CHAPTER IV

Rapid City

The School of Mines Museum is not an enormous affair. It is contained in one large room belonging to the School of Mines.

The bones of prehistoric animals are probably the best known and most widely advertised part of the museum. This collection includes skulls, jaw bones, teeth, leg bones, and in fact whole skeletons of the prehistoric monsters. One cannot but wonder what life was like, and how these animals acted in the days when they lived. The size and contour of these skeletons are truly remarkable.

In cases throughout the room are displayed a vast variety of minerals, ores, types of rock formations, replicas of famous diamonds, and numerous other curios. On the south wall is an American flag, weighing 400 pounds, made of Black Hills minerals. On the east wall are two excellent relief maps of gigantic proportions, showing relative heights in the Black Hills. Guns and various other relics adorn the walls. No visitor to the “Hills” can afford to miss this part of the trip. It may take one half hour to a day, depending on one’s interest in the displays, but the time is excellently spent.

From the School we drive into Rapid City, and after a bit of shopping, on to the Municipal Tourist Camp. This camp is about four miles up Rapid Canyon west of the city.

By the time the tent is pitched and camp made a dinner does not meet an unwelcome reception. Why the camp stove should choose this time to balk is a still unanswered question. Somehow these appliances know when they can aggravate one the most.

Here in the Municipal Camp we receive a pleasant surprise. Instead of the expected camp grounds we find a beautiful spot for pitching our tent, “Old Swayback,” modern toilet facilities, a laundry with hot water, stores, and best of all an honest to goodness “swimmin hole” in Rapid Creek.

True to the spirit of the Black Hills, Rapid City Municipal Camp has its neat log cabin, with reading table, fireplace, electric lights, and other conveniences for its guests. Tourists are welcomed there at any and all times. These log cabins are a decided thrill to the traveler who is not familiar with them. Later in this account there will be a description of the typical log cabin.

The camp cots, in which we have so much confidence at first, have begun by this time to feel a bit hard, to seem a bit cold, and to afford a rather meager sort of rest. But here Yankee ingenuity might come into good play.

The desirability of light steel camp beds instead of the cots and the need of light mattresses becomes evident.

Sunday morning proves an excellent time to get acquainted with the habits of the Rapid Creek trout. Only three consent to being lured from their swim, however. The fishing is rather slow but nevertheless enjoyable. To a more experienced angler the luck is usually different.

From fishing we turn to swimming. This proves to be a more lively sport. The water is fine, just a least bit cool. The current is the feature of this plunge. One no sooner gets out into it than he feels himself being pulled very rapidly downstream. The sensation is not exactly reassuring. In fact it frightens one. But it takes only a few strokes to get out of the swift water into more placid pools. This learned, it becomes pleasant to defy the current. Another surprise awaits. When one attempts to swim back to the side from which he entered, the current carries him past the precipitous rocks before he can pull himself out. No amount of trying results otherwise. This is almost terrifying. Fortunately, at this point a man happens along who is familiar with the pool. He shows us where there is a small quiet spot where the swimmer can climb up on the rocks without danger of being carried downstream. Again a precarious situation develops into a pleasure.

We wish to attend church, but have no clothing along except our camping equipment. This convinces us that we should have brought along some more respectable clothing for it will not be amiss on several occasions during the trip.

After lunch we drive up Rapid Canyon to Lockhart Inn. We go up the mountainside to see the moss sculpturing by Mr. Lockhart called “A Miner’s Dream.” Then we start the ascent up the Canyon on foot. This is a climb that will pay one well. From Rapid Canyon we turn into Dark Canyon ascending by rock ledge paths and canyon floor through beautiful formations of nature’s handiwork. One cannot imagine the thrill, not only of the scenery but also the thrill of accomplishment, a hundred per cent pleasant that goes with this trip. Some of the sidelights of the trip are “Sitting Bull’s Kitchen,” “Victoria Falls,” (a beautiful waterfall), “Jungle of the Gods,” “Bridge of the Gods,” (a natural bridge formerly over the canyon but now fallen in), and “Bear Cave.” The picturesque grandeur of the panorama, the stupendous rocks, the great precipices, the straight tall trees, the swift, cold, clear streams and many other awe inspiring and pleasant experiences stamp themselves indelibly upon our minds. The experiences include climbing precipitous places, jumping and climbing over rocks, looking down over precipices hundreds of feet below, continually discovering something new to enjoy. The effect is invigorating, exhilarating, satisfying. The path is not dangerous at any place, though filled with thrills, especially on the paths built on ledges around the mountain. These are the rambles that mean most to vacationists, and unfortunately they are too often left out because of the time needed and the effort necessary to make them.