6-14-2023 Spearfish, SD

Rob, The Captain and Lindy

Spearfish, SD is not too far from Somerset where our friends Gary and Connie live.  We met them on the pickleball courts in Pahrump in years past and we bonded immediately.  This had as much to do with what great people they are as the fact that they lived in Neenah, WI for 20 years before relocating to SD.  You see, Gary was a pilot for Air Wisconsin before he retired and now he is fondly referred to as, “Captain.”  Connie is under the weather this time we are passing through and could not join us but Gary and # 1 son Nathan played pickleball with us and the next evening, Captain joined us for dinner at Steerfish Restaurant where we all enjoyed a big slab of walleye!  Great fun!

Nathan, Gary and Rob

 

Spearfish sprang up, like other cities in the Dakotas, when it was declared, “There’s gold in them thar hills!”  It was a mining and farming community and now relies heavily on tourism as well.  The campground and visitor center folks advised that, for an interesting activity, we should take a drive through Spearfish Canyon to see the rock formations, wildlife and beautiful waterfalls.  This is how we spent day # 2.  The canyon was carved out by the river over the millennia and shear rock faces framed our path almost the entire distance. 

Split Rock

Split Rock is the first attraction.  It is really more of a mountain than a rock.  The laborers who built the Spearfish Line of the Grand Island and Wyoming Central Railroad through the canyon did the splitting.  The railroad began service in 1893, hauling mining materials, supplies and ore back and forth.  A flood in 1933 destroyed the rail lines beyond repair and subsequently, a road was created to do the job. 

 

Bridal Veil Falls, created by snowmelt as all the falls are, cascades 60 feet down to continue downstream.  We were lucky enough to see a heavy flow since it dwindles down to a small trickle over the summer months and into the fall.  The same is true of Roughlock Falls.  Before the railroad, supplies were hauled by horses and wagons.  The trail was really steep and in order to keep the wagons from taking off and screaming down the grades, they used a method called, “roughlock,” locking the wheels with chains and using cables to slow down the descent.  Thus the name of the falls came to be.

Rob at Roughlock Falls

Bridal Veil Falls

 

George Hearst, prospector and developer
of Homestake Mining Co. in
Spearfish, SD

A fellow named George Hearst, born in a log cabin in MO in 1820, had been interested in mining since he was a young boy.  In his 30s, when he learned of gold being discovered in the Dakotas, he headed west and purchased 4 ½ acres of land for $70,000 and created the Homestake Mining Company.  With the modest successes of the mining operation over time, he increased the size of the mine to 100,000 acres.  George was so obsessed with the business of mining and prospecting that he moved further west, to central CA, the mother lode of silver on the Comstock (NV), copper in MT and silver in Park City, UT.  He hit pay dirt in UT with silver to the tune of $17M.  Then, George went back to MO to tend to his mom’s health.  While there, he fell in love with the girl next door, married her and moved back west to the San Francisco area.  Meanwhile, he won a newspaper enterprise as a spoil of a poker game.  Then, in 1863, William Randolph Hearst was born.  And now, my friends, you know the rest of the story.

 

It’s still raining.  It rained and stormed all night.  This is starting to remind us of Oregon.