We checked out of the Hickok Hotel and departed Deadwood at 9:00 am. On the way out of town, we stopped to take a photo of the Adams House Museum we visited upon our arrival in town two days ago. A Victorian era Queen Ann. Much like many we had in Salt Lake City.
The drive up into Wyoming was pleasant with a clear blue sky. It was only 75 miles from Deadwood to the Devil's Tower. This is the first US National Monument. Wyoming has both the first National Monument and the first National Park (Yellowstone). We took the path around the entire monument, only 1.3 miles and photographic it from all sides. The monument was very impressive, but what really impressed me is that, while the current monument is 867 feet above the current surface, when it was formed, the magma forming it never made it to the surface which was another 1.5 miles above it. Erosion has since exposed it.
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| The monument 14 miles away |
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| Close to the park entrance |
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| Buffalo and Long Horns in pasture around the monument |
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| Native American Prayer "bundles" |
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| Looking out on the Belle Fourche River valley |
There were numerous climbers scaling the tower. It is hard to see them in the photos, but we actually met a group which had just come back down. They said it was an incredible view.
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| Two climbers in the center of the photo, about 2/3 the way up the tower |
On the way out of the park, we stopped at the prairie dog town. They were everywhere.
Instead of heading back south to I-90, we continued north on Wyoming State Highway 112. Over the next 90 miles, we did not see a single vehicle (except for one ATM which should not have been on the highway anyway). It was a fun and scenic drive. Then we got on US 212 which ultimately brought us back to I-90.
Just before reaching I-90, we stumbled upon the site of the Little Big Horn Monument National Monument (Custer's Last Stand). Using our senior pass, we drove through the monument. They had placed cemetery markers at the known locations where soldiers had fallen. I was amazed at the distance over which the battle had taken place, over one mile. The National Monument also includes the Custer National Cemetery.
Upon departure from the Little Big Horn, we got back on I-90 and proceeded to Billings. Once there, we diverted to the prehistoric Pictographic Cave State Park, just outside Billings. This site has cave drawings dating back 12,000 years. They were hard to see and are fading with time, but it was interesting.
T tells me that today we walked 3.5 miles and climbed the equivalent of 41 flights of stairs. Not nearly equivalent to what we did on our Mediterranean cruise this past spring, but we are at an elevation of ~4,000 feet.
