The Beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota

One of the unexpected benefits of my extended South Dakota stay has been having more time to fully explore the area.  In the past my yearly visits have been compressed into a frantic timeframe of 5-7 days - not nearly enough to accomplish everything I'd like.

Beautiful roadside wildflowers

But now on week four of my visit, I'm happy to report that despite having to lay low for the first several days I've recovered enough to actually start getting out and doing things.

Penstemon

A week ago my sister invited me to spend an overnight at her cabin deep in the heart of the Black Hills. Eager to get out and see some new scenery I leapt at the chance.

The locals watching my every move

Access to the cabin required a drive through a series of gravel Forest Service roads.  Noticing a large patch of lovely wildflowers lining one of the roads, my sis stopped the car so I could get some photographs.  A local cow herd took notice and they all stopped and stared.  (Is it just me or do other folks get the urge to yell "moo!" whenever they see a bunch of cows?)

Fantastic surprise sunset

My sister's cabin is quite amazing.  It's completely off the grid.  Her husband designed the entire structure, down to the solar panels that provide electricity, to the cistern that provides water.  Buried propane tanks power things such as the stove and washer and drier.  There's even a hot tub on the huge outdoor deck.  The cabin took my sis and her hubby 4 years to build and it's almost complete - only some flooring, interior railing and the fireplace left.

Before sunrise

My sis and I sat outside on her deck and watched a thunderstorm build.  We thought due to the cloudy skies sunset would be a bust.  But we couldn't have been more wrong.  When the sun began dropping to the horizon, it backlit the clouds in lovely hues of orange and yellow.   Breathtaking!

Lovely backlit pine trees

The cabin was built on a high point, so I soaked in splendid views of a 360 degree forest panorama, including a couple of local peaks.  It was fun to watch the thunderstorm move through the area and observe sheets of rain soaking nearby hills.  When the lightning got a little close for comfort (for me anyway), we moved inside and watched the light show from a safer vantage. 

Sunrise over the Black Hills

Ever since my surgery I haven't been sleeping well, so the next morning when I awoke at 4 am and couldn't get back to sleep, I decided to get up and capture the sunrise.  A good decision!  Lingering clouds from the previous night's thunderstorm provided a treat for my camera lens.

Wild rose

After breakfast, my sis suggested driving one of her ATV's around the nearby Forest Service roads.  Since I'm not really supposed to be hiking yet, this was the next best thing.

Wild roses were blooming everywhere!

Every time I've visited South Dakota in the past I've always missed peak wildflower season.  Not this year!  I was impressed by the amount and variety of wildflowers blooming in the forest. Wild roses were everywhere.  Their bright pink blossoms always make me smile.

My sis and her dog enjoying the day

Although I recognized many familiar wildflowers, there were a couple "new to me" blooms.   Such as these gorgeous white Indian Paintbrush.  I've seen orange, red and even yellow but never white.

White Indian Paintbrush

And this two-tone orange and yellow flower, that looked similar to a daisy, was quite stunning.  Not sure of the name, so a bit of internet research is in order!

Backlit wildflower

But my favorite wildflower of them all was the wild tiger lily.  Absolutely sensational!  We have tiger lilies in Oregon but they are smaller and a much brighter orange hue.  This photo of a dew-spangled tiger lily bloom was my number one image from the day. 

South Dakota tiger lily

While trying to photograph a couple of coneflowers I got lucky when a butterfly landed on one of the blooms.  That hardly ever happens!

Accidental butterfly capture!

Although it was fun to ride around in the ATV and see so many sights, I discovered it tired me out quickly.  It's been hard to slow myself down - now that I'm feeling good I want to resume my life as is was.  I have to keep reminding myself I went through a major event and my body is still healing.  So I told my sis I'd had enough and she returned back to the cabin.

Iconic buildings in Rochford, SD

Later that morning my sis drove me back to my parent's home.  But on the way we stopped by the nearby town of Rochford, SD, a quirky historic mining town.

Rochford museum

The Moonshine Gulch Saloon and Irish Gulch Saloon buildings are local landmarks.  No trip is complete without a few photos of the iconic buildings!  The local chapel is also photo-worthy.  My sis said she heard that Christmas Eve service here is a pretty raucous event.

Rochford chapel

Rochford was home to the nearby Standby Gold Mine.  In operation from the early 1880s it operated intermittingly until closing for good in 1942.  The mine and stamp mill building dominated a nearby hillside for many years, and it was popular for the locals to visit and photograph the tumble-down structures.  (I have some film photos from the 1980s)  But when the Standby Mine building became hazardous to the public, it was finally torn down in 1987.  My sister and I drove by the hillside where we remembered the mine stood, but the forest had now reclaimed the area.

Dame's rocket

It was a fun overnight catching up with my sis, and I also enjoyed getting out into the beloved Black Hills again.  Hopefully I'll be able to get up to my sister's cabin one more time before heading home!