Photo Blog with Waterfalls, Hiking, Outdoors, and other Adventures
Just down the road from Split Rock park is another local park called Devil’s Gulch. I didn’t know what to expect at first, but the attraction here is a large gulch (or ravine), a waterfall perhaps, and some Wild West history if you believe the stories. Not shown in this post is a small visitor … Read more
Today seems like “do everything interesting in Garretson, South Dakota” day but it wasn’t really by plan. As it often happens, I was freestyle cruising Google Maps and came across a couple parks not far away from camp. So I headed just a couple miles down the road and first stopped at Split Rock Park. … Read more
My first out-of-state camping stop on this journey was at Palisades State Park in Garretson, South Dakota. I arrived well after dark and mostly just went to sleep, but the next morning I did some quick exploring. There are a couple trails here the run along the Split Rock Creek. I considered hiking them but … Read more
North of Deadwood in the town of Belle Fourche, SD there is a monument for the geographical center of the US (factoring in AK and HI). Also they have preserved the first house ever built in that town and it turns out he was from Wisconsin. The tour guides were volunteers and provided me with … Read more
At the suggestion of a park ranger at Mount Rushmore, I backtracked from Deadwood and drove the Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway. These photos are only a sample of what I took – rest are on my bigger camera and can’t pull them until I have laptop access. None of them can truly give a good … Read more
Visited the Mount Moriah Cemetary where Wild Bill and Calamity Jane are buried. I’m not a graveyard geek but this would be an excellent final resting place. View overlooking Deadwood. Some photos of the Starlight casino displays as well. Kevin Costner owns the joint if you can’t tell. And a few of Main Street and … Read more
After scouting all the campsites and running out of daylight, I made an executive decision and gave up my camping dreams for the night. On the advice of some super helpful locals at a place called Pizza Lab in Lead, SD, I made my way to Deadwood (yes like the movies, Kevin Costner and all … Read more
I had enjoyed my survey of The Badlands but it was time to keep pressing westward. Since it was now Monday I figured some of the more heavily-visited tourist spots should be more easily accessible. I made my way into Keystone, South Dakota and stopped at a classic U.S. road-trip destination: Mount Rushmore National Memorial. … Read more
Once again against my better judgement I went off course and stopped at a tourist trap. This time it was Wall Drug. They had signs littering I-90 for 200 miles before you even get there. This place was made for old people who collect crappy knick-knacks. On the plus side I saw a giant jackelope … Read more
Woke up freezing in my tent. Either the wind chills got very low or my 20 degree bag isn’t quite up to par, but will make due for now. Wind died early morning and gave way to a lone coyote howling in the distance. Camp stove and pot work well and the freezer bag cooking … Read more