© 1997 Gerald A. Bonsack
This article was first published as part of the book "Celebrate (1977)" and published by WWTC Writing for Publication Class
The Black Hills are located on the western edge of South Dakota. Being surrounded by hundreds of miles of prairie, they are like a mountain oasis for the traveler. The main east/west highway serving the Black Hills is I-90, while the closest north/south route is I-25. Rapid City is the largest city in the area, with a population of 50,000. Significant other cities scattered through-out and around the Black Hills are Custer, Keystone, Hill City, Lead, Deadwood, Hot Springs, Sturgis and Spearfish.
The Black Hills of South Dakota get their name from the dark coloration of the Ponderosa Pines that covers the hills. The entire area abounds with photo opportunities like Harney's Peak, the highest point in South Dakota and Mount Rushmore. Other subjects include scenics, wildlife, natural formations above and below ground, and man-made subjects. Regardless of your photographic tastes, plan to take your time and exposing many rolls of film.
Coming from the east (I-90) one passes just north of the South Dakota Badlands. A side trip here (240) will extend your travel time by a minimum of two to three hours, but it is well worth the time spent. The Badlands are the remains of an ancient sea (black shale), mineral deposits washed in from the west and layers of volcanic ash (whitish layers). These layers are composed of pastel colors, have been exposed by wind, rain and temperature extremes. The terrain appears to change color and intensity as the position of the sun changes. Also found in these sedimentation layers are the remains of fossilized pre-historic creatures. This side trip will take you down through ravines, gullies, spires, knobs and buttes to the lower level. Once there the roads follows the natural contour of the land, so there are few straight sections of road. Because of this and the numerous sights to be seen, plan to take your time. If you arrive during the peak of the day, I find a polarizing filter will add a surrealistic sky over the lunar looking landscape. When you leave the Badlands, head into all and stop at Wall Drug for a picture of their famous "Jackalope" and may be a buffalo burger.
Continuing west to Rapid City you will find hundreds of motel and hotel rooms available. If you prefer the smell of pines and open spaces, then make your home base within the Hills. I find that the Keystone / Hill City Area works well for me, as everything is within an hour and a half to two hours from there. To get there, follow Highway 16 through Rapid City to the Keystone / Hill City fork (16A/16).
For this article I will use Keystone as the base camp and begin the photographic expeditions from there. From the western edge of Keystone Mount Rushmore can be seen towering above the valley. As you drive west out of Keystone, you have two choices. You can turn left on 16A towards Custer State Park, the pig-tails and the tunnels or go right (244) to Mount Rushmore. The pig-tails are bridges that loop over themselves, like the curl in a pigs tail, to gain elevation fast. Also on 16A you will find many hair pin turns and the tunnels. The tunnels were cut through the rock in a direct line with the Monument. Because of this, Mount Rushmore will be directly in front or behind you as you drive through the tunnels.
To properly expose the Monument and the rocks around the tunnel, get your exposure settings using an 18% gray card. Another option is to meter off the rocks next to the tunnel or meter off Mount Rushmore itself. This way the exposure will be correct versus over-exposed because the tunnel's darkness affected the camera metering system. The best time for this photograph is in early to mid-morning.
If you turned right towards Mount Rushmore (Highway 244), with the idea of stopping at Mount Rushmore for photographs, you have several photographic locations to choose from. For a frontal shot walk up to the observation area. If you want to frame the Presidents, with over-hanging pine branches, head towards the training center after you reach the observation area. Along the Training Center path you will find several over- hanging pine tree branches to frame your photograph.
I happened to be at Mount Rushmore on a July morning, around nine AM and captured what looked like a tear on George Washington's Face. By using a telephoto lens I was able to capture a full frame photograph of George Washington and the reflective spot on his cheek. This reflective spot was actually a large piece of exposed quartz acting as a mirror and giving the tear drop illusion.
If you continued past the entrance, there is a wayside where George Washington profile looming above you. The first time you see George's profile silhouetted against the blue western sky, you will be in awe. This pull-off is also an excellent place to photograph Mountain Goats around noon and then again around dusk. At these time I have seen Mountain Goats crossing the road or climbing on the rock on about 50% of my visits.
Farther down this road is another decision point. You can turn right to Hill City (Highway 16/385 North), or turn left (16/385 south) to the Crazy Horse Memorial and Custer. If you turned left onto 16/385, you can turn left again (87) for The Needles Highway. This road will take you past Sylvan Lake, a beautiful man-made mountain lake and resort, with numerous rock out crops and a prelude to the needles.
I try to catch the needles in the early morning or in the evening hours, for drastic shadow and texture shots. A mid-morning to noon trip will catch the sun through the eye of the needle. For an award winning photograph, try photographing the sun in the needles eye. You should stop down to your smallest aperture and set your shutter speed to properly exposure the rocks. Once you have your exposure settings, move to the left or right to let the sun peek through the eye of the needle. If you are lucky, you will get a shaft of light and lens flare streaming across your photograph. To improve your chances of getting this violation of photographic rules, use your depth-of-field preview button. As you move the camera around watch for the lens flare to materialize.
At the junction of 87 and 16A you can go right (west) to Custer or left (east) back towards Keystone. You are currently within the boundaries of Custer State Park, with its Wild Burros, Buffalo, Elk, Deer, Prairie Dogs and other wild animals. If you turn left, watch for the Visitors Center, about four miles down the road and stop there for the latest animal sightings. If you elected to head west towards Custer on 16 and 87, you can then choose to follow 87 south or 16 west. If you stay on 87, it will take you to Wind Cave National Park, with its Boxite crystals. Also branching off of 87 south is the Parks Wilderness Loop. Further south on 87 is city of Hot Springs. There you might go for a dip in the thermal pool or participate in an archeological dig. Going west out of Custer (16) you will come to Jewel Cave National Monument. This cavern system is like walking through a giant crystal geode and well worth the drive.
Traveling east on 16A will take you back to Keystone, the tunnels and the pig-tails. In Keystone one can always dig for gold at the Big Thunder Gold Mine, or browse the tourist shops. For an excellent meal stop at the Ruby House, with its western saloon atmosphere. Another alternative in Keystone is the 1880's Train steam locomotive, which takes you to Hill City and the gun fight at noon. Along the way to Hill City the train passes through the old Gunsmoke town of Oblivion.
Another trip is to head north-east towards Rapid City (16). Plan to stop at Bear Country, with its drive through animal tour and baby bear cubs just outside the gift shop. If the cubs are playing in the trees, your photo's could pass for ones taken in the wild. From there you could stop at the Reptile Gardens for some close-up photos of flowers and reptiles. Just down the road is a Water Slide Park and numerous Black Hills Gold outlets. Also in the area is Marine Life, with its scheduled shows and exhibits. In Rapid City you have Story Book Island, Dinosaur Park and may be even the Museum of Geology for the child in you.
Another pleasant drive is to go past Mount Rushmore and turn north on 385 to Hill City, Pactola Lake and on to Lead and Deadwood. Lead has the Homestead Gold Mine with its tours and Deadwood has the old west atmosphere and gambling. You could head west on 85 and 14A and follow 14A into Spearfish Canyon or go east on 85 to Sturgis. Sturgis is famous for its late summer motor cycle rally.
If you choose the Spearfish Canyon route, you could stop along the way and look for geodes in the adjacent creek. An interesting point is the ending scenes in the movie "Dances With Wolves" was filmed in a branch of Spearfish Canyon. Spearfish is at the end of the canyon and has its evening Passion Play. From there you can jump back on Interstate 90 and head east to Sturgis, Rapid City and then home base. An alternate route back to Keystone would be Highway 44 west out of Rapid City. Here again you have a chance to see Mountain Goats along the highway, before turning south on 385 to Hill City and home base.
I have just touched upon a few of my favorite spots. I could fill an entire article on the various caverns in the Black Hills. Another article could be on the local State and National Parks. A third article could cover Rapid City and its sights, while another one addresses the Needles Highway or Spearfish Canyon. From there the articles could cover Lead, Deadwood and Mount Moriah Cemetery or the underground China Town. As you can see the Black Hills are composed of magnificent scenery, dozens of underground caves, various State and National Parks. You also can find hundreds of tourist attractions, wild animals, hiking trails and even horse rentals to get into the back country. One could spend several weeks in the Black Hills and not see and photographic it all. Therefore, plan to make several photographic safari's to the Hills and take along a block or two of film each time.