Deadwood, SD, to Buffalo, WY

The driving trip today was a comfortable 209 miles, and thankfully there were no traumas.  The hardest part was just getting out of the KOA!  The road out was at a more than 10% grade and very narrow.  I made it unscathed, though.  :)

We had decided to hop off of I-90 shortly after crossing into Wyoming, and head a ways north to visit Devils Tower National Monument. 
Devils Tower dominated the horizon as we approached.  As I entered the park, I was asked if I could pull over in a parking area and “car pool” with Pam and Stan as there is very limited RV parking at the Tower.  I did so, and it’s a good thing.  There really is limited parking for RVs.  Even the car parking is limited for a National Park.


Skies were overcast and the sun was not in a good position for pictures, so I didn’t think my photos would turn out very good.

Pam and I decided to try a portion of the Tower Trail.  She has a broken toe, and Stan has back issues, so we weren’t able to do the entire 1.3 mile trail.  The beginning of the trail is very steep, and I was short of breath as we got to the first set of benches.  Since lighting conditions were pretty bad, I wasn’t too interested in continuing, but Pam persuaded me to continue along the trail a little further, and further…  Her foot wasn’t bothering her too bad, so we made it about half way around before we turned back.

During the month of June, the Tower is voluntarily closed to climbing.  The reason for this is that Devils Tower holds spiritual significance to at least seven Native American tribes, and June is  when they hold ceremonies at the tower.  These tribes have always considered this to be a sacred place.  Signs along the trail ask visitors not to disturb the prayer bundles that can be seen in the trees at the base of the tower. 

I can understand why they think this place is sacred.  It is magnificent.  I don’t think climbers should ever be allowed here.  Go find somewhere else to hammer holes into rocks for climbing!  Climbers are not allowed to mess with the great cathedrals of the world, so why should they be allowed to deface this natural cathedral?  Ugh, enough on that.  :(

As we walked along, we noticed that many of the pine trees had big chunks of bark missing low down on the trunks.



It turns out that these are caused by porcupines eating the barks.  Pam wondered if this is how they got their name.  What do you think?  Porcupines….pine bark??  I sure don’t know.





After a little while, there was a break in the clouds that improved picture taking, but you still can’t see the yellow and green hues that are visible in the “columns” of this monolith. 
This is the view from the trail looking out to the land approaching Devils Tower.  I’m thinking, definitely a sacred place…
It’s hard not to take a million pictures of this natural wonder.  :)

The rest of the trip to Buffalo, WY, was wonderfully mundane.  :-)  Snow covered mountains loomed in the distance.  We’ll deal with those tomorrow.  The site at Deer Park Campground was easy to get into, level, not cramped, and set up only took minutes.  Life is good once again.  :)  Tomorrow, we’re on to Cody, WY.

Thanks for stopping by….talk to you later,  Judy   

Deadwood, South Dakota

Deadwood is located in a valley surrounded by the Black Hills of South Dakota.  We hopped the shuttle from the campground this morning that took us to the center of town.  I was surprised to learn that the main street of Deadwood is lined with one after the other of casinos.  I'm not a gambler, so that held little interest for me.  I suggested we take one of the bus tours of the town, and for $8, we had a one hour narrated tour.  Apparently, Deadwood was quite a wild town in the 1870’s!  There were a lot of saloons and bordellos, after gold was discovered in them there hills.

It’s main claim to fame is that this is the locations where James Butler “Wild Bill” Hickok was murdered, in a saloon, in 1876.
The tour included the Mt. Moriah Cemetery, where Wild Bill is buried.  Along side him is the grave of Martha “Calamity Jane” Canary.  Wild Bill died at the age of 39, and Calamity didn’t die for another 27 years, but her final wish was to be buried beside the only love of her life.  Historians seem to think that her claim to be Wild Bill’s sweetheart was a figment of her imagination, but her final wish was granted.  What a woman she was in this rough and tumble wild town!

The picture at the top of this post comes from the cemetery which is located at the top of one of the surrounding hills.
Here’s a shot of my present traveling companions, Pam and Stan, from the same location.  Before we caught the shuttle back to the KOA, we had a discounted lunch buffet at one of the casinos.  It was just okay, and cost $7 each.  Nothing to write home about, though.
We are parked on level two of this four terraced campground.  You can see how we are packed in like sardines!  I guess I’m the only non-white rig here.  :)
  


This is the view of pines and the surrounding hill from the dog run in the campground.  I’m not sure what the flower on the right will turn out to look like.  It seems spring is not as far advanced here in the Black Hills.



We’ll pack up and head out tomorrow morning.  Our plans are to end up in Buffalo, Wyoming, at day’s end.  I hope the trip is not as adventurous as Tuesday’s drive.  :)

Thanks for stopping by….talk to you later,  Judy