Friday, October 22

Spearfish Canyon

On the first day of October, I took a drive down Spearfish Canyon even though I knew I was a little late to view the autumn colors at their prime there, which is in late Sept. You might think, what difference does a few days make...us locals know, it does matter, because the prairie winds find their way into the canyon and give the dying leaves a good thrashing, pretty much daily...but I did find some color yet intact...



But first things first...I stopped at the N end of the canyon, at a spot I like to look around...the creek was bone dry, a surprise...some creeks in the Black Hills do tend to drop underground...last time I looked, the creek was running above ground here...anyway, I was able to walk in the creek bed, where I discovered a chipmunk busily stuffing ticklegrass into its cheeks...



...And the poison ivy was a pretty deep coral color...


And the Western virgin's bower was still in its fruit stage...heads of achenes with silky, feathery beaks...


...Further S., I made a feeble attempt to shoot Bridal Veil Falls, knowing the light was all wrong...


...And further still, patches of sumac could be seen, a brilliant red...


At the Roughlock Falls area, the Motherwort was in bloom...a mint...


The woodbine was pretty shades of wine...


And the forget-me-nots were scattered all over as usual...


Below Roughlock Falls from the bridge, looking further downstream...



Heading back, along the road to the Falls, which is in Little Spearfish Canyon.

8 comments:

  1. Loved the chipmunk stuffing ticklegrass into his cheeks and the view on the road back was lovely!

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  2. Roughlock falls looks beautiful, such a wildlife haven :-)

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  3. I love the photos of the chipmunk. Great post.

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  4. GORGEOUS place and beautiful photos. You are most obviously an expert photographer. These pictures are amazing. The chipmunk is too cute and even the poison ivy looks beautiful!
    Patricia :o)

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  5. Hi Jann.
    I like the Chipmunk shots, their a cute looking character. The rest of your photo's are great, hard to pick a favourite, although the leaf comes close, great colouring.

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  6. Jann,
    Look at our headers! The things through two viewfinders in two places surprise me so much some times!
    Love the chipmunk!

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  7. Jann,

    Great effort as usual. I really miss the Black Hills and you capture the feeling of what we all miss. Thanks for what you do!

    d2

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  8. Jann,
    Such a discerning eye and wealth of knowledge about our beautiful Black Hills wildlife and plant life. So glad you keep these posts going. Good job! Thank you. Ann

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