Elm Springs: A New Direction

 

This is either Elk Creek or Alkali Creek, and I'm not even sure if I'm looking upstream or down.  It's kind of hard to tell when it's all frozen!  Either way, I do know that it's straight north of Rapid City on the unpaved section of Elk Vale Road.  And it was the first of December.

If the last picture was upstream, then this one is down - and vise versa.  You get the idea.  But judging from the shadows, I'd say this is up.

I'd waited until nearly noon for this half-day trip - until temperatures reached 40, if memory serves.  I knew the Black Hills were snowed in by this time, but I thought I might be able to squeeze in one more outing before the new year.  The area northeast of the city features several gravel roads - and was still unexplored territory for me.  I didn't need any other reason to set out.

If you can read the sign, I guess there was one other reason.  The "unincorporated community" of Elm Springs is 60 to 70 miles away, depending on which way you go.  My plan, of course, was to go one way - and come back another.

By the time I reached this junction in the valley, I'd traversed some higher elevation hills than I'd anticipated.  The flatlands of the Dakotas are not all as flat as you'd think.  Not much for trees, though.  The wind had also kicked up, and I'd quickly become quite chilled.  The battery in the Ural is getting old, and I couldn't run the heated handgrips on high without the low battery warning light coming on.  That didn't help matters.

But the county roads were well-graded and quite fun.  Besides the occasional pickup truck, I had them all to myself that day.  Now that hill's almost a mountain - by South Dakota standards!

Belle Fourche River?  I'm a bit more confident about this one, but let's face it.  They all look the same.

Here's what I'd come for.  The first structure I encountered was the Elm Springs Community Hall.  "Est. 1927," it says above the door.  Located approximately midway between I-90 to the south and Highway 34 to the north, there isn't much in Elm Springs.  But I'd try to see whatever there was to be seen.

Guess I wasn't quite downtown yet.

There is a school.  Wasn't too busy though for a Thursday.  Christmas break already?

On my way out of town to the south, I passed the church and cemetery.  Looked like someone was keeping it up, which is nice to see.

I also passed a farm house or two.  As far as I could tell, that was it.  The Internet actually says the population was zero in 2020.  Never seen that before.  But I was there in 2022, so maybe the place is growing!

I was on gravel for about fifteen more miles, then turned onto a paved back road, which lead to the Interstate at the New Underwood exit.  From there, it was around half an hour home.  It was well below 40 degrees by then, so I was more than satisfied to call it a day.  And not a bad one at that!