Original buildings from boom times in Rockerville. These two pictures are examples from an era when the town earned its name by having numerous "rockers" to settle the gold out of the sand and gravel. I couldn't get a picture of the classic jail built into the side of a hill. Unless you had plenty of tunneling experience escape was impossible.
Driving through the National Forest the haze was amazing on Mt. Rushmore. We are probably about 3 miles away in these two pictures.
Looking toward Black Elk Peak. Clouds had moved in at 7200'.
View of the road from our trail.
Where the Black Hills got the name.
Climbers were taking a break. If you enjoy rock climbing the Black Hills are a destination for you. Search Sylvan Rocks for a climbing vacation.
Very brief sunshine on our hike today. Technically this trail is still closed but we met several other adventuresome hikers. The snow melt has the creeks swollen so we did get our feet wet.
This part of the trail has numerous water crossings and rushing water from Sylvan Lake.
Definitely had to watch ours step on this part of the trail.
Balancing rock.....
We definitely have unusual rock formations in the Black Hills.
Notice the sign says 1875 and most people say 1876 is when the mining boom began in the Black Hills. This area was primarily known for silver mining. Deadwood seemed to have silver mining on both sides with gold being the primary metal in Deadwood. Nearly 50 mines operated in this area along with 10 saloons to keep the thirsty miners satisfied. 
Assayer let you know if your claim was going to be worth anything. Silver was going for $1 per ounce and one mine, the "Noname Mine," assayed at $85.50 a ton which may or may not be accurate.
As you travel into these old mining towns the trees have reclaimed much the once bare hillsides. If you enlarge this shot you'll see posts in the center of the image. This is all that remains of the Methodist Church in Galena. The train ran slightly below but across the front of the church location. There was also a Catholic Church in town. The Methodist Church took up a collection to pay for their building and the minister was never seen again.
Something to remember about mining booms, most of the men were single so boarding houses were where most of the miners took their meals. If I correctly recall, Galena had 3-4 operating at any one time.
There are other buildings besides the ones I have pictured. It will be worth another trip back. You travel to Galena from Rt. 385 on a gravel road.
Just climbed the hill from Spring Creek and stepped onto Flume Trail. I realize I've done photos from here but this is a great hike. A literal flume ran through here taking water to the "rockers" in Rockerville so gold could be separated.
The flume ran through this tunnel but I want you to think about a miner entering this type of tunnel each day to work. Many rode a cable operated "elevator" 400' into the earth for their day of mining. In our ghost towns class on Saturday the instructor talked about one miner in the Carbonate Camp area who opened the door to enter the "elevator" and stepped off into a several hundred foot drop.
Looking down from Flume Trail to Spring Creek. The water is high from a very snowy winter.
Sheridan Lake runoff that I thought created an interesting shot. I'm about 40' above the water.
This looked like a lot of fun. They could paddle with their oar or pedal their feet. Sheridan Lake draws boaters and sport fishing people to their campground early in the year.
View of Mt. Rushmore from middle of a tunnel in Custer State Park.
This picture can be taken from a short hike at the base of the Rushmore carving.
Very fortunate to see two of these shaggy guys enjoying a beautiful day.
View from the side of Rushmore.
Crazy Horse Monument. A lot of work has gone on in the past couple of years.
Artists model and the actual work in the background.
Don't miss the displays at Crazy Horse. This Concord Coach ran the trail to Deadwood. This coach used leather suspension to smooth the bumps.
The Needles, Custer State Park.
The Needles Eye. 
Sylvan Lake and yes, there is still ice on the lake.
I'm inside the cage miners rode in the 1970s at Homestake Mine in Lead (Leed), SD. This cage would take miners down over a mile to begin their work day.
In the 1980s and 1990s this open pit was cut at Homestake.
If you enlarge this picture (click on it) you should see a small dark spot toward the center. That tunnel and dozens like it are 8' x 8' and were uncovered when the open pit digging was going on. Hopefully it will put this cut into perspective for you.
Another view of the open cut mining done at Homestake. Another site not to miss in your Black Hills visit.
Decided to take the road to Mt. Roosevelt (named for Teddy) but the snow is still a bit deep in this spot for our two wheel drive car. Rest of the way was clear but I didn't want to risk getting stuck or doing undercarriage damage.
Walked a bit off the Mt. Roosevelt road. Beautiful views even if the day was a bit overcast.
Off in the distance is Bear Butte. This view was pretty impressive and is just northeast of Deadwood.