Paul Higbee writes about the Black Hills for in-flight airline publications, academic magazines, South Dakota Magazine, public TV, newspapers and websites.  He is the author of five books, all Black Hills themed.  He lives in the Black Hills.  He's obviously no Renaissance Man with varied interests, but if the Black Hills are your thing, he's your guy. 

Allison Syman lives in South Dakota. She loves sunlight, tea, the smell of old books, and Shark Week. And her dream is to become a novelist.

Ryan Phillips is an ultra runner and native of Sturgis, SD. A standout collegiate runner, Ryan was an All- American middle distance runner at Dakota State University (DSU) in Madison, SD and was inducted into the DSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 2010 as a teammate and again in 2014 as an individual athlete. He received a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from DSU and a master’s in Technology for Education and Training from USD in 2003. Ryan currently works as the Director of Media Services at South Dakota’s Technology & Innovation In Education (TIE) in Rapid City, South Dakota. Ryan is a two- time winner of the popular Bighorn 30K trail race and has several top-5 and top-10 finishes to his credit at other trail and ultra races, including several Master’s division (age 40+) wins. He was also a member of the 2013 U.S. National Snowshoe Team.

Maggie Schneider grew up in the Black Hills scouting for elk, fishing Spearfish canyon, and hiking Crow Peak. Today, she still enjoys anything and everything outdoors in Spearfish, where she lives with her husband and hunting buddy, Nate. Her favorite way to see the Black Hills is from the back of her horse or through the lens of her camera.