Good news for Texas-based fans of the Black Hills. United Airlines announced today that it will add new seasonal nonstop service between Rapid City Regional Airport and Houston. The daily service begins June 7 and will continue to Aug. 27. And if past experience is an indication, United could expand that route to year-around service. …

Judging by their photos, snowy owls are beautiful creatures.
A pure white, downy face, black-spotted wings and an impressive size — wingspans of as much as 5 feet. I’ve never had the good fortune to see one in the wild, but  a number of Black Hills people have done just that this winter. In fact, no …

Mount Rushmore has been moved, apparently, to Washington, D.C., where they overlook the U.S. Capitol, the Washington Monument and the Jefferson Memorial.
OK, the real Rushmore is still in the Black Hills. But in Shenzhen, China — I realize we’re jumping around here — there is a theme park called Windows of the World, featuring scale …

This time of year the Black Hills skies seem to be filled with the distinct calls of Sandhill Cranes. Almost every day this week I’ve seen huge flocks of them heading south. You hear them before you see them. They have a loud, trumpeting call with a French-style “r” rolled in the throat that can …

Earlier this year I visited Outdoor Campus West in Rapid City. The campus was still under construction, but it looked like it was shaping up to be an impressive facility. And it is. The facility is celebrating the completion of the campus with an Open House this Thursday, Oct. 6th from 4 to 7 pm.
During …

This is the weekend! Now through about the middle of next week the colors in Spearfish Canyon will be showing off their fullest, most brilliant hues.
Colors elsewhere in the Black Hills are also great right now – Boulder Canyon is bright yellow and the Lead and Deadwood areas are flaunting their colorful leaves. If you …

This last weekend the colors in Spearfish Canyon were pretty amazing. Even better, we were blessed with clear blue skies and temperatures in the 80’s. The bright sunlight filtering through the gold and red leaves made them stand out beautifully against the blue, blue sky.
If you weren’t able to make it up into the Hills, …

It’s the first day of fall, and the fall colors are in full swing.
Here in the Black Hills, Spearfish Canyon is the best place to experience the full splendor of colors. So far the weather this fall has been perfect with cool nights and warm days with sunny blue skies. The forecast for the next …

In my blog post last week, I told you about aspen. In this post, I’ll tell you about birch – the other white-barked tree that grows throughout the Black Hills.
Because aspen and birch both have white bark, from a distance they look pretty similar. But up close they are very different. One of the easiest …

When I first came to the Hills, I instantly noticed all the different types of trees that the Black Hills boasts. I come from a family of foresters, and seriously considered studying botany myself, so I guess that makes me a plant lover. I was especially excited to see that the Hills have an abundant …