through the Black Hills, more gravel roads and pretty green trees. We aimed for Black Fox Campground, but my reconnaissance officer (Will) said the toilets were feral with lots of flies, so we continued on. We took a detour to Lead (pronounced ‘Leed’ according to Lonely Planet!) to try and find some internet to organise our meeting for 4^th of July celebrations. We ended up getting some outside a hotel that looked as if it hadn’t opened yet! 

We ended up staying at Spearfish Canyon. It was a nice drive along the canyon, with high cliffs on both sides. Reminded us a little of driving through Colorado on our way to Edwards. There were lots of bugs, so I stayed mainly inside and had a nap, while Will sat outside and read. After my nap we did a short walk into the woods, but were worried we’d get lost so we went back out the way we came and ended up walking up the main road. We saw a path that led past a creek and back into a forest, so we wandered up that one.  Will almost trod on a snake but it was only a baby and not venomous as most snakes in the US are not deadly. It was a nice walk along the river and we saw quite a few beaver dams, but no beavers L. We saw where they had chewed the trees into rough points - they looked so weird! Must have super strong teeth! We came to a section where the creek/river became a small lake and we saw ducks and we also accidentally scared some mule deer that had come down for a drink. They sprinted up into the trees, then one stopped and looked at us as we kept walking. There were pretty flowers and lots of tall pine trees and grassy areas. I was hoping to see a moose, but we didn’t see one. Eventually we started getting hungry, so we turned back and walked the way we’d come. We stopped to ask if another section of path that crossed the creek went back to the campground and the guy we asked seemed to have a strange accent, but he said he was just from Wyoming. Whoops! He and his female companion were admiring the water and we told them that the path continued up for a fair way.

We spent a relaxing evening cooking and eating dinner and then playing cards. A chippy made a brief appearance, but then raced off into the trees. Then after our fire failed to catch (wood must’ve been a bit damp), it was time for sleep.