The Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway is a 19 mile scenic drive through the Black Hills along US Route 14A. It is famous for its towering limestone cliffs, waterfalls like Bridal Veil and Roughlock Falls, and lush forest scenery. The route follows an old railroad grade, offering numerous pull-offs, hiking trails such as one to Devil’s Bathtub, and points of interest. It is a popular route for nature lovers, photographers and motorcycles, Particularly due to its proximity to Sturgis.
Deadwood
Deadwood had its heyday from 1876 to 1879 after gold was discovered there, leading to the Black Hills Gold Rush. It was named by early settlers after the dead trees found in its gulch. At its height, the city has a population of 25000, attracting Old West figures such as Wyatt Earp, Calamity Jane, Seth Bullock and Wild Bill Hickok, who was killed there.
The town has been designated as a National Historic Landmark District, for its well preserved Gold Rush-era architecture. The town has five unique history museums. Current population is about 1300. Today it is a busy tourist attraction, offering the museums, shops (western wear, tee shirts, liquor, etc), staged gun fights and staged Hickok killing. The local cemetery is of interest, containing the remains of Hickok, Calamity Jane and many well known Old west figures.
We have recently returned from a two week trip to the Iberian Peninsula. The trip was arranged by Trips for You of Lisbon; the key organizer was Joana Sousa. This was a driving trip set up by one of Wendy Perrin’s country based WOW agents. We flew into Porto and departed from Madrid after spending time in the Duoro Valley the traversing northern Spain from west to east. This post will cover the key elements of the trip, taken by driver and van plus guides as appropriate. Later posts will provide more detail on key activities along the way. First stop was the city of Porto, Portugal.
Porto
We flew into Porto via Frankfurt on Lufthansa. and stayed three nights at the Pousada do Porto on Rua das Flores. This charming little hotel was on a very busy pedestrian street just down the road from the train station. The first evening we had snacks (tapas) at a small nearby cafe. The next day our guide Sofia walked us down the street to a building known as the Stock Exchange. This building was the basic place of financial transaction in the past, and serves now as a center of cultural life in the city.
Our HotelThe Stock Exchange
After touring this beautiful building, we drove out to the “foz”, or mouth of the river where it flows into the Atlantic.
The Foz
And then around town a little.
After a rest, we enjoyed a dinner at a little cafe called Ostras and Coisas, where we were served a delicious variety of fresh seafood.
Ostras and Coisas
On our second day we drove to a nearby town called Matsosinhos, where we met our guide for the day, a sweet gal named Maria. She was actually a marine biologist by training and experience who has started a guiding service with her husband. She accompanied us on a tour of a sardine canning factory named Conservas Pinhais. We had the pleasure of seeing the sardine cleaning, packing and canning, all done by women. At the end we were able to taste the different sardine offerings, which were excellent given the top quality and freshness of the fish.
Maria then took us to a local market focused on fresh seafood and vegetables.
This was followed up with lunch at one of Maria’s favorites, O Valentim. This restaurant entrance was dominated by a huge grill, apparently utilized for virtually all served within. The dining was superb. A sampling:
Grilled Sea BassCalamariClamsShrimp
Eventually we departed, returned to the hotel and rested. We knew the evening would be long as we had reserved a 7:30 pm seating at Villa Foz for a tasting menu. This is a one star Michelin restaurant housed in an old mansion situated downstream from Porto alongside the Atlantic Ocean. The menu shows 11 entries, but the meal had several additional amuse bouches! The service and food was exceptional. We left the table at 11:30 pm after a four hour experience.
The next morning we checked out, and headed with our driver to the Duoro Valley for our next stop. Here is an image of the iron bridge built in 1887 and called the Ponte Maria Pia.; it was designed by Gustave Eiffel.
By now we needed a slow day. So we headed out to Bear Country USA, located about 10 miles south of Rapid City. This is a drive through wildlife park and zoo in the Black Hills. Founded in 1972, the park is noted for its bears, but offers other wildlife including wolves, elk, mountain lions and bison on 200 acres of rolling hills. The park is very well done. It also includes a half mile walking loop with smaller wildlife, including raccoons, skunks, bobcats, foxes, coyotes, arctic wolves and foxes, young bears and so one. Well worth a couple of hours.
Located about an hour east of Rapid City, Badlands NP protects almost 250,000 acres of sharply eroded buttes and pinnacles, along with the largest undisturbed mixed grass prairie in the US. W The park was established in 1939. The park was originally a reservation of the Oglala Sioux Indians. The US assure the Indians that the land would forever be Sioux property, although that promise was broken in 1889.
We approached the east entrance to the park by driving Route 44 from the city, and got great long views of the hills, and the resident herd of bison. We started our tour at the Ben Reifels Visitor Center, which contains a ranger station, a movie theater, a museum and a gift shop. The we drove along the Loop (SD 240) Road, which wanders along the base of the hills, the up and down through the outcroppings. The geology is quite fascinating, and the dozen or so overlooks and trailheads offer differing, unique views and a number of hiking trails. Unlike many parks, Badlands allows hiking anywhere within the park. We then drove a few miles beyond the paved area along Sage Creek Overlook road, which offers several overlooks with views of grasslands, bison and lots of prairie dogs.
Custer State Part is famous for its abundant wildlife, including one of the world’s largest publicly owned bison herds (about 1400), and its stunning scenic drives like the Needles Highway and Wildlife Loop Road, which wind through diverse Black hills landscapes featuring towering granite spires and lush prairies. On the Wildlife Loop Road, the bison can often be seen, along with pronghorns, elk, mule deer, prairie dogs, bighorn sheep and the famous “begging” burros. The roar is an 18 mile route through open grasslands and pine-speckled hills.
The Mammoth Site is a museum and gerontological site near Hot Springs, SD, in the Black Hills. It is an active paleontological excavation sire at which research and excavations are continuing. The facility encloses a prehistoric sinkhole that formed and was slowly filled with sediments during the Pleistocene era. The sedimentary fill of the sinkhole contains the remains of fauna and flora preserved by entrapment and burial within the sinkhole. As of 2016, the remains of 61 mammoths, including 58 North American Columbian and 3 wooly mammoths has been recovered. Mammoth bones were found at the site in 1974, and a museum and building enclosing the site were established. the museum now contains an extensive collection of mammoth remains.
The Carefree Photographer 