CONTENTS HOT SPRINGS: BUBBLING WITH A PASSION FOR LIFE PART 1 PART 2 SDPB ARCHIVE: THE MAMMOTH SITE IN THE MARGINS: TO ALL THE DOGS I’VE LOVED BEFORE TRANS SOUTH DAKOTA BIKE RACE: THE GOOD, BAD AND WONDERFUL FALL COLORS IN THE HILLS VIDEOGRAPHER’S VIEW: HOT SPRINGS
GREETINGS FROM HOT SPRINGS
DIGITAL EDITION OCTOBER SDPB.org
HOT SPRINGS: BUBBLING WITH A PASSION FOR LIFE BY LARRY ROHRER PART ONE First let me say how generous many Hot Springs area Public TV viewers are suggesting story topics for us to cover and the many wonderful things they enjoy in the Southern Black Hills. Barbara Sharp tells me, “I’m originally from New York City and have lived her for 42 years. Never looked back!” And her don’t miss list includes the Mammoth Site, Wind Cave, Evans Plunge, the outstand medical community for Veterans and area residents, and the Minnekahta Quilters Guild and classes offered at the Chautauqua Artisans Market.
Self portraits are a challenge. Also note, archery hunting is allowed in many state parks. I try to wear something in a color not found in nature. Exhibit A: the blaze orange hat.
outside every day during the Winter. That is almost true!” If you want take out instead, think “The Red Shed”!
Tim Theusch describes “the first time I saw Hot Springs coming in by car on Hwy 18 from Edgemont SD. There is no prettier entrance to a city anywhere in the country. Since that day that I first saw Hot Springs, and whenever entering Hot Springs from Hwy 18 I always imagine that I am coming into Hot Springs for the first time, the anticipation is almost a rush of some sort. I always pretend that it is my first time.” And Vern Hagedorn had a long list of reasons that make the area special. He has spent most of his 46-year education career in the Hot Springs. From the unique geology, public spaces, and friendly people, to the Southern Hills weather… “we will generally get a winter snow which will only last a day or two. When I came to Hot Springs, the Elementary Principal told me that you can BBQ
The Red Shed is a mobile BBQ stand in Hot Springs. Continued on the next page. Return to Menu
Bubbling with a Passion for life Continued We now have a long list of story ideas to share with you in the future. It’s a list that will bring us back to Fall River County many times. Added together, that list of stories will tell you about a community with a passion for life. A community with people that follow their muse for lifestyle, creativity, and activities they want to share with others and are willing to pitch in support others following their passion. Two of the people we were encouraged to contact are Justin Gausman and Rajni Lerman. Justin grew up in Hot Springs, the digital media coordinator for the chamber of commerce, but is a very active member of the “creative Community”. Justin is a film maker, writer, and co-host the TCBCast, a podcast focused on the early rock-era and Elvis Presley. Justin and I talk about the Southern Hills Community Theater in an interview in another story in this Dakota Life Digital Edition. I also
have an interview there with Rajni Lerman. Rajni and her husband moved from Colorado, had choices where they could relocate, and chose Hot Springs. With a passion for a healthy and sustainable lifestyle and as a professional organizer, it’s no surprise that she launched the Hot Springs Farmers Market Association. Or that with partner Lucia Stanslaw (of Lucy and the Green Wolf ) manage “BlackHillsSustainableLiving.com”, conducted the reusable shopping bag campaign, and encourage you to reconsider “single-use” items.
Evan’s Plunge
Some changes are ahead in Hot Springs, particularly in routing traffic and building the cantilever walkways over the Fall River. What is likely not to change is a community sharing and supporting the products of their passion for creativity, nature, and the beauty of the South Black Hills.
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HOT SPRINGS: BUBBLING WITH A PASSION FOR LIFE
The Southern Hills Community Theater
BY LARRY ROHRER PART TWO Before we arrived in Hot Springs to host the October episode of Dakota Life, I reached out to several SDPB views around Fall River County. They suggested many story ideas for Dakota Life. It was a list rich with the beauty of nature, the fossils and hot springs, sandstone buildings, and commitment to server veterans. There was also a long list of activities and events, the product of the Hot Springs creative community. Several people mentioned the Southern Hills Community Theater and suggested I visit with Justin Gausman, the digital media coordinator at the chamber of commerce. The Southern Hills Community Theater has been in operation since 2013. Justin Gausman is a Hot Springs area native and part of a passionate creative community in the Southern Hills. He has written original works for the community theater and says there are many things that set the local group apart from other. Take a few minutes and listen to our conversation‌
Hot Springs Depot
Audio: Interview with Justin Gausman Justin is also a film maker and co-host of a podcast on Elvis Presley and early rock n roll called the TCBCast. Continued on the next page. Return to Menu
Bubbling with a Passion for Life Continued I received several suggestions to connect with Rajni Lerman and check out the Hot Springs Farmers Market. The Coronavirus has had an impact on the June through September Farmers Market, but this year the Friday afternoon market was still a comprehensive community event. Take a few minutes and listen to our conversation‌ Audio: Interview with Rajni Lerman
Rajni Lerman
Rajni Lerman and her husband are Hot Springs residents by choice, moving to the area from Colorado. The Southern Hills are now home for her passion for sustainable living. Along with founding the Farmers Market Association, Rajni is a professional organizer, Yoga instructor a Moccasin Springs Spa, and is also co-founder of Black Hills Sustainable Living.com with friend and partner Lucia Stanslaw owner of Lucy and the Green Wolf fair trade goods in Hot Springs.
Centennial Park is a hot spot on Friday afternoons. Local food is available at the Farmer’s market during the growing season. Return to Menu
SDPB ARCHIVE: HOT SPRINGS VIDEO:
BATTLE MOUNTAIN SANITARIUM BLOG: EVANS PLUNGE BLOG: HOW THE MOON ROSE OVER HOT SPRINGS
SDPB ARCHIVE: THE MAMMOTH SITE Scientists continue to extract and study bones that were left more than 20,000 years ago. Hot Springs is home to the world’s largest mammoth research center.
Audio: SDPB Radio Reports VISIT IMAGES OF THE PAST In June of 1974 a contractor unearth some curious bones near Hot Springs. That location became what we know now to be The Mammoth Site. SDPB Producer Brian Gevik curated archive images and video of the discovery and development of the unique facility.
Video: SDPB Visits Mammoth Site Return to Menu
TO ALL THE DOGS I’VE LOVED BEFORE BY LORI WALSH
All this would be easier if Pippin had lived. Through the ups and downs of this year, one thing has been clear — I miss my dog. Pippin “Lightning Dog” Walsh died in 2019 after 17 years of boundless living. I believe she would have taken to the disruption of the pandemic with verve. She loved it when we stayed home. She was skilled at cheering us up and calming us down. Pippin wasn’t a trained service dog. She was a companion. Yet I relied upon her to ground me in the beautiful reality of ordinary days. Because of
her, I ate breakfast on time. I walked. Whenever I was anxious, Pippin made me feel safe. Surely she would have risen to the occasion of 2020. Growing up. I remember playing in the snow with dogs, and I remember weeping at the loss of dogs hit by cars or dogs shot by neighbors for stealing chickens. But my memories of curling up and reading with dogs are from my adulthood in the city, not my rural childhood. So when given the opportunity to produce a story about dogs for “Dakota Life,” I decided to search for stories of city dogs — how they live and how they work. I didn’t
have to look far. SDPB videographer Jordyn Henderson and I sat with Jill Baker in her front yard to get to know her dog, Violet. We hung out with Susan Hoffman and her dog, Henry, in a rooftop garden in downtown Sioux Falls. We watched service-dog Violet calm Jill when our questions made Jill a bit anxious. We stood poolside to watch Henry leap into the air and splash into the water during his weekly dock diving sessions. I can’t speak for Jordyn, but I drove home from every interview smiling and content. Continued on the next page.
Pipin in Custer, South Dakota. Photo by Lori Walsh Return to Menu
To All the Dogs I’ve Loved Before Continued And so I say thank you. To all the dogs who have loved me throughout this life, whether you were my dog or someone else’s. Rex. Shannon. Deacon. Shultz. Chivas. Major. Foley. Pippin. I remember your wet noses and your soulful eyes. From you I learned to settle down, to be patient, to be unabashedly joyful, to be unconditionally loved. And even though I’m not giving my heart to a new companion yet, I know the next perfect dog is out there, waiting for me to be ready. And I know whoever she is, she is a very good dog.
Pippin reclines in the grass in Sioux Falls. Photo by Jane Walsh
Henry leaps into the water at Paw Pet Resort in Sioux Falls. (photo by Jordyn Henderson) Violet the service dog lies on Jill Baker’s feet to soothe her. (photo by Lori Walsh)
Lori, Shannon, and Lori’s brother Wes, 1972. We once tried to hide a puppy in the garage so no one could take her from us. Return to Menu
TRANS SOUTH DAKOTA: THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE WONDERFUL
The start line on Wyoming border.
BY MELISSA HAMERSMA SIEVERS
Seven hundred and fourteen miles across the state of South Dakota on a bicycle. Riding on single track trails in the Black Hills, a paved descent past Mount Rushmore, the Mickelson Trail, hundreds of miles of gravel, a bit more paved and numerous b-roads. Piece of cake, right? Oh, the trek is selfsupported. You are responsible for hauling your own water, clothing, sleeping gear of choice, repair kit and food. This year, the race started in Beulah, WY on July 18. Joe and Tina Stiller are the race organizers for the Trans South Dakota Bike Race. They are available to answer phone calls day or night if you hit a rough spot or can’t find a turn. They have scouted available water spigots along the route and help clue participants in on friendly places to camp for the night. I’ve read rider accounts that indicate that the Trans South Dakota Bike Race is the best supported unsupported bike event to participate in. Beautiful and sweeping vistas are present along every mile of the route. The rocky mountain bike trails, rolling gravel, and flat river bottom offer something for everyone. In Pierre, a five-mile river crossing offers an up-close-and-personal view of the Missouri. Riders break down their bike, lash it to a raft and paddle from Oahe Dam to the town center. Trans South Dakota is a bike race. Technically. Some riders set forth from the Wyoming border competing to cross the state first. Others just hope
to finish. But race rules still must be followed. For example, each rider has checkpoints to visit at Mount Rushmore, Badlands National Park, and the Corn Palace in Mitchell. They must also post a photo to the Facebook group to document their arrival. The race is tightened with deadlines to reach each point along the way. Each rider has 11 days to North Sioux City, South Dakota. A satellite spot tracker on each bike reports locations to race coordinators and interested fans. If a rider exits the course, they must return to where they left off and start over from that point. James Meyer, an avid Spearfish biker, is intimately familiar with the trails in the Black Hills. Meyer thought he knew the Trans SD course, but misinterpreted a portion of the route. “In the first hundred and some miles I knew every inch of it. I had ridden it many times before, so I knew exactly what to expect. I looked at the course, I thought I knew exactly where it was going. But I didn’t look real carefully. I actually went off-course for a total of 10 miles before I realized what I had done wrong and then had to turn around to backtrack climbing Continued on the next page.
VIDEO: Riders take off on bike race July 18, 2020
Some paved roads are used in the cross state route. Primarily they connect large sections of single track, gravel and minimum maintenance roads. Return to Menu
Trans South Dakota Continued. up Iron Mountain Road. I lost about an hour of time there and did some bonus miles.” Meyer started biking and racing as a young child. So did Sarah Marcikonis. “I’ve been cycling since I was about 10 years old and big miles since I was a little kid,” says Marcikonis. “I started racing when I was a teenager and I just never let go of the bicycle.” Marcikonis logs many miles around her home of Longmont, Colorado. Marcikonis is a return rider to the Trans South Dakota Bike Race. It is difficult to find a matched peddling companion, so many riders spend a lot of miles pedaling alone. Marcikonis said that it’s still better than a day in the office and one must take the soloing in stride. “It’s an amazing journey to take with a range of emotions, especially when you’re doing it alone. You have your low points and you have to work out of your low points. Then you have these high points where you’re like, ‘Wow! I’m only five miles from Menno! I can cool off in air conditioning!’“ David Aguillard is a first-time rider. Aguillard resides in Louisiana but spent a summer after college on a ranch near Hermosa. The race winds through the area and Aguillard was drawn back to visit the beauty of the grasslands again. Aguillard regularly participates in outdoor adventuring, including mountaineering and backpacking. Bikepacking is a bit different. Trans SD is Aguillard’s first event, so he chose to do the Lakota Sprint Race, which allows riders to finish in Pierre. Nerves are common as participants review training and gear lists. “I’ve never been dependent upon a piece of machinery like this,” says Aguillard. “I’m unsure of my equipment, unsure of the bicycle and how it’s going to treat me. Then we’re running
over a long unsupported course like this by yourself, it’s going to be a challenge.” Knowing one’s gear can make a difference between success and a trudge-fest. Bob Simpson is a Trans SD race veteran. Bringing enough supplies for 700+ miles of self-sufficiency and carrying too much can be a fine line. For Simpson, the mental stamina is just as important as physical endurance. “You do have to get physically trained, but the mental part is the hardest, especially after two or three days, you don’t have a lot of sleep. Your legs are tired. The weather may or may not cooperate with you and you just have to really be mentally strong to be able to get through it.” Weather can be a faithful or a fickle bicycling companion. If pacing is just right (or wrong), a rider can bike for hours in the rain. Or fortune may put a rider on the backside of a storm with nary a drop of water. Sometimes riders must seek out shelter for rest and to check forecasts. Marcikonis happened upon a cowboy on a four-wheeler, “I stopped. ‘I’m just gathering up cows!’ he said. I was like, ‘Do you mind if I sit in this old barn?’ So, I went in and sat, ate a little bit of food. Checked the weather. He had the radar on his phone. It was right on the edge of a storm. It was just kind of moving west to east.”
James Meyer of Spearfish Sarah Marcikonis and David Aguillard ride through grassland.
Some riders are able to make connections with folks along the route. Assistance from community residents is permissible as it would essentially be available to everyone. Tye Bragg travelled from Smithfield, Missouri for this race. He spent time in a former career travelling through South Dakota for a communications company. Bragg looked forward to taking the scenery in at a pace of 15 mph instead of 70. Continued on the next page. Return to Menu
Trans South Dakota Continued.
Missouri River Crossing. Pete Hansen came into Fort Pierre about 1:30 am too tired to put up his tent. Cement will carry heat throughout the night. – Joe Stiller, Race Co-Organizer
Bragg had a rough start to the race, tweaking his knee hiking his bike up and down the trail in the Black Hills. On the way into Phillip his fuel tank was on E. “It’s probably the first day ever cycling where I wanted to be anywhere other than on a bike. I found myself about every 30 minutes on the side of the road, not able to move my leg. I crashed coming up into Phillip on a hill, which made it worse. I was at the steak restaurant, having a ribeye. It was so good. This angel named Nancy, came up to me, asked me if I was okay. She had taken care of a hurt rider three years ago. Immediately you could just see the kindness in her eyes and that she’s wanting to help.” In typical hospitable South Dakotan fashion, Nancy felt bad because her home was already occupied with guests. “She worked some magic with some of her friends and got me set up to stay in the EMT house where all the volunteers can bunk,” says Bragg. “And that was a game changer for me. Going from being hurt and sleeping on the side of the road in a ditch to air conditioning and a shower, all because someone looked up and saw that you were hurting.” Sleep is a necessity and riders sometimes have to get creative. Some go as far as they can until they just can’t anymore, and snooze where they are. Others take advantage of hotels in pass-through towns. All riders have some sort of minimal shelter along to keep the mosquitos off.
Riding into Menno, Meyer knew that he’d be swarmed by mosquitos if he stopped. He used a bit of creativity to find lodging for a catnap. “I rolled through Menno at 2:15 in the morning. Everything was completely quiet and deserted. I was rolling down main street, I looked over and saw the post office and the lights were on. I was crossing my fingers that the door would be open. So, I just rolled me and my bike in and laid down right on the ground and slept for about 25 minutes with the lights on around me.” Regardless of the challenging sleeping arrangements, observing nature at one’s own pace is a luxurious existence. Meyer’s favorite section of the route was through the Badlands. “The gravel was good and fast. And it was in the morning. I started about 3:00 AM on the second day. It’s always nice to just ride as the sun’s coming up with the buffalo and also covering ground well.” Betsy Schauer and Travis Stevens of Dayton, Ohio also offered the Badlands as their favorite stretch of the race. “I realy enjoyed the Badlands just because I’ve always wanted to visit there and it was just really beautiful, and tough, It was hard. I felt like it lived up to its name. It was really windy at the time and you could see storms rolling in and buffalo and some mountain sheep,” says Schauer. Continued on the next page. Betsy Schauer & Travis Stevens
James Meyer mixed up his sleeping schedule. “I was adding it up, I think that I slept about 10 and a half hours. Three hours the first night, six hours the second night in Pierre. I actually slept in a hotel that night. And then I went from Pierre to here and just took two naps.” Return to Menu
Trans South Dakota Continued.
Kansas City. As the sun was setting, about half of it was already down, a bald eagle took off from the bluff to my left, flew immediately over our heads. And, like in a movie, flew into the setting sun. You couldn’t have orchestrated any prettier.”
For Stevens, it was a chance to revisit an area that he worked early in his career, “I do like the rolling hills of the western prairie. I worked on the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands when I was straight out of college. It was great to get back in that area and take Training for an event like the Trans SD Bike Race it in at five to 10 miles an hour, that was just lovely.” takes time. Many miles must be logged to prepare the mind and body. Bikepacking enthusiasts Transitioning from west to east river offers tremendous opportunity to enjoy stunning scenery are constantly tweaking gear setups, working from a unique perspective. Racers disassemble their to be lighter and more efficient. But don’t feel discouraged from trying. The Trans South Dakota bikes, load them on a raft and paddle from just Bike Race may be a bucket list goal. Start out with a below Oahe Dam five miles down the Missouri smaller effort. River to Pierre. Tye Bragg’s paddle was certainly memorable. “That section of the Missouri River is beautiful. It’s a lot prettier than the Missouri River where I live in
Meyer offers advice on making bike camping a manageable activity. “My daughter and I went on a little bike packing trip about a month ago. We rode
two hours, mostly downhill. We camped overnight. Then we got up in the morning and we rode the other two hours out. It was really fun. You don’t have to do a big trip like this. Bikes are good. And so riding bikes, camping, it’s fun stuff.”
Race organizers Joe & Tina Stiller greet riders at the finish line in North Sioux City.
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Trans South Dakota Bike Race passes through the badlands.
DUTCH OVEN COOKING
TRANS SD BIKE RACE
THE KINGSBURY JOURNAL
LISA CASPER
LAKE MITCHELL
CABINS IN THE HILLS
THERAPY DOGS
9/11 STAIR CLIMB BALLOON FESTIVAL
ANDERSEN FAMILY
DAKOTA LIFE CONNECTS RESIDENTS FROM FROM FALL RIVER TO UNION COUNTIES ENJOY STORIES ONLINE
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IDENTIFYING WITH AUTUMNAL ASPEN OUTSIDE SPEARFISH CANYON BY MICHAEL ZIMNY
What new can be said about the loss of new-ness? “Mortality salience” is how some academics term the fear of dying. I encountered the term when the professor for a course I took provided a stock research paper that dealt with that weighty yet uncontroversial topic. There was something instructive about that — literally of course, but also because you’re checking a document about the Universal Human Dilemma to learn how to cite correctly in your paper on “How Hot Wheels Toys Train Boys to be Automobile Consumers” — then you throw it
away, because the UHD is kind of throwaway in our culture, because by the time most people face it, they only have (tops) one more car buy left in them.
on the ground had gone golden and a masked psychopath whose name rhymed with “cycle” lurked in the bushes.
Mortality salience festers in the Fall breeze and warm flickers of color. John Carpenter spread bags of fake painted leaves around the lawns of “Haddonfield” when filming “Halloween.” Leafy Haddonfield imposed suburban order on chthonian nature with its gridwork of shady lanes. A harmonious symmetry between opposing forces was apparent. The leaves on the trees were green. The babysitters were getting busy. But the leaves
At least since the Ecclesiasticist or the Byrds we’ve been conflating individual and civilizational with seasonal cycles — hence, amber flickering through the aspen conjures feelings maybe only Garth Brooks could formerly conjure. Seasons change. Annuals expire. Woodpeckers cannot find suet. Squirrels lose their stash. People get old. Social contracts, however understood by Continued on the next page.
Aspen trees along a trail in the Big Hill Trail System. Photo by Michael Zimny Return to Menu
Autumnal Aspen Continued. different clusters of contractees, expire. Sometimes that happens when our kids are young, which might not work out for them. In the early 2000’s, I was preparing to report to one of the Proletarian Cull Zones. I was even more ignorant then and from a Judeo-Christian background. So I something-like-prayed that if I went out I’d be the “blood on the door” for our familial up-and-comers. (I didn’t have kids yet but my parents had grandkids). Whether God passively noted my thoughts or not I don’t know, but I have learned that — for the human majority — last year’s harvest never satisfies the reaper. Yet something about the season warms us up like a knit sweater or a shot of Beam. Where to go in the Hills? So most locals are aware of Spearfish Canyon, which deserves its autumn reputation. Here are a few alternative spots to soak up all that bittersweet mortality salience.
Shanks Quarry/Norris Peak The Shanks Quarry Trailhead is known for ATV and motorbike trails. There is also a system of maintained non-motorized trails here as well, complete with “No Motor Vehicle” signage. Forest Service sources have informed your SDPB Outdoors Correspondent that a plan will soon be released for making this trail system more official. Meanwhile, these trails currently exist and meander through a large aspen grove. Somebody has nailed animal bones to several trees, which for some may amp up the morbidity a little much. The aspen grove is not as large as Utah’s Pando, but it quakes just the same. (My name for this colony is Dando, after the Lemonheads’ leader, also known for looks and evincing emotions). Closer to the ground, woodbine, pinedrops and even poison ivy add fiery reds to the mix. About a mile past the trailhead on the 44, Forest Service Road 173 meets up with more foot trails, at least a couple of which lead to the top of Norris Peak, where you’ll find the foundation of a former lookout tower and aerial views of Johnson Siding. You’ll also catch glimpses of nearby Thrall Mountain with its impressive talus slide. Big Hill Trail System Near Spearfish on the Tinton Road, the Big Hill Trails offer a system divided into separate routes for cyclists, snowshoers/hikers and nordic skiers. There are several loops of varying lengths. The closer A and B loops are completely surrounded by aspen. This is relatively even country, not very rocky and does not lead to peaks. The name reminds me of “Big State,” the fictional college the Ray Allen
Fort Meade Recreational Area character picks to play ball for in Spike Lee’s “He Got Game.” If “Big State” nailed the duplicable teenage frenzy of college sports, “Big Hill” captures the topographical vanilla-tude of this country. The aspen colony is the star. In autumn, you can stride through tunnels of gold Tinton miners could only have dreamed of. Bur oak are not as showy as aspen, but there is something quintessentially autumnal about yellow and copper oak leaves and falling acorns. Oaks proliferate along the Centennial Trail — near the Alkali Trailhead, in the Fort Meade Recreational Area — as it approaches its Northern terminus at Bear Butte. Occasional American Elms add splashes of more brilliant yellows.
Blog: Charting the Autumn Colors by Kevin Woster Return to Menu
ON THE ROAD WITH A DAKOTA LIFE VIDEOGRAPHER BY KRYSTAL SCHOENBAUER
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SDPB enjoyed visiting Hot Springs this month. Lemmon is on the itinerary for November. Dakota Life airs on November 5 at 8pm CT/ 7 MT on SDPB1. Also meet Adam Prunty. He’s a row crop farmer near Hartford by day. He’s a fifth generation farmer and an incredibly talented artist as well.
BECOME A MEMBER! SHADEHILL RESERVOIR IS JUST 20 MILES SOUTH OF LEMMON.
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