More than just the Tower

2 Sep 2006 – There is more to the area than the monument. We have been seeing prairie dogs for some time but have not really been close enough to take photos with our small camera. Here they appear to ignore people entirely! Then there are the golf courses; this one is about 4000 feet above sea level and the scenery is better than it looks in the photos. In addition, the tower is visible from several of the holes.


 

More Devils Tower

2 Sep 2006 – A bit more about the monument appears to be in order. I have changed the size of the photos so perhaps you can read the sign with monument info; if not you might find http://www.outdoorplaces.com/Destination/USNP/WYDevTow/dtnm1.htm
of interest. It does not exactly tell you what the sign does, but….. Another photo gives a graphic of the six sided nature of the rock and I have included a shot that shows how much red soil is found in one of the layers around the area. Finally, I include just one more of several different views of the tower we captured.


 

South Dakota

2 Sept 2006 - We have finally left South Dakoto after a most pleasant visit. We were very, very impressed with this state, especially the Black Hills. We had no idea what to expect from the state and ended up loving it. Sioux Falls had its special charm but the Black Hills scenery won hands down. If any of you are looking for a place to visit and you like great views, looking for wildlife and friendly folks you should consider the Black Hills of South Dakota. Of course, we have not been able to compare it to Wyoming yet!! Stay tuned.

Devil's Monument

2 Sept 2006 - We are staying in Sundance which is farther from Devils' Tower than we would have liked but live and learn. The drive out is scenic and the view as you approach the monument is fantastic. You can see the monument for several miles and it just gets more impressive as you get closer. Message of the photos is the dramatic size, the classic car show in progress today, the way the rock 'rounds out' at the bottom in some places and the pile of rubble from 'falling rock' in the past and finally, how the monument is made up of many six-sided columns. Yes, the channels you see are each individual columns of rock and they continue to fall off the monument. Although not visible in the photos, there are some 50 climbers on the rock today. For the record, there have been only some 4 deaths in over 60 years of climbing and there are about 2500 climbers per year.


 

Deadwood, SD

30 Aug 06 – We continued on to the town of Deadwood. Its claim-to-fame is being the burial place of Wild Bill Hicok and Calamity Jane (side-by-side at her request) and numerous gambling casinos. We had lunch in one of the casinos, passed on the gambling and visited ‘boot hill’. The final photo is back at Spearfish City Campground where we stayed with this small stream for our neighbor. This was my view as I spoke to Dale Admire, a friend from Lebanon. Next stop is Sundance, WY and Devil’s Tower National Monument.


 

Spearfish Falls, SD

30 Aug 06 – Driving on down US 14A you reach a Lodge/Restaurant where there has been an ‘Inn’ for some 100 years. The original building deteriorated too much to be rebuilt so a new building was built of Ponderosa Pine cut locally. It is now a visitor’s center and restaurant. An easy walk of ¾ mile takes you to Spearfish Falls. Photos are along the road, at the falls and the hills surrounding the river at this point. Signs describing the vegetation along the walk were appreciated. It was the first time I remember seeing birch and aspen in the same locality and the 200 year old Ponderosa Pine were straight and tall!


 

Spearfish Canyon SD

30 Aug 06 – We drove up to Spearfish yesterday through some more beautiful Black Hills country past Lake Pactola which must have been 30 feet below ‘normal’! The drought is really bad in this part of the country. Spearfish is only about 10,000 people but appears much larger – perhaps influenced by Black Hills State University being here. They tell us this is the largest university in the state. Today we drove through Spearfish Canyon which has been a couple of million years in the making. The first photo is Bridal Vail Falls (visible from the road), the second is Spearfish River below an old Hydro-electric plant and the last two are views from Highway 14A as you drive toward Deadwood.