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Sylvan Lake in the Black Hills of South Dakota

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weathersealed

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Cool and windy day but still beautiful and full of adventures

Cool and windy day but still beautiful and full of adventures



the rocks jut out into the little lake

the rocks jut out into the little lake



Narrow passage to the dam and spillway bridge overlook

Narrow passage to the dam and spillway bridge overlook



panorama from the bridge

panorama from the bridge



The trail walks all the way around the lake providing lots of views to capture

The trail walks all the way around the lake providing lots of views to capture

thanks for taking a peek,
 
Nice photos of a special place. I consider Custer State Park a better visit than some national parks. The rocks around Sylvan Lake include what were once some of the most difficult rock climbing boulder problems in the US. John Gill's ascent of The Thimble was at the time considered the hardest rock climb in the world.

In my younger days did some climbing in The Needles and even ventured atop Devils Tower the week after I graduated from high school. I remember it looking somewhat like a sloping football field on top - without the turf!
 
Hi, I agree it's a feast for the eyes to tour the Hills. I have been to the Devil's Tower and it looked like a hard rope climb to get on top you are one of the few who have done it. The needles highway was rare with all the road hairpin turn and narrow one car tunnels. I would highly recommend the old time train ride from Keystone to Hill City that was a very relaxing way to catch the scenery. They have really built up the facilities at Rushmore and there were a lot of lookers. and finally the Crazy Horse monument which was started in 1947 still isn't completed in fact may never be...
 
that's so big and you don't even know it was there, thanks for that link. I wonder why it went away?
 
weathersealed said:
that's so big and you don't even know it was there, thanks for that link. I wonder why it went away?
Click to expand...
From what I can see from old and new photos, the water level may be a lot higher than it was when the old hotel existed. I'd be interested in seeing photos of the dam, both old and new.

I did something like what happened there in the 1800s. Way back on remote public land in the forested hills near here, I found a small, dry basin that looked like a lake had existed long before. There was a creek running through it and it had eroded a small gulch at the bottom end and drained the basin. So I spent a whole day rolling boulders off the sides above and tossed thousands of smaller rocks next to them. When I came back a month later, the basin was about half full. But in later years, the forest around was clearcut and I can't see any evidence of a lake there on recent aerial photos. Huge sections of these hills have been periodically stripped of all living things. I wonder what air travelers going over think has happened, when they look down.
 
I don't know what they might say about us being so busy but I can add that in the Black Hills there are vast hillsides that look like the aftermath from Mt. Saint Helens explosion because of the pine bettle infestations Its really got to be stopped somehow. Here are a couple shots of the very small dam and spillway.



front of the dam just between those two boulders

front of the dam just between those two boulders



standing on the dam looking down the backside

standing on the dam looking down the backside
 
Looks like a nice place to spend a summer day.
 
weathersealed said:
I don't know what they might say about us being so busy but I can add that in the Black Hills there are vast hillsides that look like the aftermath from Mt. Saint Helens explosion because of the pine bettle infestations Its really got to be stopped somehow. Here are a couple shots of the very small dam and spillway.
Click to expand...
The dam looks very substantial. Probably a lot higher and sturdier than the first one that was built. Those little pine bark beetles have made their way all the way across Montana and Idaho and are now attacking pines in NE Oregon. I wonder what they will do after they've killed all the pines?
 
Beauties all! This was the first lake that I every canoe paddled on..around 1963 with the Boy Scouts. Thanks for the post.
 
A lovely series of shots and a lovely looking spot.
 
Thanks for adding your story I bet that was a fun trip back in the day I was on Scout campsite in Colorado.
 
weathersealed said:
Thanks for looking its so different than Fargo which is flat farm ground for many miles
Click to expand...
Much warmer in the winter as well. (I grew up in Moorhead)
 
Stephen McDonald said:
weathersealed said:
I don't know what they might say about us being so busy but I can add that in the Black Hills there are vast hillsides that look like the aftermath from Mt. Saint Helens explosion because of the pine bettle infestations Its really got to be stopped somehow. Here are a couple shots of the very small dam and spillway.
Click to expand...
The dam looks very substantial. Probably a lot higher and sturdier than the first one that was built. Those little pine bark beetles have made their way all the way across Montana and Idaho and are now attacking pines in NE Oregon. I wonder what they will do after they've killed all the pines?
Click to expand...
 
thanks for the homework assignment....lol man we just want to look at the pretty pictures and you want us to think :-D just for that you get the bonus picture of the day hope you like it...



guess what these cones are made with ??? where at????

guess what these cones are made with ??? where at????
 
I visited in June and thought this was kind of ironic:



Deadwood, SD

Deadwood, SD



--
Bruce
You learn something new every time you press the shutter
 
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