Why the blues? And I’m not talking about the Black Hills Chevy Dealers’ Blues Festival in Deadwood that we just barely missed, although missing it gave me the blues. But before getting further into that, the Black Hills, so called because of thick ponderosa pine forests that darken them, formed millions of years ago in Precambrian upliftings of the earth’s crust. These slates, schists and granites form a central core; Harney Peak (highest mountain at 7,242 feet) and the Needles are composed of these. Sedimentary rock such as sandstone, limestone, and shale surrounding the core are home to many caves and caverns.

In pioneer times, there is really no getting around that Paha Sapa were illegally seized from the Lakota in violation of the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868, after gold was discovered in 1873 in the Black Hills. The courts are still dealing with this reputably tangled and highly emotional case.

Among the first attractions we visited after our arrival in the Black Hills, both Mount Rushmore and especially the Crazy Horse Memorial were unforgettable. For families with children, the Black Hills rival any Disneyland – the "rides" are just a bit more spread out. A list of 49 family approved attractions, all hyperlinked, can be found at blackhillsattractions.com, a website run by Black Hills, Badlands & Lakes Association in Rapid City.

The Paha Sapa are also a paradise for nature lovers, once you get off the main roads. Although the forests are predominantly ponderosa pine, birch and aspen grace the hills with their lighter greens, and wildflowers abound, especially purple bee balm while we were there. Wildlife are abundant and often visible.

As we drove and walked around in the Black Hills, I was filled with mixed feelings: awe and appreciation of the landscape, tinged with melancholy about the history that hangs heavy in the Hills, and peppered by frustration with the multitude of blatant touristy "attractions" and tacky billboards that litter the sides of the well maintained roads and highways. Yet the feeling I just couldn’t shake was the underlying sense of wrongness that this tourist wonderland with "something for everyone" has been advertised, dug up, blown up, carved, tunneled, roaded, built on and profited from when these hills in fact, and probably more clearly than many other illegal land seizures, do not even belong to "us".${QuickSuggestions} Unpredictable weather: Typical Black Hills summer weather goes like this: Morning dawns clear, sunny, and balmy. As the day progresses, lovely billowy white clouds roll in. By afternoon, the clouds have increased and darkened; sudden thundershowers are likely. These can be… uh, intense, as in buckets of water pouring down out of the sky. But the rains usually don’t last very long. When planning outdoor activities, always bring rain gear.
Allocate sufficient time: You can easily spend a full day at Crazy Horse. We made the mistake of arriving in mid-afternoon, and returned another day to complete our visit.
Crowds!: These prime tourist attractions are extremely busy. Expect hordes of people at Rushmore and Crazy Horse. Early morning around opening time, and late afternoon the crowds may lighten up a bit.
Watch your driving: Black Hills roads were meant to be savored and enjoyed at leisure. There always seem to be some people who tailgate with vengeance, or speed by as if in a race. While here, SLOW DOWN! We experienced some anxious minutes while a wild turkey family was trying to cross busy Highway 16 right before chuck wagon time. They made it – barely – this time. ${BestWay} There are a number of organized tour busses, but then you’re at the mercy of time constraints, and the tours can be pricey. We preferred to explore at our leisure in our car. For hikers, bikers (of both non-motorized bicycles and "hawgs"), horse people, and scenic-drive aficionados, there are also endless opportunities, some of which are covered in my entry, "Scenic Drives, Hikes, Bikes, and Rides".

From journal Black Hills Blues