1:20 PM, 68ºF, USFS Road No. 530 near the Slate Creek Dam – No wind and a bright, blue sky greeted Lupe, Cousin Dixie, Uncle Joe, and SPHP. Such a beautiful, early fall day! Last day in the Black Hills, too, for Joe and Dixie before they’d be heading home to Colorado tomorrow, so the plan was to make the best of it. SPHP had proposed a super easy stroll down the Slate Creek valley however far they wanted to go.
Naturally, first and second orders of business were to have a look at the shallow, weedy pond backed up by the dam, and admire the impressive wall of rock just across the road from its N end. Peering into the green water, Uncle Joe was immediately impressed by the size of 2 enormous rainbow trout lurking in the region above the spillway.
Before setting off along Slate Creek, Lupe and Dixie visited the waterfall below both the dam and the bridge where the creek left the pond. After a refreshing drink, the downstream trek began.
Spur USFS Road No. 530.1C also went downstream, paralleling the creek. Numerous ATV’s roaring up and down it were raising dust and making a lot of noise. Happily, after following Slate Creek for only 0.25 mile, the road crossed it at a ford, then quickly dead-ended.
Cousin Dixie, who wasn’t quite 6 months old yet, encountered her first plank bridge at this ford. Uncle Joe demonstrated its use, and being a clever Aussie Shepherd, Dixie caught on right away. Lupe was the only one who forded the stream, cooling her paws off in the clear water.
Several big boulders and a fence with a narrow gate prevented anyone with wheels from getting too rambunctious and continuing past the No. 530.1C turnaround spot where the road ended. According to a nearby sign, that hadn’t always been the case. At one time, the road had kept going, crossing Slate Creek 25 times in the next 3.5 miles.
Cousin Dixie liked the looks of the quiet valley ahead. Soon she was way out in front of everyone else. However, she did pause to make sure the rest of the gang was coming.
An old guy with 2 dogs was coming this way. Joe leashed Dixie up, but the American Dingo wasn’t about to have her freedom wrecked, instead looming over the other dogs as they passed the boulder she was on.
As the single track trail wound down the almost pancake flat Slate Creek valley, signs began appearing proclaiming the existence of at least one new mining claim in the area. As a geologist, Joe was interested in some of the recent exploratory digs. SPHP took a somewhat dimmer view of people staking new claims and digging up the Black Hills National Forest as if it was still the late 1870’s, but they were within their rights. At least none of the digs were very big.
Continuing down the valley, yellow aspens added flashes of color among the darker pines. There were plenty more plank bridges to be crossed. Cousin Dixie was rapidly getting to be an expert at it!
A mile or more beyond the Boulder of Guaranteed Tranquility, the Slate Creek trail reached an intersection with Deerfield Trail No. 40 in a big meadow. Continuing downstream, now on the Deerfield Trail, Joe soon decided another 0.5 mile was about far enough. An old, fallen tree trunk provided spots for Joe and SPHP to sit, while Lupe and Dixie relaxed or sniffed about in the tall grass.
Beyond being quiet, pleasant, and partially shaded, there was nothing at all remarkable about this particular spot, but it was a nice place to take a break before heading back. Joe had brought a variety of energy/snack bars to choose from, and SPHP shared a couple of apples. While Dixie eagerly sampled Lupe’s Taste of the Wild, the Carolina Dog preferred a chocolate coconut bar.
Nearly the entire way here, Dixie had kept on with her rather annoying youthful habit of trying to herd Lupe, which the American Dingo had done her best to ignore, despite her frequent warning growls providing absolutely no relief.
On the way back, though, a gleam in Dixie’s eye hinted at a new game dawning in the Aussie Shepherd’s mind. With Joe calling her from the opposite bank, Dixie suddenly realized that it might be fun to forget both herding and the bridge business, and dash right on through Slate Creek.
This new sport of making a huge splash in Slate Creek, then spraying Joe with water as she shook herself off was so much fun, that Dixie repeated it several times. However, that didn’t mean Dixie had completely given up on bridges.
Lupe’s bridge blockage was completely unsuccessful as far as getting Dixie to quit herding her, but everyone else managed to enjoy the rest of the return unmolested. Even Lupe got a few breaks now and then when Dixie’s attention wandered.
3:32 PM – Despite a leisurely pace, the return hardly seemed to take any time at all on this beautiful Black Hills afternoon. Before long, everyone was back at the pond above the Slate Creek dam, peering into the green water. At least for the moment, the ATV’ers were gone and tranquility reigned here, too.
Lupe and SPHP had a lot of fun with Uncle Joe, Aunt Andrea, and Cousin Dixie the last few days. Sadly, bright and early tomorrow morning they would all be on their way back to Colorado. However, unsuspected at the time, Cousin Dixie would be back for more Black Hills adventures with Lupe much sooner than anyone expected.
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