Leslie Across the USA

West to Wyoming...and then back to South Dakota!

I woke up to a bright and crisp sunny day at the Devils Tower KOA "Kampground." Both Kate and I were tired; we had spent the previous night looking up at the amazing star show that the sky provided. I saw a few shooting stars, and the sky was so clear, you could see the milky way. It was gorgeous. After breakfast, Kate and I went up to Devils Tower, where I learned why there is no apostrophe in the name of the monument. Apparently, it was a clerical error that was never rectified, and that annoys me. But, I am glad to learn that the National Park Service is aware of the grammatical error, even if they don't bother correcting it.
It was so cool to see the tower in all its glory in the daylight, especially after seeing the movie. It's really tall, and you just can't miss it from anywhere you look, since Wyoming is so flat. It's made of lots of columns of rock, and it is ideal for a difficult and dangerous rock climb. There were several rock climbers that day, but it made me a little uncomfortable that people would climb it. Local Indian tribes consider Devils Tower sacred, and they have asked that people refrain from climbing. As a compromise, the National Park Service bans climbing in the month of June, which is when the local tribes hold religious ceremonies there to honor the tower. Still, this didn't stop some climbers from suing (unsuccessfully) the National Park Service saying that their right to climb supersedes the Indians' wishes. Oh well, welcome to America, folks.
We hiked around the base of the tower, which even though it wasn't really uphill, was still a good workout. Then I decided to follow Kate back to South Daktoa to finish up the Black Hills.
We stopped for lunch in Deadwood, which was founded illegally by miners in the 1800s. They love to play up their outlaw heritage (Wild Bill Hickock was killed here), and the first restaurant Kate and I walked in to was a big casino full of slot machines. We soon discovered that just about everything in Deadwood is a casino, even the souvenir shops. We managed to find some food at Wild Bill's Saloon, and then we strolled the streets, occasionally making way for some shady looking men (we assume they were in costume) with guns strapped to their waists and chaps on their legs. On our way out, we tried a 25 cent slot and won $1.50! I wanted to play again, of course, but we lost the next time. We quit while we were ahead, so now I am one dollar richer!
We pressed on back to the Black Hills and Custer State Park, where I wanted to see the Wildlife Loop where the buffalo roam and the deer and the antelope play. And of course, I was not disappointed. I did see buffalo and deer and antelope and prairie dogs and donkeys and bunnies! It took us a while to find the wildlife, but when we did, boy was it ever cool! The buffalo were amazing - so huge and RIGHT THERE! They just walked wherever they wanted in the road, and a few times, Kate and I were afraid they were going to ram the cars. They burp and grunt all the time, and it smells horrific, but I was so fascinated. I took a ton of pictures (see above).
Then, Kate and I parted ways, and I headed to Hot Springs, South Dakota, for the night. All the restaurants and shops were closed, so it was Dairy Queen for dinner. Dairy Queen is everywhere here. It really hit the spot, and then I crawled into bed for my last night in the wild, wild west. It was south to Colorado tomorrow, via Wyoming once again. Finally, I would be in Boulder, my final destination before heading back! (photos: Kate and me at our "Kabin", Devils Tower, and buffalo!)

posted by Leslie @ 3:26 AM