After the wonders of the southern Black Hills, we headed to Spearfish, SD, in the northern hills. We stayed in the Spearfish City Campground which had both pluses and minuses. On the downside, the sites were extremely narrow to the point where we had to move the picnic table on the site next to us in order to run our slides out. Fortunately we never had neighbors on either side, so in this instance it was not an issue. Many sites would have been difficult for us to get into due to trees, but again it was not an issue for us. What was an issue was the fact that our site was very unlevel. Our front left corner was 7.5″ lower than our rear. We managed to get very close to level through the use of lumber. Lots of lumber.

On the plus side was location, location, location. It was about a 3 minute drive to the heart of Spearfish which is a very cool little city. A trout hatchery was across the street and admission was free. The Spearfish River ran through the campground and there were nice walks everywhere. And we were just a few minutes drive to the bottom of Spearfish Canyon and the awesome Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway, a 19 mile drive up an insanely beautiful gorge. In fact, we were so close that I could walk a trail to the Byway faster than we could drive to it!

We drove the canyon twice while here, looking at waterfalls and taking walks. The first time we looped around and made our pilgrimage to Deadwood, a can’t-miss stop for us since we’re huge fans of the HBO series. In fact, we walked around town, ate at the Gem, visited Wild Bill Hickcock’s and Calamity Jane’s graves, and then went home and watched the new Deadwood movie that had just dropped. Swearengen!

If you’re familiar with the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind, you’re familiar with the Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming. It’s only a short drive from Spearfish so we made a day trip to it. Words don’t do it justice. Below are a few of the many photos we took. We walked the beautiful trail around the base on a lovely day. Well worth the trip.

Finally, we took a quick drive to visit the geographic center of the United States. That includes Hawaii and Alaska in its calculation. Who knew?

Wild Bill Hickcock’s Tombstone, Deadwood, SD 6/1/19

D.C. Booth Historic National Fish Hatchery, Spearfish, SD 6/3/19

The Geographic Center of the United States, Belle Fourche, SD 6/4/19

Devils Tower National Monument, WY 6/3/19

It is a custom of the Native Americans to tie pieces of cloth to the trees. Devils Tower National Monument, WY 6/3/19

Devils Tower National Monument, WY 6/3/19

Devils Tower National Monument, WY 6/3/19

Roughlock Falls in Spearfish Canyon 6/5/19

Roughlock Falls in Spearfish Canyon 6/5/19