On to Spearfish

 Wednesday - May 19, 2021

Moving on day today.  With less than 100 miles to drive, we took our time getting ready to leave this campground.  There is a really nice boulder in front of our campsite here, very shiny, with crystals and other interesting ingredients, but it doesn't show up well in the picture (and I couldn't fit it in the jeep).

So we said goodbye to our camp host, got hooked up and hit the road about 10:20.  

We headed west to New Castle, Wyoming, then took Hwy 85 north, picked up 14A to get to Spearfish.  14A turned out to be a Scenic Byway, and it certainly was.  On the western edge of South Dakota, we saw burnout, but also beautiful grasslands still. And some very nice views. 

 

We crossed into Wyoming about 30 minutes later .  Almost immediately, there was a horse and buggy sign, so I watched for Amish farms or buggies from then on, but never saw any signs of Amish.  

We were only in Wyoming a little over an hour (including a fuel/soda stop) before we crossed back into South Dakota.  We drove most of the day in the Black Hills National Forest. An unusual sight was this tower, I told Joe it had icing on top.

We saw a few antelope and deer on this Byway.  One deer crossed the road right in front of us again.  Joe said he didn't have to stomp on the brakes as hard as he had in Albuquerque, but we did have some stuff dislocated in the kitchen.  We finally saw 3 tom turkeys.  He said they were so perfect, with their tail feathers fully spread, that he thought they might be statues, but a few miles later, we saw a dead tom, also with tail feathers spread, so we believe they were real.  We drove along the very pretty Spearfish Creek most of the way on this Highway, and it is right along the edge of our campground.  Joe found a pull-off, and we walked beside the creek, with the rocks tumbling over and dropping down over the boulders.  It was almost a lake here, then got narrow again.

There was a little whirlpool right under the bridge, and we saw several small fish.

This was a very crooked road, like any that follow creeks, with nice boulders along the way.

Then, suddenly, there was a nice waterfall, right beside the road.  Another "Bridal Veil Falls."

And then we were at the outskirts of Spearfish.  The directions on the GPS to the campground took us to a road that was closed.  Found another address for the campground, which was right off Main Street, but we ran out of signs there.  So we finally called.  We were about 2 blocks away.  The host said they close the road we were on, in the summer, so all traffic to the campground has to come in the same way.  

Anyhow, we arrived at the campground about 1:10, and were set up by 1:30.  We have electricity, phone signal, sewer, and water, but the internet signal does not reach our campsite, so it's back on our hotspot.  But the campground is very nice. Our spot is nice, a little close to the neighbors, but grassy, and level.   Joe got us hooked up with everything and pulled the awning out for the first time on this trip.  Spearfish Creek runs about 100 yards from our campsite, just at the edge of the campground.

As we came through town, there were lilacs everywhere.  And when we went back into town, there were more lilacs everywhere.  We stopped at the visitor center to get a map for jeep trails, then we headed back to camp.  I may have to buy this house and move here.

Most houses didn't have just one lilac bush, they had many.  A lot used them as hedge rows -- what could be better.  And we saw one lilac bush with a deer under it. 

I did get Joe to stop so I cold get a new bouquet.  I should be set for the week, able to refresh my bouquet every other day if need be.

We took a short walk in the campground and to the creek, and sat outside for a while to enjoy the beautiful weather -- in the 60s.  We look forward to exploring this area the next few days.  We MAY be able to stay on the main roads and visit the surrounding towns like Sturgis and Deadwood, but Joe has a real yearning for the dirt roads, so it will be a battle of wills.

We had one other issue today.  My arthritic forefinger, my pointing finger, has a slight crook in it.  Joe told me when I point out animals, I need to adjust for the crook because he looks too far to the right every time.  And here I thought I was perfect.