Elk Haven Horse Camp - Keystone, SD

 

So, we got to Elk Haven which is located on Iron Mountain Road. We had to make sure we avoided the narrow tunnels as it was not a direct route from French Creek to here. We are closer to Keystone farther away from Custer, and about the same amount of time to Rapid City.

We were disappointed to learn that we do not have full hook-up here. I booked for a week and we can't go more than five days without dumping our black water tank. 

About half the sites are full hook-up and the rest are only water and electric. 

The campground is under new ownership and the new owners weren't really able to accommodate us because all the full hook-ups were taken.

Each campsite is allotted a large corral. You are supposed to put two horses in each corral. The people in the campsite next to us next to us didn't have horses, so we moved Lennox into their assigned corral.

They are only staying a couple of days, so we shall have to wait and see who shows up. If their replacement has horses, we will have to put both horses together.

I like that the horses have cover, have a decent amount of space and they are close to our campsite where we can keep an eye on them.

This campground allows us to tack up at our trailer, so we don't have to deal with moving our tack.

The campground has a small laundry with three washers and two dryers, so we were able to do our laundry.

They have WIFI, but it doesn't reach our campsite. If we want to use their WIFI, we have to sit on their front porch.

They have a large general store which sells snacks, clothing and tack. They also have a small snack bar that serves all three meals, mostly sandwiches, but that's OK.

Almost all of the campsites are back-in and it can be challenging to get your LQ parked because the spaces are pretty tight.

Our first trail ride was to Lakota Lake.

This was a nice easy ride through forest and meadow.

You ride past the Spokane Ghost Town - which is a bunch of old wooden structures that are falling down. There is also an old mine.

We also rode past this gravesite - which is basically in the middle of the forest. 

The headstone is for James Shepard.

It has his name, the dates, and says "Murdered over a Mining Claim"

So here is the story about that:

The miner, James (Jim) Shepard, was murdered over a mining claim at the age of 58. The murder of Jim shocked the Spokane community. Another miner, Frank Cox, did assessment work for the Spokane Mine and jumped a claim on a mine. On June 21st, 1908 Jim Shepard was upset about this claim and drove his stake at the same site. Frank Cox’s wife was on her way to the schoolhouse to teach Sunday school. She observed Shepard driving his stake into the ground. And of course informed her husband. By that evening, Shepard was riding his horse, bringing his cow back to the house. Suddenly, Cox and his son Henry approached Shepard. Cox yelled, “You son-of-a-bitch, you have driven your last stake!” Then Cox shot Shepard. Wounded Shepard was able to make it home.  Jessie Shepard, his wife, rode for help. But help didn’t arrive in time. The town was shaken by the murder. It is said that at the funeral, the crowd was described as “angry and hostile.”

Root cellar / cold storage bunker - one of the old buildings in the Ghost Town

According to records, the minister had the congregation point the finger of guilt at whoever they felt had committed the murder. Everyone pointed the finger at the Frank Cox’s house. From then on, the Coxes were ostracized by the Spokane community. The Frank and Henry Cox were put on trial. But the evidence was considered unsatisfactory and they were freed.

Some think that Spokane and the lone memorial of James Shepard on the hillside were the inspiration for the Marshall Tucker Band’s song “Fire on the Mountain.” The song is the story of a man seeking treasure during the gold rush. The man in the song packed up his family and headed west with his family. And as the song tells it he was, “shot down in cold blood by a gun that carried fame, all for a useless and no good worthless claim.” The miner, James Fernando Shepard met a similar fate. And his wife was left with a worthless claim. Many also believe the song was about the California Gold Rush. But you cannot deny James’ story to be the similar.

Temps are approaching 90 degrees and higher, so we are hiding in the air conditioning inside our LQ. Too hot to ride. I expect since tomorrow is July Fourth, we will go into Custer to participate in some of the celebration.