After taking a guided tour of Glacier National Park in Montana, Jon Pochop was struck by the lack of a guided tour of the natural beauty of the northern Black Hills. So last year the Spearfish businessman started Spearfish Canyon Tours. He worked with local author and historian Paul Higbee to give guides the local stories and historical background of the Spearfish area.
The daily tours will run from Memorial Day through Labor Day. They'll take tourists to the Matthews Block downtown, the gravity-fed irrigation system, the Black Hills Passion Play Amphitheatre, Black Hills State University, Spearfish City Park and Creek, the D.C. Booth Historic Fish Hatchery, the 1911 Homestake Power Plant, and Bridal Veil Falls in Spearfish Canyon.
During a Dakota Midday interview from the stage of the Matthews Opera House, Jon Pochop and Paul Higbee discussed the tour and some Spearfish history, including the Thoen Stone, which calls into question the timing of the first discovery of gold in the area.
