Tuesday, 13 May
Well, we didn’t get all that many miles behind us today, but this was the section of the trip that had the most things that I wanted to see. And, boy did we see A LOT! We started out by driving through the Badlands. It was an other-worldly terrain of intricate stone formations. I understand it was named the Badlands because it was impossible to travel through. At the beginning of the Badlands scenic loop, we happened upon the Minuteman Missile National Park. South Dakota was strewn with these missile silos build in the 1960’s and this one silo and it’s nearby underground command center were preserved after the SALT II demolition of the Minuteman systems, the ones in South Dakota staffed by personnel from Ellsworth Air Force Base in nearby rapid City. We couldn’t go on the tour (needed reservations and 2 hours of time), but we saw a short video and many artifacts in the visitor center.
After driving through the Badlands, we stopped at Wall Drug in Wall, South Dakota for a lunch of buffalo burgers (buffalo the animal, not the hot sauce). We then wandered around the complex that started as a small family drugstore in the 1920’s and has since grew into a huge tourist stop along the highway (much like “South of the Boarder” along I-95 in South Carolina).
Next stop, Mount Rushmore. This was very impressive. Starting out as a dreary cold grey day, the sun broke out and we had brilliant blue sky just as we arrived at the mountain. We were able to walk up to the base of the mountain along a short well maintained trail. While at the grand observation area, we happened upon an Air Force promotion ceremony just as the officer’s wife was pinning on his new rank. What a fantastic backdrop for such an event.
We then drove through the Black Hills to the Crazy Horse memorial. Similar to Mount Rushmore (in fact the sculptor who started the project was the number 2 man on the Mount Rushmore project), it is being carved out of an entire mountain. When finished, it will be more than twice as big as the Rushmore carvings and is of Chief Crazy Horse on horseback. Unlike Mount Rushmore which was federally funded, the Crazy Horse monument is being built entirely with private funds and donations and because of this, the work is progressing in starts and fits with no estimated completion time. Due to the monumental task and the slow progress, I would say there is a very slim chance that my kids will ever see it completed. The visitor center was very large with many Native American displays and artifacts, but I was a little disappointed that the viewing area was so far away from the mountain carving. It was hard to get a sense of the sheer enormity of the sculpture.
After Crazy Horse, we drove through Deadwood South Dakota. This is a well preserved mid-1800’s town at the north edge of the Black Hills. We didn’t take the time to stop and wander around (although I would like to if given the chance to return to the area). Deadwood’s claim to fame is the location of Wild Bill Hikock’s murder while gambling in a local saloon (we saw it as we drove slowly through town). He and Calamity Jane are buried in the cemetery there.
On to Devil’s Tower, Wyoming. WOW! It is AMAZING! Almost hard to describe. It has truly a mystical feeling about it. In fact, many people including the local Native Americans believe it holds power and they tie prayer cloths and bundles on trees at its base. On the way to the tower along the Belle Fourche river (thanks Dad, for copying the scenic routes from your book for both this and the Badlands and sending them to me) we saw many herds of deer and antelope as well as a couple of huge groups of wild turkey grazing in the meadows along the banks of the river. We stopped at one point and watched a group of deer and turkeys. We laughed as we gobbled loudly and all the turkeys turned at the same time, gobbled loudly together and started running which caused the deer with them to run as well.
We got to Devils Tower a couple of hours before sunset and the low angel of the sun was illuminating the western side of the tower showing off its many colors. There was a huge prairie dog colony in a field at the base of the tower and we stopped and watched hundreds of the funny little guys running around, standing on their hind legs, and barking. The girls would have loved it. There was also a very nice KOA within sight of the tower and the prairie dog field. We may have to come back with the trailer as a family.
There is a mile and a half paved trail that circles the base of the tower, and it was fascinating to walk among all the huge columns that have split form the tower and crashed to the base. Nothing to worry about, however, since the field of boulders and columns has taken millions of years to split off and there hasn’t been a known split since the park was established in 1906. We saw some rock climbers scaling the face about ¾ of the way up. Devil's tower was by far my favorite part of an extremely busy day, and we were there at the perfect time of day with the fantastic light and nearly empty park.
We drove to Gillette, Wyoming, found a local BBQ joint for a late dinner and crashed at the hotel. Although we only put a little over 300 miles behind us today, it was an amazing day and we did drive a little over 400 miles while taking in the incredible sights of southwest South Dakota and northeast Wyoming.
Well, we didn’t get all that many miles behind us today, but this was the section of the trip that had the most things that I wanted to see. And, boy did we see A LOT! We started out by driving through the Badlands. It was an other-worldly terrain of intricate stone formations. I understand it was named the Badlands because it was impossible to travel through. At the beginning of the Badlands scenic loop, we happened upon the Minuteman Missile National Park. South Dakota was strewn with these missile silos build in the 1960’s and this one silo and it’s nearby underground command center were preserved after the SALT II demolition of the Minuteman systems, the ones in South Dakota staffed by personnel from Ellsworth Air Force Base in nearby rapid City. We couldn’t go on the tour (needed reservations and 2 hours of time), but we saw a short video and many artifacts in the visitor center.
After driving through the Badlands, we stopped at Wall Drug in Wall, South Dakota for a lunch of buffalo burgers (buffalo the animal, not the hot sauce). We then wandered around the complex that started as a small family drugstore in the 1920’s and has since grew into a huge tourist stop along the highway (much like “South of the Boarder” along I-95 in South Carolina).
Next stop, Mount Rushmore. This was very impressive. Starting out as a dreary cold grey day, the sun broke out and we had brilliant blue sky just as we arrived at the mountain. We were able to walk up to the base of the mountain along a short well maintained trail. While at the grand observation area, we happened upon an Air Force promotion ceremony just as the officer’s wife was pinning on his new rank. What a fantastic backdrop for such an event.
We then drove through the Black Hills to the Crazy Horse memorial. Similar to Mount Rushmore (in fact the sculptor who started the project was the number 2 man on the Mount Rushmore project), it is being carved out of an entire mountain. When finished, it will be more than twice as big as the Rushmore carvings and is of Chief Crazy Horse on horseback. Unlike Mount Rushmore which was federally funded, the Crazy Horse monument is being built entirely with private funds and donations and because of this, the work is progressing in starts and fits with no estimated completion time. Due to the monumental task and the slow progress, I would say there is a very slim chance that my kids will ever see it completed. The visitor center was very large with many Native American displays and artifacts, but I was a little disappointed that the viewing area was so far away from the mountain carving. It was hard to get a sense of the sheer enormity of the sculpture.
After Crazy Horse, we drove through Deadwood South Dakota. This is a well preserved mid-1800’s town at the north edge of the Black Hills. We didn’t take the time to stop and wander around (although I would like to if given the chance to return to the area). Deadwood’s claim to fame is the location of Wild Bill Hikock’s murder while gambling in a local saloon (we saw it as we drove slowly through town). He and Calamity Jane are buried in the cemetery there.
On to Devil’s Tower, Wyoming. WOW! It is AMAZING! Almost hard to describe. It has truly a mystical feeling about it. In fact, many people including the local Native Americans believe it holds power and they tie prayer cloths and bundles on trees at its base. On the way to the tower along the Belle Fourche river (thanks Dad, for copying the scenic routes from your book for both this and the Badlands and sending them to me) we saw many herds of deer and antelope as well as a couple of huge groups of wild turkey grazing in the meadows along the banks of the river. We stopped at one point and watched a group of deer and turkeys. We laughed as we gobbled loudly and all the turkeys turned at the same time, gobbled loudly together and started running which caused the deer with them to run as well.
We got to Devils Tower a couple of hours before sunset and the low angel of the sun was illuminating the western side of the tower showing off its many colors. There was a huge prairie dog colony in a field at the base of the tower and we stopped and watched hundreds of the funny little guys running around, standing on their hind legs, and barking. The girls would have loved it. There was also a very nice KOA within sight of the tower and the prairie dog field. We may have to come back with the trailer as a family.
There is a mile and a half paved trail that circles the base of the tower, and it was fascinating to walk among all the huge columns that have split form the tower and crashed to the base. Nothing to worry about, however, since the field of boulders and columns has taken millions of years to split off and there hasn’t been a known split since the park was established in 1906. We saw some rock climbers scaling the face about ¾ of the way up. Devil's tower was by far my favorite part of an extremely busy day, and we were there at the perfect time of day with the fantastic light and nearly empty park.
We drove to Gillette, Wyoming, found a local BBQ joint for a late dinner and crashed at the hotel. Although we only put a little over 300 miles behind us today, it was an amazing day and we did drive a little over 400 miles while taking in the incredible sights of southwest South Dakota and northeast Wyoming.
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