Spring Creek in March

If only I would have recorded the sound of the running creek, I could have joined the hootenany. These pictures were from the Spring Creek picnic area off Sheridan Lake Road. I'll try to get some video on my next foray into the hills.

HIA and HIA-related Literati Do Northern Hills

Superbigmuch and her merry band of poetrix friends will be in Spearfish-Deadwood area for the Western Literature Association Conference and South Dakota Book Festival, Wednesday, Sept 30 - Monday, Oct 5.

I'm presenting a paper on the author Sui Sin Far entitled "Edith Maud Eaton: Myth or Mythbuster? Outsider Privilege, Insider Meta-Discourse, and the Construction of Chineseness as Sui Sin Far." My only regret is the too-short title.

Lee Roripaugh, Lindy Obach, Marcella Remund of USD and Pen Pearson of Northern State will be reading No-SoDakia outlaw cowgirl, naughty lapsed Catholic, nature gender sex-centric poetry for the modern aging woman in a panel at the conference.

Any HIA-er's in the area should come and see us, hear us, or at the very least do shots with us. Jason Walker, Rapid City Librarian?

Email me @ superbigmuch@msn.com.

What's On Your Desktop?

My friend Mark just sent me this picture of the Cathedral Spires and now I look at it whenever I turn my computer on. What are you looking at?

Snow Falls Early in the Hills

Snow fell in the Black Hills less than a week after the last wedding guest departed the HIA. Unfortunately I did not have a camera with me to show the stunning view of snow in the branches of the pines and the mist rising off Deerfield Lake early Monday morning, September 10. But don't worry about us. It got over 90 again yesterday.

Ashley Grigg Wins "Best of the West - Painting" Award

Ashley poses in front of her winning painting with its subject, her uncle Willy Grigg. The piece was selected, along with others, from the West River Art Festival held in April at the Pennington County Fairgrounds to show in "The Best of the West" exhibit of High School art at the Dahl Fine Arts Center. In May she was awarded "Best Painting" and $25.
More of Ashley's art can be seen at a web page created by her sister, Kathy Grigg found at
www.d.umn.edu/~grigg034/5230/client/

Beating the Heat Last Weekend

Temperatures remained high over the weekend, reaching at least 105 degrees in Rapid. However, hanging about in the shade of various rocks behind Sylvan Lake was pleasant, with temperatures perhaps in the high 80's to low 90's.

Pictured above are friends of Denise who had just completed a morning's worth of climbing before the sun drove them away (to Hill City to have Bomb Pops),

OR

They are strangers who happened to be wandering about and agreed to have their picture taken so Denise could make the HIA audience think she knows people who do fun things.

What do YOU think? Should we have a poll?

Oh yeah, in other news, that same day there was a really hot fire out Nemo by Steamboat Rock that was getting ready to take out the Rolling Hills subdivision when
a 6 million dollar rain knocked it down.

Another Reason to Like North Dakota

Theodore Roosevelt National Park is a gorgeous refuge for wildlife and people looking for low-population-density breathing room. This year is particularly lush due to them getting more than their rightful share of rainfall, unlike their dry dry southern cousins in the Black Hills.

Young Naturalist Institutes Snail Relocation Program at Hippy Hole

Long Term Forest Service Employee Looking for New Job, or, Slacker Seeks Mystic Revelation in Sunshine

After working year round for 3 consecutive years, I find myself unemployed. This may be the first summer in 11 years that I don't work for the Forest Service. Perhaps it will be a liberating experience.

I have much to contemplate. It is supposed to reach 80 degrees here today, so I think it wise if I head to the Cathedral Spires for a little meditation on rock and perhaps unveil the path to my future. HIA News will get the scoop when such mysteries are solved.