Tim Huhtala of Spearfish was out with his camera again yesterday in "the canyon" and wanted to share these. We are leaving today for the South Dakota Book Festival in Deadwood, along with many others across South Dakota. It looks like a perfect time to be touring Spearfish Canyon.

Jay Heath wrote an article for our magazine a year ago about the wonderful kayak and canoe opportunities on South Dakota's many lakes and rivers. He is a lifelong water rat who was quite surprised at the many opportunities for paddling when he arrived in South Dakota after living on both coasts.

Jay says he's glad for the solitude and space on our waters, but he does wonder why more people aren't enjoying them, and in that spirit he has started a website called South Dakota Kayaking to share tips and ideas on favorite prairie places for paddling.

Jesse James can't enjoy it, as he was shot by a traitorous sidekick in 1882. But there is a Jesse James resurgence once again. He's the subject of a major article in the October "Smithsonian" magazine, and Brad Pitt plays the so-called Cowboy Robin Hood in a new movie, "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford."

We hear that the movie paints a fairly positive picture of the outlaw but he doesn't do as well in the Smithsonian article written by James Reston Jr., a respected historian who just so happens to have grown up in the rural neighborhood were Robert Ford lived before he went West and hooked up with the James gang.

Reston puts to rest a lot of the Jesse James myths. For one thing, he claims that the "assassin" Ford was no coward, despite Hollywood and country music's efforts to portray him as such. He also finds no evidence of Jesse's altruism and concludes that he was not a folk hero but rather a folk demon.

When I first started in the newspaper business 35 years or so ago I recall some old-timers in Clay County who told stories about the James gang visiting their farms after fleeing from the Northfield, Minn., bank robbery (via Garretson?). Some claimed the initials J.J. were carved in the beams of their granddaddy's barn. I even drove out to rural Meckling once to take a look but we couldn't find them on that particular day.

Nearly half of our magazine staff will be in Deadwood this weekend for the South Dakota Festival of Books, an event that has truly grown in size and scope over the past four years. There are lots of happenings in the Black Hills this weekend — from the Buffalo Roundup at Custer to an open house at the wild animal sanctuary at Spearfish and lots of other things in between.

But you won't be disappointed if you fit in time for the book festival, especially on Saturday when most of the sessions are planned. The whole idea is to bring readers and writers together to share their love and appreciation for the printed word. The programs focus on fiction, non-fiction, children, poetry and writer's support (helping writers in their craft).

Here's a link to the Book Festival web site that has a schedule and lots of other information. We hope to see you there. If you can't get that far West, then be sure to attend next year's festival in Sioux Falls.

Al Varland, a Lead photographer, sent these Spearfish Canyon photos. He visits the Canyon everyday, accompanied by his dog, Buddy. Here's a link to his Web site where he posts his photos http://www.pbase.com/prplexd. So far he has over 1.2 million hits and thousands of comments from people all over the world, in several different languages.

The Wessington Springs True Dakotan printed a poem in this week's edition that nicely complements Al's photos.

I feel the wind on my skin, like
dew, not dry, like months before.

I feel the grass beneath my feet, like velvet, not brittle,
like months before.

I see the leaves fall, like confetti, a party for winter
dreamers. Leaves for burial, months ahead.

Lisa Ann Peterson, Wessington Springs

The George Bush statue
in downtown Rapid City.

Give the downtown leaders in Rapid City some credit; a year ago they employed a consultant called Roger Brooks who came to town and criticized a lot of what they do, according to an article in today's Rapid City Journal. Now they have invited Mr. Brooks back for an encore because they think they have more to learn.

Brooks' main recommendation is that a city shouldn't promote itself as all things to all people because then it's nothing special (golf, museums, tennis, art, shopping, good medical care, blah blah). He says a town needs to set itself apart from the crowd and be something special to a select group of people — as Santa Fe has done with Southwestern art or Chicago has done with world class museums.

It's probably especially true of smaller towns and cities that can't afford to be all things for everyone.

Be sure to read the comments below the Journal story and you'll get a glimpse into how difficult it is for city planners and travel officials to be innovative; a lot of the populace could care less. Even worse, some are downright antagonistic about "branding" a town for travelers.

As piers are laid for Yankton's new bridge, city officials there have also contracted with an out-of-state consultant to find new ways to promote the city. They've decided that "the river running through it" sets Yankton apart, and they hope to brand that as a visitor attraction. One of the consultant's ideas is a kids' fountain, and another entails a water-like ribbon of blue glass that physically connects the river to the downtown district. I wonder if it wouldn't be easier just to dig a little canal and let it fill with real blue water? You see ... I'm as bad as the cynics in Rapid City.

Tim Huhtala of Spearfish sent these amazing photos of Spearfish Canyon that he shot just yesterday. If anyone else has fall foliage photos from their area of the state, we'd love to share them with the rest of our readers.

We've been understaffed for awhile, but that's changing. Our newest addition is John Andrews, an experienced young journalist who wrote for the Brookings Register for several years before pursuing a masters degree at USD. He is a Lake Norden native and a graduate of South Dakota State University. John's a friendly young man and so far he's had a smile on his face ever since he started ... but he's a big Cubs fan, so we're not sure if he likes us or if he's just happy that the Cubs have won 5 of 6 and appear headed for the playoffs.

His wife, Michelle, teaches here in Yankton. They have two cute kids — Ellie is 9 months old and Joe is four. They just bought a house on the northside of Yankton.

John has already delved into several writing projects. Along with his editorial contributions, he'll also be involved in helping us find new readers.