Exploring The Heartland: A Spontaneous Road Trip To West River SD
Road trip anybody? I recently got a wild hair lodged funny and decided that I needed a road trip. A West River South Dakota Road Trip.
I'd been chatting with a friend I've known since, well forever, Phil Gerard who lives the cowboy life out west near Faith, South Dakota. I decided that I'd take him up on a road trip that would include catching up on old times and maybe shooting a prairie dog or two.'
I took off early, leaving Sioux Falls at around 7:00 AM. I filled up and hit the road. I stopped briefly in Ft. Pierre before heading west on Highway 14. I looked down at my gas gage after seeing the sign that said 60 miles or so to the next gas station. I gulped hard and kept going. It was going to be close on maybe running out of gas.
After fueling up in Eagle Butte, [another South Dakota Town I had never been to, ever] I went west on Highway 212. Technology makes it much easier to navigate, so I was confident I could find Phil's place. On the way I passed by yet another South Dakota town I'd never been to. Dupree. I took a few pics and kept going.
The country is huge! The road headed north to Eagle Butte, Highway 63 is a fairly scenic ride. You segue from crops and farmland to mostly grass. And Cattle. Lots of Cattle.
I finally got to my turnoff and found myself staring at a gravel road. No fences on the sides of the roads. When I got to my first Cattle Gate things got real. Now I was out there.
After I arrived at my destination, we decided to take a local road ride. I asked about the butte just to the north of where he lives. He said, That's Thunder Butte. and it's not close. It's about 20 miles away. Suddenly the scale of the landscape started sinking in.
Phil decided we needed to check out Iron Lightning. Have you ever been to Iron Lightning? I told him nope, and we started driving.
South Dakota is kind of a magical state. This day it was like, Here's people and buildings and then...here's wide open nothing.
The photo above is taken from a high spot just to the south of Iron Lightning overlooking the Moreau River below.
We spotted deer and coyotes on the way. Oh, and prairie dogs too. Finally we arrived in Iron Lightning. Ziebach County. Cheyenne River Reservation.
I got to wondering. Why did they call it Iron ? Google it up. Go Famous Sioux Chiefs, Iron Lightning. Suddenly you know your standing in country that was very different 100 years ago. My first search said;
"Chief Iron Lightning" (Oglala Lakota) Iron Lightning was one of the sub-chiefs, who under Sitting Bull participated in the battle of Little Bighorn. Iron Lightning is a small Reservation town named after him that we have a powwow on July 4th in honor of him.
The West River Eagle wrote:
Chief Iron Lighting/Wakinyan Maza had 26 children with his three wives, although only 9 survived. He died near Thunder Butte in 1921. According to his obituary in The Hickory Daily Record from June 3, 1921, “He was the last Indian, so far as is known, to have continued to live with two wives after the order prohibiting polygamy and further polygamous marriages among the Indians was made.”
If you've ever caught yourself looking out a window with a thousand yard stare, wondering what went on, where your standing right now, a road trip like this might be what you need. Get out. See some 'sees.' Places like Iron Lightning, South Dakota. Sounds like they have a yearly Pow-Wow to celebrate Chief Iron Lightning.
Side note. I made it home and didn't run out of gas. We did find out that Faith, South Dakota has a great steak and the best fries in South Dakota waiting for you, along with a cold beer at Horns Up Sports Bar and Casino. And I'm not lying about the fries. They Kicked Ass!
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