Time for More Unplanned Stops

As we prepared to leave Scotts Bluff, we had a decision to make, i.e. where to go??? I think that I had mentioned that the only reservation that I made in advance was for 4 nights at a campground in Rapid City, SD so that we could visit Mount Rushmore, which was our main destination for this trip. I didn’t want to go there over a holiday so we planned to get there on the Tuesday after Memorial Day. Well, it was only Friday, the start of the holiday weekend and we had no plans.

We considered going to see Yellowstone but there were a couple of negatives to that idea. The main one was the same reason we weren’t heading to Mount Rushmore for the weekend. It would be too crowded being a holiday weekend. The other reason was it was simply too far away to get there, spend a reasonable amount of time and get back in time for our reservation in Rapid City.

So I looked for some place to visit that was a bit closer and maybe wouldn’t be too crowded. We chose to drive back into Wyoming and head towards Devils Tower National Monument. Close Encounters, right?? I was surprised when Tim said he never saw that movie. We definitely have to watch it sometime soon. Since it was almost lunchtime when we left Nebraska, we decided to travel close to the monument, spend the night and see it in the morning.

Heading north through Wyoming, we didn’t pass very many towns so we were a little worried about finding a place to spend the night and get something to eat. Even though we didn’t see many towns, it was another enjoyable scenic drive across the prairie and plains. We discovered that Sundance, WY was just a little south of the monument and had a couple local motels and restaurants so we headed that way.

It was a quaint small western town and we got lucky that the motel with the best ratings had a room available. It was an older motel but clean and comfortable so we were happy with the stay. While in Sundance, we walked around town, and learned that the Sundance Kid took his name from this town. It was the only place where he served time in jail. He served 18 months for stealing a horse. So much fun accidentally coming across interesting tidbits of history.

view from the road

After a good nights sleep and great breakfast at a local diner, we headed to the park. The motel was fine with us leaving the van there while we visited the monument, so we got to ride together in the truck. As we were driving towards the park, the tower appeared at times as we rounded bends in the road. The closer we got the bigger it seemed to be, and our excitement increased.

Devils Tower is impressive to see. This massive tower is 867 feet high and rises dramatically upward from the prairie. The tower is made from molten rock that pushed up through the softer sedimentary rock and then cooled. The Native Americans had an interesting legend of a giant bear leaving claw marks in the rock surface as it chased a group of girls up the tower. In reality, the ridges forming columns in the rock surface is the result of geological processes; as the molten rock cooled and contracted, the ridges formed.

view from the visitor’s center

view as you head up the trail to the base of the tower

The site is sacred to many Native American tribes and there are many prayer offerings (colorful cloths) left at the base. This is a popular rock climbing spot but we didn’t see anyone climbing the day we were there. It was late morning and the sun was a bit high in the sky which made it difficult to get good pictures. It seemed that every time that I looked up, the sun was glaring on the rocks and in my eyes. I hope you enjoy the shots that I was able to get.

Prayer cloths were tied to trees at the base of the tower. look at the giant boulder field that is also at the base of the tower.

After leaving Devils Tower, we picked up the van and headed towards South Dakota. Another decision to make, where to spend the rest of the weekend. Tim had mentioned wanting to see Deadwood and Sturgis so we headed towards Deadwood since it was a little closer than Sturgis.

I wasn’t sure if we would find a place to stay with it being a holiday weekend and Tim preferred a hotel to camping in the van. Well, Deadwood was smaller than I expected with just a few narrow streets through a busy area. It was hard to find a place to park with 2 bigger vehicles but we lucked out. The first place we stopped at had a room, but not enough space to park our vehicles. They recommended the Mineral Palace Hotel just a block down the street. We headed there and I think that we got the last room they had available for Saturday and Sunday nights. Luckily, the truck fit in their lot across the street, and they moved the van for us down to a lot they had at the edge of town where they had room for larger vehicles.

For the most part, everything in Deadwood was within walking distance of our hotel, so we didn’t need our vehicles during our stay. After checking in and unloading, we walked up the street in time to catch a gunfight re-enactment on Main Street. This town is quite the place, you can really see how it was during the heyday of the gold rush and the lawlessness that existed then. Today, just about every business on Main Street offers a souvenir/gift shop, gambling hall, saloon/bar and restaurant. I knew that tourism was the main business but did not realize that it had mini-casinos at every turn.

watching the gun fight show in the street

deadwood

More to come on Deadwood, Sturgis and the Black Hills in the next post…………