Spearfish Canyon

I packed a lunch and we went out for an all day drive. Our first stop was at Pactola Lake where we got some information about the canyon drive. We stopped in Lead (as in leader) to tour The Homestake Goldmine which started out as a huge pit but later they dug 138 miles of tunnels and shafts under the pit and the town. The name "Lead" is a gold miner term for a place in the rock that leads to a vein of gold. We got a tour of the town along the way, some of which had to be moved back away from the mine because the land was starting to sink into the mine. We also toured the building housing the equipment needed to service the Yates shaft. This winch lowered equipment and miners into the Yates shaft and down almost 8,000 feet.

We did a quick drive through Deadwood before starting down the Spearfish Canyon Drive. It travels northward to the town of Spearfish along Spearfish Creek for about 22 miles. There were many places to pull off and take in the canyon, waterfalls and vistas. One waterfall was a one mile trek off the road. It is called Roughlock Falls. Roughlock was a way of fixing wagon wheels in place so they would not turn as the horse or mule was pulling the wagon up a very steep and rocky hill which they did to reach the water source and to go over the mountain.

To complete the loop and head back to Hill City we drove on the interstate through Sturgis and then back down the Vanocker Canyon Road. This was not nearly as tall nor as closed in as Spearfish Canyon, but it was very scenic.

We had supper at the Alpine Inn with most of the Newmar Caravan we met here. The menu consisted of two dishes -- steak or veggie. The kicker was the desert menu with over 25 items like ice cream pies, cheese cake and waffle cakes. We met almost everyone in the Newmar Caravan tonight. Seems like a really nice group of people.