Wandering His Wonders: Exploring Deadwood, Lead, and Spearfish, South Dakota

The weather forecast called for rain, so we decided to explore the little towns of the northern Black Hills. Each town is special in its own way, with its own claim to fame. For example, Lead (pronounced Leed), is known for its gold mine that produced over 41 million ounces of gold and 9 million ounces of silver during the 126 years it was open. We remember coming here 13 years ago and staring down into the open mine of the recently closed gold mine. We could still stare down into that pit because it's still closed.

But at the time we didn't know that most of the gold mining happened down below this big quarry. The majority of the gold mining was done in man-made tunnels that eventually went a mile below the surface. A new visitor center in Lead is free to the public, and explains the gold mining process. Tons of rock was excavated from these underground tunnels to find the precious gold. This classic picture shows the typical half-ounce of gold that comes from a whole ton of "low grade ore" from this mine. That's a lot of rock to move for just a little gold!

When the mine was closed at the end of 2001, it left behind more than 370 miles of tunnels that went more than 8,000 feet underground. A model of all those tunnels hangs in the visitor center. The dark brown layer close to the ceiling is ground level where we are standing. The tunnels where the miners worked are the web of silver, and the shafts (with elevators to get underground) are in brass. It reminds us of the underground cavern models we have seen at national parks. But this man-made system of tunnels has been mapped and supported with scaffolding, and provided with air purifiers and oxygen systems that made it safe for the gold miners.

What could be done with 370 miles of tunnels more than a mile below the surface of the earth? They determined that they would make great scientific laboratories! Deep in the earth, they provide a place to conduct complex physics experiments without the clutter of particles and cosmic radiation (that we don't even pretend to understand). While daily experiments continue in these old gold mine tunnels, they have already won a Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery of neutrinos (which we don't even pretend to understand). The steel circle in the picture below is just one section of the massive cylindrical tank (48 feet long and 20 feet in diameter) that was cut into pieces small enough to fit down into one of the underground shafts. Once all the metal pieces made it down those elevator shafts, they were welded back together. Then the giant tank was a mile underground and formed the vacuumed sealed neutrino detector (which we don't even pretend to understand).

That was certainly an interesting stop in Lead, so we went on to its next-door-neighbor town of Deadwood. While we thought the problem of pine beetles killing forests was new, this town got its name from an infestation of these beetles in the 1800s that turned the surrounding trees into dead wood. The forests have recovered, and this little town's claim to fame is its rowdy old-west past. This is where Wild Bill Hickock was shot and then buried. The historic downtown is still filled with saloons and old brothels that have been turned into casinos and restaurants.

We took the trolley tour that moves visitors and local workers across town for a $1 token. We rode the one-hour loop because we had been advised that it was a good way to see the town.

We stayed around for the gun fight that takes place between Outlaw Square and the Franklin Hotel/Casino on Main Street. Seated on the curb, we watched the story of the man that got shot in the middle of his forehead, and then walked around Deadwood for two months with a hole in his head. Gun shots were common in Deadwood in the 1800s, and now they happen three times a day at 2:00, 4:00 and 6:00 in the summer of 2023.

After Deadwood, we returned to the town of Spearfish. This was our home base for three days, and it had a couple interesting stops. The first is right across the road from our campground--the D.C. Booth Historic National Fish Hatchery. Since 1896 they have been raising fish to be released into the rivers and lakes of South Dakota. They have an under-water fish-viewing glass where visitors can see some big fish that were raised here in Spearfish.

While they still have some fish on property, their mission is now to educate the public about the history of fish hatcheries. For example, we were educated about the fish cars. We really never thought about how the baby fish were moved from the hatcheries to the rivers and lakes before cars and trucks were available. The first railroad fish car was built in 1881, to transport the very young fish to their final destinations that were often very far from the hatchery.

This is actually a replica, made here in Spearfish to show what a fish car looked like inside. It includes individual metal tanks that housed the fish, that were unloaded at the railroad stations. Then the fish were transported via horse and wagon to the rivers and lakes. These railroad fish cars became obsolete with the improvement of the highway system and trucks big enough to transport the fish.

The manager of the hatchery had a very nice home on the property that is now open to the public.

Also on the grounds are bronze statues that honor the joys of fishing. This property is open every day, and is free to the public.

The evening we arrived in Spearfish, a brass quintet was performing at the hatchery so we got a bonus concert for our free ticket.

At the museum at the hatchery, we noticed an interesting painted ball that also honored the work done here at the hatchery. This round painting is the work of a Spearfish resident named Termes, and his round paintings are called Termespheres.