The Black Hills Travel Blog

Magic Lantern photo show

By Dan • Aug 19th, 2009 • Category: Discoveries

Harney Peak 623

I just found out about a great online photo collection from the U.S. Forest Service. The site, www.blackhillsforest.com/res/sites/bkf2/, features all kinds of photos of the Black Hills and other National Forests. But the real money shots are from the old Civilian Conservation Corps days in the Black Hills.

If you go to the site, search for ccc. You’ll see the Forest Service’s collection of hand-colored “Magic Lantern” glass slides depicting life in the CCC camps. There are boxers at Roubaix (It’s wasn’t Roubaix Lake until the CCC built it), tree-planting in the Black Hills, and a swimming hole at Boxelder Forks campground. There are also a number of scenic photos of the Black Hills and Badlands.

If you click on the images below, you can see a hi-res version of each picture.

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About the Author

Dan is an on-again, off-again Black Hills resident since 1978. The Aberdeen native hit the road after high school, building houses in Boulder, working oil rigs on Colorado's Western Slope, delivering cars in California. In Wyoming and Idaho, he worked as a newspaper journalist. But the Black Hills kept luring him back. For 18 years, he wrote for the Rapid City Journal. The job gave him a chance to see the Hills from atop Mount Rushmore and the bottom of the Homestake Mine. Whenever possible, Dan grabs his dog Kody and heads to the Hills. These days, he's perfecting the art of low-impact backpacking: hike two hours to a scenic spot, break out the wine, cook up the pasta, watch the sunset and fall asleep under the stars.
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