Black Hills Gold Blog

The first gold found in the Black Hills was on July 27, 1874 when a miner in Custer’s 7th Cavalry named Horatio N. Ross discovered it in French Creek in the Black Hills of South Dakota. This discovery eventually led to the Black Hills gold rush of the late 1800’s, which has been referred to by many historians as the last great American gold rush. It also brought a number of jewelry makers to the area and in 1878, a man named S.T. Butler opened the first Black Hills Gold jewelry manufacturing store in Deadwood, South Dakota. Over the years, the company was split into various different jewelry companies until 1944 when Ivan Landstrom bought back all of the components making Landstrom’s the sole owner of all the original Black Hills Gold designs. So Landstroms is the Read more…

Black Hills Gold Wedding Diamond Band

By law, any piece of jewelry bearing the description “Black Hills Gold” must be manufactured in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Traditional Black Hills Gold designs are typically comprised of rose colored and green colored leaves and gold grapes and grapevines. The rose color is made by combining gold with copper, and the delicate green color is achieved by adding sterling silver with gold. Though there are now a number of Black Hills Gold jewelry manufacturers, Landstroms is the oldest Black Hills Gold jewelry manufacturer and their roots date back to 1878. Read more…

It comes as no surprise to me that Backpacker Magazine has named Boulder, Colorado as the #1 place in the US to raise an outdoor kid. Boulder has a lot going for it: 300 sunny days per year, relatively low crime rate, beautiful scenery, fairly low taxes, a major university, proximity to a large metropolitan city (Denver) and an international airport, close proximity to the Rocky Mountains allowing a plethora of outdoor activities such as skiing, hiking, climbing, rafting – I could go on and on!

Hallet Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park

The only thing is, I’m not the only one who knows this, due in part to the many “Best Places” articles that have been written over the years, such as the one in Backpacker Magazine. But population growth here is nothing new. In fact,  Boulder instituted its first growth ordinance in 1976. I first came to visit Boulder in 1991 and decided to move here in 1996. Since then, I’ve watched the area surrounding Boulder grow at an unchecked rate. Bloated suburbs, congested roads, compromised air quality (oh, that’s right, it all blows over to Nebraska), and the social chill that accompanies overpopulation has made Boulder a somewhat different place Read More

Mount Rushmore Fireworks

With July 4th coming up this Saturday, the Black Hills are brimming with excitement. Mount Rushmore has celebrated July 4th with one of the largest fireworks displays in the country for the past twelve years and this year’s event is sure to be another memorable display.

When I saw the fireworks at Mount Rushmore a few years ago, I had been busy rock climbing in the Needles near Sylvan Lake. By the time we got back on the Needles Highway to get to Mount Rushmore, traffic was already heavy. So we decided to turn around and try to come in from the east, but it was too late. People were everywhere and cars had pulled off at every turnout and on the shoulder of the road to try and secure a place with a clear view of “The Faces”.

I decided that I had better do the same before it was too late, but there was just no place to pull over. The air was getting cooler so I knew the sun had begun its descent over the hills Read More