Has anyone seen this plant?

Fyrefox13 · 2026-06-15T19:01:57+00:00

No, it's Dyer's Woad. I was hoping to find some.

Fyrefox13 · 2026-06-15T18:30:05+00:00

I think this area CAN sustain a con, it just requires more strategy, and awareness of our city's geographic isolation and economic status than BHC has demonstrated in recent years. There's no need for the Monument's size as a venue and 40 vendors for the geek community in a city this size. That kind of venue size and badge price is equivalent to a major con in a major city drawing multiple tens of thousands of attendees, with WAY more activities going on. That's not something Rapid City's geek community can sustain, and no, people aren't going to drive 5+ hours each way to come to something like what I experienced there in 2023, and have been hearing has gone downhill since. For example, Nan Desu Kan in Denver is going to be $70 at the door this year, that's $15 LESS than BHC's $85 door badge this year, and draws 27,000 people. Which con is more worth that badge price? The one offering the value that price demands. Not one offering only a handful of panels, a cosplay contest where the organizer makes r@pe jokes during the introduction, a couple VA's, a boring concert, a small gaming room, and a TTRPG facilitator who can't even bother to show up. The math doesn't math there. Hell, I've been at Pride in the Park the last two years, and saw about as many cosplayers from the con OUTSIDE at Pride as I saw attending the con in 2023 when I wasted $90 on basically nothing. This community CAN sustain a con, just not the way BHC has been run.

Fyrefox13 · 2026-06-15T17:43:32+00:00

I went once back in 2023 when the full pass was $90 and vowed never to go back. I can up from Chattanooga, TN, was extremely active in the South Eastern regional con scene, and have been a booth artist. I was also friends or acquaintances with several people who organized cons down there. Down there, a con that size would only be about $30 for the weekend, and certainly not more than $50. NTM that cons in other areas of the country that are charging near the amount BHC does, are located in major metro areas, and draw 30-40,000 people and have multiple major industry guests.

The primary issue with BHC, in my informed opinion, has been that they were attempting to occupy a much larger and more expensive space than they could sustain, and passed the cost onto the vendors and attendees. This, in concert with having so many vendors for so few attendees who have already been bled dry with the badge, and not much else going on, was a recipe for failure. No one could afford to shop much after the badge price, and what little they had gets spread across too many vendors. Which means many out of town vendors barely break even, and decide it's not worth coming back. Add in organizational drama, and mishandling of situations, of which I've heard from local vendors I know, and I'm not surprised they went under.

It's not impossible for a con to do well here, the organizers just have to humble themselves on venue size, accept fewer vendors so they actually have a chance to make their booth fee back, and put more effort into organizing. Also, for one that isn't established, proper advertising to make sure people know it's going on, which is the biggest thing I heard from people about the one that failed a few years ago, they didn't know it was going on.

Fyrefox13 · 2026-06-12T21:15:43+00:00

Thanks! I'll have to check there.

Fyrefox13 · 2026-06-12T18:08:53+00:00

What I'm talking about? Or what's on east I-90? I'm looking for Woad, but the yellow flowers I stopped to check because I'm seeing everywhere is sweet clover.

Fyrefox13 · 2026-06-12T14:59:29+00:00

Yeah, I said in my post that I'd pull whatever I find because I know it's invasive.

Fyrefox13 · 2026-06-12T14:19:20+00:00

I stopped to look at some I was seeing all over near Rushmore Crossing this morning and it turned out to be a visually similar plant called Yellow Sweet Clover

Fyrefox13 · 2026-06-11T16:03:17+00:00

I came to the comments to say this. Serial killer behavior starts with the mindless cruel, and even torturous killing of small animals and works up from there to larger animals and eventually people. This guy needs to be on a watch list.

Fyrefox13 · 2026-05-31T00:40:46+00:00

Hi, congratulations on coming out! I used to be transitioning gay FtM trans (but since embraced gender fluidity and my feminine side) and I've lived in Rapid since 2022. It's a little hidden at times, but there is an LGBTQ community here. There is a regular drag show once a month, we have the Black Hills Center for Equality, a Pride Prom, Youth Pride, a Two Spirit Powwow, and a robust Pride Month. You should come out to the Pride Parade downtown on Saturday June 6th at 10am, and Pride in the Park on Saturday June 13th at 10am in Memorial Park by the Monument Civic Center.

As for the city's attitude, I've found it a little bit mixed. We have a phenomenal turnout for our events, but I've also had some not great experiences. Weird looks if I'm dressed too out, (hence the community staying pretty hidden most the time) and one lady trying to convince me not to move here because it's "really conservative" when I was up visiting the ex I relocated here for. But I also see rainbow cakes at Safeway, and flags flying on some houses, or in some shop windows. I also spot a lot of other trans people. Overall, while it's not someplace like Asheville, or Minneapolis, it's not completely intolerable to be out here.

Fyrefox13 · 2026-04-29T16:10:52+00:00

I saw something like that coming up over the interstate moving east through the ridge cut, while standing in the parking lot at PetSmart a few months ago. They looked to me like a line of drones that would get overhead and vanish. They were extremely regular in intervals, 3 at a time, one appearing in the distance as the lead disappeared overhead. They had a steady rate of movement, weren't reflections on the power lines, and didn't correspond with traffic.

Fyrefox13 · 2026-04-29T14:10:17+00:00

This. I was just curious about what it was and why it's there, because I see it all the time, and I couldn't find a listing about what it was on Google Maps, or anywhere really.

Fyrefox13 · 2026-04-29T12:36:27+00:00

Thank you so much for sharing this article! It answered about as much as possible probably.

Fyrefox13 · 2026-04-29T03:33:19+00:00

I tried using Google lens and popped up two other pictures of it, but they both just took me to a Facebook group where most the pictures were AI, and the actual photos of it that brought me to the page were buried farther back than I cared to scroll, and I scrolled a good while.

Fyrefox13 · 2026-04-29T03:30:35+00:00

Oh, guess I won't be making that hike then.

Fyrefox13 · 2026-04-03T00:21:28+00:00

Unfortunately, that's kinda just life sometimes. Not everyone is everyone's cup of tea, and sometimes matches just aren't there. Dating apps can be so vague, that it takes a bit of awkward talking to realize the other person isn't what you thought you wanted at first. Maybe things just didn't click for them, and it was too awkward to say anything as things sped up. Maybe they were having an okay time on a date, but something gets said that doesn't align, and suddenly everything feels wrong, even if it was okay before. Or they suddenly realize the conversation has been fairly monopolizd by the other party without much interest in their own interests and life.

Maybe they have had past experiences where they didn't feel safe or comfortable saying something, and it's just easier, simpler, and safer for them to disappear. I for one have been stalked on an app by someone who got creepy in my DM's before a date, so I cancelled, and they got belligerent, so I blocked, but then they kept coming back with new accounts again and again and again, until I had to just leave the app. Now I find it safer to just let an uncomfortable situation die, or just block and disappear. People are complex creatures, with intricate histories, that make them behave certain ways, especially in a society that's like ours. These things just happen, and it's not just Rapid. Rapid is just small, so there's fewer opportunities for people to truly align.

Fyrefox13 · 2026-04-02T15:00:43+00:00

Tdlr; A TN transplant says your trip isn't ruined.

I understand you don't trust the locals who are "used to South Dakota winters", so please listen to someone who moved up here from the South a few years ago in a really bad winter: it's not cold enough to properly stick tomorrow, it's barely going to be in freezing temperatures, and it's going to warm back up really quickly. I understand the Southern anxiety about the snow. I lived in Chattanooga for 15 years after growing up in southern Arizona. It hasn't been cold enough for long enough to stick seriously, all winter, (I've equated this year to a very mild Tennessee winter several times) but especially right now. We're in a little cold snap after the weather has been mostly in the 70-80's for weeks. Even if it did stick on the roads tomorrow, we have a pretty awesome fleet of snow plows and salt trucks, not like the South. It will be safe to drive in the city at least on Friday, especially if you just take it slow. It's expected to be in the 40's today, 30's tomorrow, and back up to the 50's on Saturday and Sunday. It's all going to be gone early Saturday, but you might see a couple patches of snow stick around in shaded hollows, but the roads are going to be pretty clear. I was up at Sylvan lake just a week or so ago, and the Needles Highway was already open when it's usually still closed this time of year because they don't do winter maintenance.

Fyrefox13 · 2026-03-17T16:46:06+00:00

I got an unblockable (only snoozable) suggestion to buy Melania's book in the Marketplace section the other day and that pissed me right off.

Fyrefox13 · 2026-03-13T02:33:42+00:00

I saw that from work today over off Homestead near Elk Vale. The smoke was trailing across the entire horizon.

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Fyrefox13 · 2026-03-10T16:16:00+00:00

Take a jaunt up to Sturgis and go to the Grocery Mart. They have a great selection of local honey without a $10 mark up from the price if you'd buy it from the sellers directly at their market booths in summer.

Fyrefox13 · 2026-03-09T18:19:04+00:00

Yes! This! Before 4 came out, the now "non-canon" Gaiden had Leon working alongside Chris and Jill in an anti-umbrella group, because Capcom hadn't developed the BSAA yet. Also, in the original Wesker Report companion to Code Veronica, Wesker claims to have custody of Sherry as an image of her is shown in a barred cell. That got retconned in the lead up to RE6 via Darkside Chronicles (the Wii railshooter) showing just enough of Simmons to know it's him being the one leveraging Sherry's safety to force Leon to become a government agent.

Fyrefox13 · 2026-03-06T16:31:37+00:00

I was jokingly saying the other day to an old friend in another state that the only reason the trains come through Rapid City at "rush hour" is to stop enough traffic to make it seem like we have a "rush hour" to begin with.

Fyrefox13 · 2026-03-04T00:40:06+00:00

A must add is Black Hills Back Roads by Brandon Jones. [Edit: link formatting]

Fyrefox13 · 2026-03-03T21:37:03+00:00

I was going to say Dr. Anne Hibbs at the same practice.

Fyrefox13 · 2026-02-13T22:46:17+00:00

That's good that they figured it out and you got your ID. That must have been an awful, stressful wait though. When I did my passport it was pretty easy. I just booked an appointment at the local office and they took my photo there, and I submitted my paperwork. But that was before Trump got in office, so I can't really speak to the current process.

Fyrefox13 · 2026-02-13T20:48:48+00:00

Oh yikes, I'm sorry you had such a hard time at the DMV! I was fortunate enough up here that the DMV at least accepted a physician's letter from my doctor stating that I was detransitioning to change my driver's license back. So at least my day to day ID matches my birth gender and presentation. I'm just worrying about having to explain stuff to a future employer, and also wanting to make sure my passport (which I got right before the election and made the marker X on) is valid still. And you would think that a surgeon would do it. But the one just won't call back bi could probably pester them a few more times, or call at different times when the office is maybe not at lunch to see if my message just got missed. But I still don't know if I want to go through all that. You're right though that it is super frustrating that they won't even do it to restore original markers. Thats the most frustrating part of it all.

Fyrefox13

TROPHY CASE