Spearfish Canyon Revisted & the Termesphere Gallery

Annie Falls has been calling our names for a few weeks now and first thing Sunday morning Josh, myself and our friend, Matt Kinsey, made our way there. We turned off Spearfish Canyon onto Annie Creek Road and parked at a slight turnoff a couple miles in. The trail head is on the left and easy to miss.

From the natural platform at the top we were surveying the falls and the canyon. Josh took off down the crazy decline towards the fall and Matt and I spied another route down. I thought that I would try to bring Wu down this new route so that we could all spend some time playing in the creek.  Matt went down the same way as Josh to let him know that Wu and I would be attempting a new descent.

9.11 Annie Falls

The new trail is to the left of the natural platform where you can view Annie Falls. At first I didn't think that it would be so bad but it turned out to be pretty steep. Wu was a champion as we hiked down. There was a trail as the route had been used by game and a few people but it was still fairly subjective. We came to one spot where Wu had some trouble until he got the nerve to just do it.

Once we were at the creek it was considerably easier to walk and it was a nice surprise to see Josh and Matt heading our way down another waterfall. At some point there had been a rockslide and the loose rock had created a lower fall. It was awesome how the water flowed through the crevasses and pooled in basins.

It was here that we discovered the carcass of a coyote that had fallen from the cliffs above.The bones were sun-bleached and surprisingly, nearly intact. It was an interesting sight but it also put into perspective how we really needed to pay attention to our footing during these adventures. Wet rock and pine needles make things a little slick.

9.11 Matt at Annie Falls

We played around in the creek for some time. Taking pictures and exploring. At Annie Falls we found the geocache that's stashed there. Josh made the find. We all signed the log book and left a few trade items. It's a good hide and making it more difficult are the canyon walls which bounce the GPS signal around. Good times!

We took the route that Wu and I had taken down on our way up again. In only one spot (a different one than before) did Wu get nervous but he atacked it with his usual bear-ness and ran circles around us. This is a more dog friendly route than the regularly used trail but I would only recommend it for very athletic dogs who are just a bit crazy.

By the time that we were heading out a few families showed up to enjoy the falls. We took off north to Community Caves. Since it was a recent find, Matt hadn't been there before and it was on our 'to see' list.

We parked at a large parking lot about 3 miles south of the Northern Entrance to Spearfish Canyon. Before we had made it to the trail we passed a family who told us that it was quite crowed today. They were right. The hike took about 15 minutes and thankfully we were able to enjoy it without the trail being crowded. The hike up follows a ravine and is moderately difficult. The climb is beautiful: leading from a dry creek bed up to the forest canopy.

9.11 Family Picture at Community Caves

At the top the large overhang houses a number of caverns. There's a waterfall that falls over the lip and flows down the trail. We relaxed here for a bit. There's not much to do at the top beyond exploring the caverns and enjoying the views.

It's a very interesting geological feature and worth the hike. We haven't seen anything quite like this anywhere else in the Hills. But ofcourse when something is this unique word gets around and as a result there were a lot more people at the caves than we were hoping for. Our visit was short but it was still a lot of fun. 

Our last stop of the afternoon was at the Termesphere Gallery. It's tucked away on Christensen Drive on the outskirts of Spearfish. We have passed a hundred times and always said that we'd do it soon. Well, soon came Sunday afternoon.

From the road it's almost impossible to see the buildings that make up the gallery and the Termes family home but the glimpses you get allude to something architecturally unique. The dirt driveway leads up to the front doors and you finally get to see the geometric building that houses the gallery.

9.11 The Termesphere Gallery 

The Termesphere was first created by Dick Termes thirty something years ago. On a globe he paints with a six-point perspective which isn't something easily explained in words. You could say that he paints everything he sees in every direction from his one point. It's something you should see. Each Termesphere is an optical illusion and a mathmatical piece of art.

Around the Northern Black Hills there are Termespheres on display all over the place. We had seen the ones at Saloon #10, Spearfish Chamber of Commerce, the Deadwood Visitor Center, and the Spearfish City Park and each was hypnotizing. Each piece is amazing but to have the greatest Termesphere experience you should visit the gallery. A lifetime of Termespheres are on display to enjoy.

Our entrance to the gallery was by donation and they told us that they are open whenever they're home. After feeling the impact of all of the Termespheres and finding our favorites, we realized that this is one of our best finds yet and we will surely be returning!

The Places We've Seen

Since Josh and I began our geocaching explorations, we have come across a few unknown spots that completely surprised us. We would be on our way to find a cache and all of a sudden there was an amazing canyon or waterfall ahead. All we could think was "How have we never been here before?" Intriguing us more was that our friends hadn't heard of these places either.

One afternoon Josh and I explored the Whitewood Creek Reclamation Area which is located behind Schade Winery, at the beginning of Boulder Canyon in Deadwood. There's a dirt road that follows the creek back towards Whitewood and it looks like it dead-ends in a storage yard but alas, it winds to the right and heads into the canyon.

We crossed a couple of trestles and slowly made our way along the creek. The canyon walls rise up hundreds of feet on the left and the creek flows on the right. There's not much for traffic in this area, because it is a dead-end which makes it even more peaceful and relaxing. Maybe two miles in there is a large man-made wall which acts as a retainer but also gives easy access to the creek. To get on top of the wall you have to drive through an 100 foot crevasse. It's awesome.

We had heard about a railroad tunnel in this area. Our eyes were pealed for any sign of it. The road continues for a few miles more but eventually ends at private property. As were were turning around I saw a large black void.

8.11 Josh at Whitewood Creek Train Tunnel  

It's at moments like this that I know Josh loves me. I started hooting about a tunnel and how we should walk to it. It was ridiculous but he obliged and we set off down the road.

8.11 Whitewood Creek Train Tunnel

We had found the old abandoned train tunnel! The entrance was gated but it was still really cool to be able to see through it and to imagine a train rolling through there. I wish that there was information on the land owner because we would love to hike above it and around the area (and obviously to get inside)!

After playing for a bit we headed back to town. On the way out we spotted several hiking trails that we had missed on the way in. We are going to go back later to hike and explore a bit more.

During the week I had been geocaching on Annie Creek Rd. and found a great spot. I didn't investigate at the time because I wanted to do it with Josh and we were able to make it there just a few days later.

9.11 View of Annie Falls from landing

Annie Creek Road is about 2 miles North of Cheyenne Crossing in Spearfish Canyon. It's a little dirt road just before a sharp corner. The road seems to be laid on an old railroad bed and in a few spots they are surfacing. There's a nice hiking trail that follows along the left side and can lead you to some great views. About a mile or so in there's a small pulloff on the right and a steep pebble path on the left.

We parked there and Josh, myself and Wu made our way down the path. For a few yards it's rocky and steep but it leads to a natural landing. Lining the edge were huge boulders that made perfect benches. Josh sat out with his legs over the edge but it was a bit too high for me.

From there we overlooked a waterfall that fell onto a large boulder and split the stream of water in two. The path down to the creek is a bit trecherous but it's worth it. There's some climbing and the pine needles can make it a little slick.

8.11 Josh at Annie Falls

It was so steep that we had to leave Wu at the top. Josh told him to stay and we hiked down. The creek was really easy to cross and we didn't get our feet wet. We enjoyed the waterfall and were in total delight over the new hike we could do here.

There a bit of space by the creek and it would be a beautiful area to eat lunch, which we will be sure to do. After taking a few photos and realizing that Wu was waiting we climbed back up.

To our delight the dog was still there and when we crested the top he let us know that he won't be left behind again. This wasn't a hike for young kids or dogs but it was a good challenge for us and we have started to try to find a route up the creek instead of down that steep incline.

We made it back to the car and kept exploring the Canyon. It was a perfect way to have started the day. 

Geo-what? GeoCACHING!

This summer has been particularly tough to find time to explore with each other. It seems that when Josh is working, I'm not and when I'm working, he's not. We have come to realize that though we can't seem to get too far from home, there are still plenty of small adventures close to home. So, we dusted off the GPS and started to investigate the geocaching possibilities.

Geocoin & Travel Bug

I first started geocaching in 2007. I can't remember who told me or where I came across the game but it sparked an interest immediately. Basically, it's a worldwide treasure hunt played with GPS units. Cachers navigate to specific coordinates and then try to find a small camouflaged containter (the geocache). Then the Cacher logs their find online.

In the geocache are various trade objects; marbles, keychains, fishing tackle. You never really know what you are going to find but the coolest things are Travel Bugs and Geocoins. A Travel Bug is a dog-tag that's attached to an object and a geocoin is unique coin, both are numbered. They travel from cache to cache around the country and people log them so everyone can see where they've been. It's a little dorky. We know. But it's also kinda fun!

50cal Ammo Box cache, Located off Maitland Rd.

When we logged into Geocaching.com we were surprised to see that within 10 miles of our house were 64 caches. It's kind of amazing to think that within that distance there were that many treasures to try and find. So we started looking. 30 days later and we've attempted about 25 caches.

Last night we tried out first Night Cache. It was located off of Mt. Roosevelt Rd., not too far from home. We took an old two-track that we hadn't known about before. We drive Roosevelt Rd. all the time and still had missed that road. We drove down to the coordinates and waited for the sun to set. The pines rose up all around us and for being so close to town it somehow seemed like we were in our own world. We heard the insects begin their night songs as the forest came alive around us. It was very cool.

Once the sun set we started up our flashlights and began to look. It didn't take us to spot the reflectors and after a short walk we found the camouflaged cache. We signed the logbook, took a 35mm film container with a trash bag in it (to pick up trash with on your hike out) and left, in it's place, a key-chain bottle opener.

On our way home we realized how nice it was to be out caching in the evening, especially in the dark. Now that we've found a night cache we are going to start looking for more to do. Maybe even put one out ourselves. Wouldn't that be fun?!

Only part of geocaching is finding the cache. The most important part are the places that you'll see and the experience that you'll have. It's about going somewhere you may have overlooked or had never known about and exploring it with fresh eyes.

If you are interested in finding out about geocaching near your home than visit Geocaching.com and put in your zip code. A list of caches will appear but you can also look at them on a map. If you want more of an idea of what you may be getting into watch What is Geocaching? If you'd like to go out with us than leave us a note! Either way look for us, BackroadsAdventures, on the trail!


 

Loving our life! Plus a preview of our biggest adventure yet!

Today, I was looking at our blog and realized how lucky I am. I can't help but appreciate how much effort Amanda puts into chronicling our adventures. She is such a hard worker. She is a full time student, works nights, and takes care of me and our house. With all this going on she still seems to find time to plan out some truly great adventures. I love my wife with everything I am and ever will be. She is my driving force and my best friend. I love the life that we have created. And I especially love our adventures all over the USA.

Our lives have been a little hectic lately and we no longer have as much time to go out and explore like we use to. Well, I am glad to announce that this is just a temporary situation. Amanda and myself are on our way to starting our own eco-tourism business.

We've done a lot of jobs and been a lot of places, and it has become obvious that we are at our best when we are outside with each other. We've been toying with the idea of having our own business for over a year. We kicked a few ideas around, and all seemed like good avenues. The only problem was that we needed money to get it all started. So, we've been working our butts off in an attempt to get the money together to start our business.

To be honest, it wasn't looking too good there in the beginning. As is typical with us, it took a little help from nature and fate to give us our break. As you all know, we had a great wedding and a fantastic honeymoon. It was on that honeymoon that we felt the nudge we needed.

While in Yellowstone we realized our love for being outside wasn't something we could ignore. After riding around and thinking about what we could do Amanda came up with the idea of Eco-tourism. I had heard of it before but never really thought about it much. Amanda told me about what she knew and I was on board. When we got home from Yellowstone we did some research and I found that it was one of the safest business ventures there is. Relatively low start up and a large market to appeal to. This was right up our alley.

I don't wanna give any more away until we get further along in our process, but I encourage everyone who reads our blog to keep an eye out for Backroads Eco-Adventures and hopefully we'll be giving you a tour of what we call home.

Again, I can't thank Amanda enough for being so amazing, and I know that this incredible adventure we've begun is about to take a very fun turn. I love my life and I love my wife. I really am the luckiest man alive.

Pathways Spiritual Sanctuary & Community Caves

A few days ago I came across an article about Pathways Spiritual Sanctuary, a place open to the public as a place to reflect and be at peace. This seemed like a very cool idea and on my next day off I headed that way. Nate happened to have the day off and he came along. The dogs were in tow. I instantly realized what a special place this was and knew that I'd be back in a matter of days with Josh. It was something that he needed to experience.

Entrance to Pathways 8.11

That day came on Sunday. I had told him just enough details to get his interest peaking and we woke up early with anticipation. We were in great moods as we cruised out on Rochford Road. It's beautiful country out that way. Pathways is located on Juso Ranch Road, just across from the Dumont Trailhead of the Mickelson Trail.

We parked in the lot, leashed the dog and passed through the gate. It felt as though we were entereing a private, sacred place. We read the welcome prayer, which wasn't religious, so much as spiritual. And when we walked on I think we both felt lighter.

The Invocation, 8.11

 The walking path was wide easy to navigate and natural to follow. Our first stop was at the statue called "The Invocation".  It's a larger than life depiction of a warrior on the back of a bucking horse with only a buffalo hide between them. Raised to the sky, the warrior holds a buffalo skull. The statue has begun to patina and it was awe inspiring. It was impossible not look look at it from all sides in wonder.

The path first lead us through an aspen grove, then up a slight hill and through the woods. Along the way were nooks with plaques with quotes to contemplate and benches to sit in wonder. There were many religious quotes from a wide variety of regions, each emphasizing one-ness. It felt like a very positive place. We don't want to give away too much because it really is something to see.

Gandhi quote on the walking path, 8.11

We took our time and sat on quite a few benches. We sat and listened to a symphony of insects wake up and enjoyed the dew on our feet.  We eventually made our way back to the beginning. As we exited through the gate we promised to come back here soon. Our early morning visit had been inspiring.

Late that afternoon, after lunch and a nap, we headed to Spearfish Canyon to find Community Caves. Earlier this spring I had thought that I had glimpsed a frozen waterfall that could have been the Caves. I had asked just about every local friend and search every blog on the Black Hills and it was only a few days before when a few friends had hiked it. After a few details, we had a better idea of where we were going.

Community Caves, 8.11

We parked at the turnout that was 2.7 miles, crossed the highway and walked back towards Spearfish along the creek bed. The trail was fairly easy to find and we began the assent up a rocky ravine to the caves. About halfway up a small stream of water washes through the path and it seems as though we've stepped into another world.

Community Caves 8.11

At the top of the ravine a waterfall spills over the overhang that houses a series of small caves. Some of the caves had smoke damage and one had artwork. The water spilling over the edge was cold and we used it to cool ourselves. We hung out for awhile and enjoyed the peacefulness.

On the way home we had to pass through Deadwood, which is gearing up for Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. It seemed like a nice night to enjoy a dinner at Diamond Lil's and an ice cream. We walked around town and took all the bikes in. The streets rumbled with the thunder of Harley's and it was a good way to end our adventurous day.

A Honeymoon in Yellowstone

Josh & I spent our honeymoon exploring and camping in Yellowstone NP, Grand Teton NP and the surrounding National Forests. It was the best camping adventure of our lives. We did too much and had too much fun to put it all down in words. So, here is a slide show of some of the beautiful places we visited.

Little Bighorn NM & Cooke City-Beartooth Pass

View over Little Bighorn Battlefield

We came across Little Bighorn Battlefield on accident on our adventure west towards Yellowstone. As we were driving along Highway 212 we noticed cars on the ridge to our left and it looked like there may have been a statue. We were curious. After a little investigation with our Garmin we realized that abutting the road was Little Bighorn NM. Both of us voiced some interest in visiting the site and it seemed perfect that we happen to be driving by.

Marking the Calvary's Mass Grave

Here's a little history: At the Battle of Little Bighorn, late June 1876, George Armstrong Custer and 12 companies of the 7th Calvary went up against Cheyenne, Sioux and Arapaho warriors. It was a culminating moment in the  Native Americans struggle against the European invasion. Custer and his men were defeated and buried in a mass grave. The fallen warriors were removed by their tribes and given proper Native American burials. Within a few years the area became a national cemetery and a monument was erected on the knoll where Custer made his "last stand'. Stones now mark where soldiers and warriors fell.

From the parking lot it is a short walk through the museum to the knoll where the monument lies. As you walk slowly uphill it's impossible not to think back to what the battle must have been like. The prairie dominates the landscape for as far as you can see like an ocean of grass and woody shrubs. The sun was beating down upon our face and shoulders, warning us to seek shade and drink more water. I couldn't help but wonder if the battle was on a day like that and what it really was like.

The stones that marked where soldiers fell were white granite, all except for Custer, who's stone had a black front. Where each Native American warrior had fallen there was a dark granite stone that informed the reader that he had died 'defending the Cheyenne way of life'. We thought that was quite beautiful.

Little Bighorn NM, Walking Tour

The path lead us into a circular area with stone walls reaching 6-7 feet. Dark plaques displayed the names of the warriors lost in battle and of famous warriors who had changed the history of the people. Along one edge there was an iron statue of warriors riding into battle and through the iron the prairie flowed below. The circular construction of the area helped us to feel the place. It felt like a memorial. Silent yet intense and somehow peaceful.

This was a great surprise for us on our journey. I think that we had been so focused on what we could do in Yellowstone that we may have overlooked some things to do along the way! From here we continued to head west, getting closer to Yellowstone with each moment.

The shortest route from the Black Hills to Yellowstone is straight East to Cody and in through the East Entrance. We wanted to leave the park that way so we decided on the Northeast Entrance. This meant that most of our drive was through Montana, a state I'd never seen before. It was beautiful.

Rock Creek Vista Point Rest Area

It turns out that Highway 212 would lead us all the way to Yellowstone's doorstep. In Red Lodge, MT we stopped to fill our cooler and stretch our legs. After looking around a bit, we thought that we could definitely live there. The town is nestled in a valley and felt like a outdoor paradise. It's the end of the line during the winter months when the Cooke City-Beartooth Pass is closed. It seemed like a fun little town.

As soon as we headed south on 212 there was a change in scenery. We were entering into the Shoshone National Forest and approaching the beginning of the Pass. The mountains on both sides of us nestled closer and seemed to climb higher. We followed the valley floor for miles before we began the slow climb up the mountain side. There were so many switchbacks that I lost count before we were at the first viewpoint. As we rose out of the valley we had spectacular views to take in. The mountain peaks were covered with snow and though they had felt far away, we were suddenly on the plateau cruising on top of the world.

Gardner Lake Overlook

Josh was doing most of the driving and I was envious. The road was narrow, constantly curvy and rarely had a guardrail. I wish I could have driven to distract me from the huge drop that we were coasting along. My toes were constantly tingling.

We stopped at each overlook and gushed at the views. As we had rose in elevation the temperature dropped significantly. In Red Lodge we couldn't escape the heat but on the high plateau it was in the 60's and the wind was howling and we needed sweatshirts. The lakes were edged in ice and snow still dominated the ravines. It was like stepping back into spring.

We began to look for a place to camp that night. Originally, we thought that we were going to make it into Yellowstone the first night but we talked about it and decided that we would like to make our entrance in the morning. We checked out few camping areas but none of them seemed to be what we were looking for.

It's a odd thing to be driving to a destination but to have no plans at all. Our schedule was up in the air and our time was our own. We eventually came to a campground called Crazy Creek and decided to spend our first night in Site 11. It was far away from the mosquitoes, had a view of rocky ledges and had a path that led down to a roaring stream.

Josh on Crazy Creek

We pitched our tent, blew up the air mattress, made the bed, started a fire and set to cooking dinner. This was the first time that Josh and I had actually been camping together and we were having a lot of fun. For dinner, I think I made beans and hot dogs with bread and cheese. It was definitely a cowboy dinner. We brought our dishes to the creek and washed them the best we could. The recent rain had left the creeks at record highs and it was a sight to see with the water rushing through the rocks and debris.

With the sun beginning to set we took the opportunity to glass the rocky ridge and try to spot Bighorn sheep. We didn't have any luck but it was incredibly peaceful to be sitting under a setting sun, in the middle of the forest next to my husband. It was a great start to our greatest adventure yet.