October 24, 2018: Flume Trail

Supposed to reach 70 here on the 24th so we got out before the heat arrived. This trail actually leaves from the Spring Creek trail parking lot. We made an immediate stream crossing and began to climb. After 15 to 20 minutes of hiking we reached the Flume Trail (50) and turned right toward Sheridan Lake.

 Single tunnel we were able to hike through, had we turned left back a hundred yards there is another tunnel which we will hike another day.

 Trail number, this trail is well marked which isn't always the case.

 Looking down to Spring Creek which is where we had hiked on Saturday morning.

 Off in the distance you catch a bit of the CCC constructed dam and Sheridan Lake. The town of Sheridan is at the bottom of the lake.

 Sample of the type of hiking found on this trail.

 Last three pictures are looking down at Spring Creek.

 Destination, Sheridan Lake. You can connect to the Centennial Trail for extended backpacking trips. Trail 89. We returned to our car via Spring Creek Trail so there was no repeating!

10/20/18: Spring Creek Trail

One of our favorite hikes in the Black Hills is the Spring Creek Trail. A hiker experiences 3 bridge crossings, beautiful rock formations, the perfect flowing mountain creek, and you end up at Sheridan Lake. The hike is fairly easy as long as narrow stream crossings don't bother you. We left on the Saturday morning at 9:00 a.m. with the temperature still in the 30s so the narrow bridges were frost covered. We also were ahead of the weekend hikers who usually inhabit this trail.

 Frost covered but passable for the confident hiker.

 Sheridan Lake, this "lake" was formed when the CCC built the earthen dam I was standing on to take the picture. Yes, there was a town here in the early 1930s and it now sits at the bottom of the lake.

 We found out there is another route to follow so next time we'll be making a loop.

October 18: Black Elk Peak

Fall has returned to the Black Hills after a brief winter spell took temperatures to single digits and our first snow of the season. This is still the most beautiful time of year, cool nights with daytime temperatures in the 60s. We left on this hike about 9:00 a.m. with the temperature still in the mid-40s and ice still covering a significant amount of the trail. Minnesota has a school break so about every other group you meet on the trail is from somewhere around Minneapolis. We also met hikers from Pennsylvania and a great of guys from Benedictine University in Kansas. Thanks to all for talking with us about your experiences in the Black Hills. Nearly everyone we talked with said it was their first time visiting but they were having fun.

 Vick added braces this year.

 This guy was trimming the grass along our trail. We spent about 10 minutes just watching him before deciding he wasn't moving so we gently and carefully encouraged him to move.

 He didn't go too far, this picture, with bad light, was from about 8' away. He waited until we moved past and then continued his meal.

 About a third of the trail was like this. Always glad we pack our traction soles to put on over our hiking shoes. Another beautiful day in God's creation.

Custer State Park 11 October 2018

 If you didn't follow SoDak weather earlier this month we had a couple of inches of snow. Vick and I decided to take a drive down through Custer State Park. The color shades of the high plains are wonderful to us. God's creation is so beautiful in each season, wet, dry, hot, cold.

 I had a bit of a trek to get to a decent location for this shot. The small group of Pronghorn kept raising their heads to see if I was staying the proper distance.

 Again, the background colors were amazing. This Pronghorn was watching the approaching Pronghorn (see following pic) intently. We are so blessed to live in such a location.

SD Camping

  Traveled back to Illinois in early October to celebrate a 90th birthday for Skip. We decided to camp a couple of nights on the way and there is great camping near Yankton, SD along the Missouri River. Fishing, hiking and bike paths from the campground into Yankton make this a great place to stay. Showers were clean and the weather was great. 

 No camper, doesn't mean you can't stay here. Bring your sleeping bags and rent a cabin.

Henry Schurter Ledger Post 7: 1938-39

 Much more detailed accounting of expenses for Dad during the year. Loans between family members were obviously common.

 Page devoted to my Great Uncle Will Schurter. 

Henry Schurter Ledger Post 6: 1938-39

Henry Schurter Ledger Post 5: 1938-39

Hoffman, Moser, Koch are still fairly common names in the Tremont area.

Deerfield Lake Recreation Area, September 18, 2018

 Even though we have driven our camper a lot of miles this year we have only spent a few nights "in the hills." We decided to drive up and spend the night at Dutchman Campground at the Deerfield Lake Recreation.

https://www.recreation.gov/camping/dutchman/r/campgroundDetails.do?contractCode=NRSO&parkId=70013

 Looking back toward our camper from the above picture location. Day was perfect. This campground is "officially" closed for the season so you have to take your own water and have access to your own restroom. The cost is zero, however, there is no local water and the vault toilets are supposed to be locked. Fortunately, the vault was still unlocked. There were three campers for the night and we had plenty of space to spread out and not bother one another.

 An example of another great campsite. This area has numerous sites that are quiet and semi-isolated. This is one of the gems that I almost hate to identify.