Spearfish, SD

Leaving Colorado and driving through extreme eastern Wyoming on US 85 we drove through miles and miles and miles of graze land interrupted once in a while by more graze land and sometimes farm land. It was actually nice but after awhile monotonous. Shortly before driving into South Dakota the scenery changed to the Black Hills and we were back in very pretty country. Our trip this day took us through Spearfish Canyon which was overwhelmingly green. We did not realize how long it had been since we had seen a green landscape. The canyon walls led down to huge green meadows and the meandering Spearfish Creek. Very nice – but no pix.
Spent the night in Spearfish and the next morning we were up and out to visit the historic D.C. Booth Fish Hatchery.

Established in 1896, D.C. Booth Historic National Fish Hatchery, formerly Spearfish National Fish Hatchery, is one of the oldest operating hatcheries in the country dedicated to fish culture and resource management. The hatchery was constructed to propagate, stock, and establish trout populations in the Black Hills of South Dakota and Wyoming. After a very successful fish production history, the hatchery ceased operations in the mid-80's and reopened with a new mission and partnerships to help preserve the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service's historic and cultural heritage.
Today, D.C. Booth Historic National Fish Hatchery serves as a living fishery museum to the public and many organizations. Still rearing trout for the Black Hills through a cooperative effort with the State, the hatchery also serves to protect and preserve fishery records and artifacts for educational, research, and historic purposes, and provide interpretive and educational programs for the public.
Immediately adjacent to the fish hatchery is the Spearfish City Park and it just so happened that the day we were there was the day of their annual Art in the Park festival. So we spent some time wandering though the arts and crafts displays and found it to be very different from what we would see in Florida. Most of the art was western themed and thank goodness that Shelley could not take any with her otherwise she could have gone on a buying spree. (Again no pictures).

We push on north to Alaska – or, er, rather North Dakota.