MO to SD

7/29-8/2
From the Katy to the Black Hills

The 10'er on the Katy made for a late departure from Sparrow-foot . My goal had been to get from Clinton ( west / central Missouri ) to the Black Hills with just one overnight stop . Leaving late , and driving with a cat , there was no way I was getting up to , and then through , a big old state like Nebraska with just one stop .

Not much to say about Nebraska . I didn't give it much of a chance but I will say the closer I got to the Black Hills the nicer it got ! The Oregon Trail was supposed to be somewhere between the highway and the Platte River but I never saw a sign

Coming North ( from Northwestern Nebraska) into the Southwestern portion of SD, you quickly enter the Black Hills . They gallop in and out of the mile high range, with gnarly shaped peaks as high as 7,000 feet . Grasslands and wandering tributaries of the Cheyenne River are everywhere as well . It reminds me of an area I know well , the Sierra foothills …. only green !  Historical markers are everywhere . Can't wait !
Hot Springs is pretty much the first town you get to  . If I don't come back, this can be the first place the search party checks . Friendly . Great coffee . Warm smiles. 

The Mickelson trail ….

 http://gfp.sd.gov/state-parks/directory/mickelson-trail/map.aspx

is an old rail right -of -way that runs from Edgemont in the south to Deadwood in the north ( yes, that Deadwood ) It wanders in and out of Ponderosa Pine and Aspen stands between 3500 and 6000 feet alongside some beautiful stretches of stream fed pastureland .  The grades are gentle ( railroad ) but long !. From my camp at Oreville I ran basically 4.5 up to the Crazy Horse Monument , through tunnels , across high country pastures , and into the trees . My guess it was only 750' of elevation gain . You know you are going up … and the first day at elevation is always a challenge … but it was very comfortable . And probably the best thing about it …. the downhill back is gentle instead of the quad-crusher I was expecting

lotsa these

not too many of these rest stops ... BP runners beware

Aspen

I just love the high country meadows

not sure how this got in here ... hi Nelsons !

the trains they kicked off so we could have trail

crazy hoerse

long story here

this chipmunk practically ran me off the bridge . thatsa pine cone

The scale of the Crazy Horse Memorial is staggering .
The dedication of one man and his family is overwhelming
At first its hard not to be skeptical .
11$ to get in and see something you should be able to see from the road.
And you walk into the complex of gift shop , restaurant and cultural museums and you are still skeptical.
But its huge.
And you wake …and realize,  half the customers are Native American
Approaching the size of the philadelphia museums
10 times the size of the Mel Fischer stuff
And then you see the artists themselves.
And you are shown the scale of the project that has already taken 65 years and looks like it has that many more to go.
And it was conceived by a Native American .
And he chose this crazy Pole to bring it to fruition
And everything has been done thru the 11 dollar admission,  and donations .
Never give up on your dreams

http://crazyhorsememorial.org/


The Black Hills is a special place. It has a unique combination of climate and topography that results in a rich diversity of plant and animal habitats. It is where "east meets west," and has characteristics of eastern and western forests. Western species, including the ponderosa pine and limber pine, realize their eastern-most extension and eastern species, like bur oak and American elm, reach the western extent of their natural range.
Paper birch, quaking aspen and white spruce are not typically found in the central part of the United States. These trees are part of a remnant forest left in the Black Hills approximately 8,000 years ago. As the climate began to warm at the end of the last Ice Age, most of the cool climate tree species spread north into Canada. Since the climate remained cool in the upper elevations of the Hills, these species continue to survive there.

http://www3.northern.edu/natsource/CULTURE/Forest1.htm