How The West Was, 1: Spearfish Canyon and Devil’s Tower [View all]

[Scuba]

Crystal Dancer and I departed east-central Wisconsin early on the morning of May 4 to tour parts of the American West – Spearfish Canyon, Devil’s Tower, Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons. We got on I-90, crossed the Mighty Mississippi into Minnesota near LaCrosse, Wisconsin, then climbed out of the broad river valley and onto the Great Plains. Upon reaching the top, our GPS indicated the next turn was 665 miles away. Obviously, the tech who programmed it knew nothing about my family curse: Walnut-sized bladders.

When we crossed from Minnesota into South Dakota, Crystal Dancer switched us from Ziggy Marley to some tunes that helped set the scene: Roy Rogers singing “Don’t Fence Me In,” The Sons of the Pioneers doing “Tumbling Tumbleweeds” and a handful of Marty Robbins ballads.

We finally arrived in Spearfish, SD at about 6:00 p.m., checked into our hotel and had a delightful meal at a local Mexican place, The Guadalajara. Great food and a helpful waitstaff. When we asked where we might take an evening walk our waiter recommended Spearfish City Park, along Spearfish Creek. This is a beautiful spot, and home to a surprise gem.

Established in 1896, D.C. Booth Historic National Fish Hatchery and Archives is one of the oldest operating hatcheries in the country. Dedicated to fish culture and resource management, the hatchery was constructed to propagate, stock, and establish trout populations in the Black Hills of South Dakota and Wyoming.

The hatchery building looks much the same as it did when completed in 1899, and its Victorian architecture became the standard for hatchery buildings throughout the country. It also holds a spot on the National Register of Historic Places.



In the old days, this rail car was used to transport fish. Beautifully restored and preserved, it serves as another reminder of past times.



There’s an underwater trout viewing area, but it wasn’t accessible when we were there. Seeing the rainbows and browns from above, however, was quite the deal for this old fisherman. Trout are not native to South Dakota, but readily took to the cold clear waters. Fresh water shrimp and other crustaceans provide ample food sources.

Crappie (pardon the pun) pic of trout in a hatchery pond ...


Signage at the fish hatchery indicated that the creek is unusual in that it freezes from the bottom up! I’d never heard of such a thing.

(Not relevant but interesting side-note. Spearfish holds the world record for the fastest recorded temperature change. On the morning of January 22, 1943 the temperature in Spearfish was ?4°F. A Chinook wind picked up speed, and two minutes later the temperature was +45 °F. The 49 °F rise in two minutes set a world record that still holds. By 9:00 a.m., the temperature had risen to 54 °F. Suddenly, the chinook died down and the temperature tumbled back to ?4 °F. The 58 °F drop took only 27 minutes. The sudden change in temperatures caused glass windows to crack. Source.)

The next morning we were up early, had breakfast and headed up beautiful Spearfish Canyon. We were immediately disappointed because the creek at the bottom of the canyon was nearly a dry gulch – just a trickle of water ran down the rocky creekbed. Obviously the waterfalls for which the canyon was known were going to be a major let-down. However, as we proceeded farther and farther up the canyon, the water level actually increased! The place seems to defy the laws of physics! When we got to Bridal Veil Falls (one of many falls across America bearing that name) it was as beautiful as we could have hoped.



Turns out there are five miles of tunnels siphoning water out of the creek and into hydro-electic turbines. Very clever if a bit disconcerting when one doesn’t know this!

There’s also an explanation for the creek freezing from the bottom up instead of icing over. This unusual phenomenon occurs due to the very fast rate at which the creek flows. This speed prevents ice from forming except along the bottom of the creek bed where friction and turbulence allow the water to slow down long enough to freeze. Since the creek continues to flow atop this ice, the water level of the creek gradually rises as more ice accumulates on the bottom, in some cases causing flooding on the north side of town where the channel is not as deep.

Steep rock walls form the canyon, and they stood out beautifully on this crisp, clear morning.



Heading up farther we next encountered Roughlock Falls, a series of cataracts coursing through moss-covered granite. Watercress flourishes in the crystal-clear creek.



Finally at the top, we took a short hike to a viewing spot for Spearfish Falls, the highest of the three. At the foot of this falls, the water joins another stream and the resulting flow was a torrent. Pretty amazing, especially since we still hadn’t learned of the hydro-electric tunnels.



After leaving Spearfish we crossed into Wyoming and stopped at the State Visitor’s Center. A helpful staffer recommended both a back route to Devil’s Tower and the “most scenic” route to Cody and the east entrance to Yellowstone. She also offered us cookies; the peanut butter were the best I’ve ever had!

We headed out the “back way” and proceeded through rolling hills. Suddenly, the unmistakable feature appeared …

Devil’s Tower from the “back side.”


We took a couple pics, then went around to the “front” and drove up to the Visitor’s Center. Devil’s Tower is truly a sight to behold.



It’s difficult to describe this geologic oddity. The tower was “intruded” within an old volcano, igneous rock much harder than the surrounding sedemintary rock formed, then was exposed as the Belle Fourche River gradually eroded the softer structures over and around it. The columns you see are 4, 5, 6 and 7-sided (most often six) and rise 867 feet from base to summit.

Its size is impressive. Can you see the climbers in this close-up?



How about in this close-up?



Before leaving, we ran into another pair of climbers who told us it took them seven hours to ascend to within 200 feet of the summit, then descend again. I asked if we could borrow their ropes and other gear for a pic, but they had no sense of humor.

Stay tuned for Part 2: The Best Deal in America