Minneluzhan

I have been blogging about many beautiful places that I have been since I moved to South Dakota. However,one of the most beautiful places is within walking distance of the house where I live. The Canyon Lake area, and its sinewy path along the banks of the Minneluzhan (Rapid Creek) is as lovely an area as anyone could find in a city setting.

It is a favorite destination for all ages-two-footed or four. The lake itself, is actually a dammed up portion of Rapid Creek.

Here, people come to sunbathe, walk, rollerskate, bike, have picnics complete with shelter and grill, fly kites, and even get married (in the little pavilion in the middle of the lake!)

There is also wonderful fishing. Cleghorn Springs, was selected for the excellent water source. A spring provides six million gallons of water daily at a year-round temperature of 52 degrees.

Rainbow trout and Chinook salmon are the major species raised. Over two hundred fifty thousand fish, totaling 70,000 pounds, are produced annually.
The fish population is very healthy. As I watched there was much splashing as fish chased each other away from the best spots in the stream. Though they were clearly visible from the bank, every time I tried to get close they swam away!
However, this fellow- a muskrat- seemed to truly enjoy showing off for the camera!
The walk is lovely, and continues in both directions along the creek from one end of Rapid City to the other- a delight for bikes, joggers walkers, skaters.


Along the banks are all sorts of wildflowers and blooming shrubs and trees.
The water was flowing deep and swiftly, reminding me of the terrible Flood of 1972.

In June of that year, Nearly 15 inches of rain fell in about 6 hours near Nemo, and more than 10 inches of rain fell over an area of 60 square miles (Schwartz and others, 1975). According to the Red Cross, the resulting floods left 238 people dead and 3,057 people injured.
It is hard believe that such a lovely spot could have been the site of such devastation and death.


Finally after about 10 minutes of walking we come upon my favorite little picnic area on the Minneluzhan.

Though it's beside the road, because it's on a curve, many people are not aware that it is right there!

It is a favorite spot for ducks, the occasional mountain sheep, and geese parents find it a perfect spot to raise children!





















It takes only half an hour to walk there, and of course, another bit of time to rest and enjoy the great beauty of the spot.

All sorts of wildflowers grow along the banks, and at this time of year this assures the viewer of never having the same walk twice!

Here are some Western Wallflowers, looking not at all "wallflower-ish"!

Return to Fairburn

I had a plan of action for my Mom's birthday. I was making her a Fairburn lamp for her bedroom, using an old Tequila bottle. Not just any old bottle, though, but that of a high-end Tequila label, the packaging of which had won an award for excellence in design:

2006 Clear Choice Winners
December 14, 2006
Glass Packaging Institute (GPI) named the winners of its 2006 Clear Choice Awards, the only awards program that recognizes consumer product goods companies that package their products in Glass. "Glass says 'purity,' 'premium,' and 'sustainability,' like no other packaging material," says GPI president Joseph Catteneo. The judging panel includes representatives from the packaging academia, design, and trade media. In the past years, entries were judged on aesthetics, creativity, marketability, and form and functionality. All 2006 Clear Choice Award winners received an engraved Steuben Glass award.

Overall Package Design

Winning Product: Corzo Tequila

Manufacturer: Bacardi Bottling Corp.

Glass Container Supplier: Saint-Gobain Desjonquéres

Judges Comments: The Corzo bottle design blends art and science, with a tequila bottle design like no other.

This may seem an odd gift to give to one's proper New Englander Mother. lol! However, I had described my gift to JhonDuane-a very similar one (his is an oil lamp) and she was sold on the conception, and wanted one too!

In order to construct the piece required many tiny sandblasted clear quartz stones of varying hue. The Fairburn agates would go on top. The point of this exercise was to replicate the way that many Fairburns are found- namely surrounded by their cousins, the quartzes!

Unfortunately, JhonDuane had pneumonia, and was temporarily "benched"! So, after some consultation with him, I headed solo to Fairburn, South Dakota. This holds a special place in my heart, as this is where Jhon took me when I came to visit in 2006, to attend the Rock Swap... never imagining that this beautiful place would soon become my home.

Here I am looking a little wilted due to battling a stomach bug the night before! Ughhh!

Behind me are the trees lining French Creek. This place is infamous for the discovery of gold in the Black Hills, by a member of Custer's 7th Cavalry named Horatio N. Ross. (Yep,- a ROSS- damn him!)

There Goes the Neighborhood

Two Lakotas stood on a hillside and watched as Custer and the Seventh Cavalry set up tents below. One sighed sadly. The other looked at his friend in surprise and said, "Why so glum my friend?" His friend looked at him sadly and replied "Damned immigrants! There goes the neighborhood!"

"Two years earlier Secretary of the Interior Columbus Delano had set the stage for George Armstrong Custer's 1874 expedition to the fabled Black Hills in Dakota Territory.

In a letter written March 28, l872, Secretary Delano, responsible for the integrity of Sioux territorial rights, said:
I am inclined to think that the occupation of this region of the country is not necessary to the happiness and prosperity of the Indians, and as it is supposed to be rich in minerals and lumber it is deemed important to have it freed as early as possible from Indian occupancy.
I shall, therefore, not oppose any policy which looks first to a careful examination of the subject... If such an examination leads to the conclusion that country is not necessary or useful to Indians, I should then deem it advisable...to extinguish the claim of the Indians and open the territory to the occupation of the whites.
Delano's remarks were in direct contradiction of terms defined in the l868 Laramie Treaty: "...no persons except those designated herein ... shall ever be permitted to pass over, settle upon, or reside in the territory described in this article."
from Deadwood Magazine July/August 1996
I took a simple left (East) off of Rt 79, and started down the lovely gravel road.










Fairburn agates were created in the Black Hills, and rolled over incredible eons of time, out into the prairies and Badlands. This photo shows just how far the hills are from this location... (yep, that tiny bit on the horizon are the Black Hills!)





The town is pretty quiet now, but silent skeletons attest to a livelier previous history.






Driving a little further, I got a brief clip of the skittish antelope that inhabit the prairie grasslands here.

After passing through town I glimpsed an incredible view of a large herd of buffalo, grazing at the edge of the Triple Seven Ranch.




These magnificent animals have supplied me with incredibly soft buffalo down fiber, which- in the near future, I hope to spin, and eventually create a truly unique and luxurious item (to be determined!)
To give you an idea of the size of this herd, just watch this video!

Finally I got to the entrance of the agate beds.

Once past the camp grounds, one must pass across French Creek, which can be a tricky proposition during rainy season. Fortunately, my little RAV4 was up to the challenge! Mud, water, deep ruts steep angles- not a prob!

After a short traverse of uphill, and through a stock fence, I was within the kern beds.

I remember feeling overwhelmed with the wide open spaces, and incredible beauty-so different from what I had ever seen in New England.

Here I am looking much more self-assured than I actually was (hat courtesy, JhonDuane!) lol!

If you think that it's like looking for a needle in a haystack, you are SO RIGHT!

Quartzes of every possible size, shape and color! I was, however, looking for the small round sand-blasted kind, that looked so like the beach glass I used to collect at Plum Island.

Finally, after several hours of blissful peace, I had all I could ever need, and so it was time to retrace my steps.

(Yes, that IS the road!)

On my way I silently passed by- one last time- the woman in the too big hat. I tipped a nod of acknowledgment in her direction.

Should I have told her what the path had in store? Maybe. But I saw the look in her eyes. No where to go but straight ahead, full-speed and damn the torpedoes...

anyway, the treasure is in the journey- not the destination... and I knew she could do it- she was made of strong stuff- and I...

had a lamp to make!