On
return to the park we find that because Chuck qualifies for senior status we
get a $10 pass to all the national parks entry and half off camping. What a deal!
We stop at the short hiking trails and view the various spires and
shapes of the eroded rock and canyons.
It is hard to do it justice. It
must be how the moon looks without the occasional shrub. We meet up with a couple from the RV group,
they say people are stopping them and asking what is going on with all these
Alaska RV’s. We meet a couple from
Alden, New York; Chuck shared a few Buffalo stories with them. The temperature is rising to near 90, it is a
very dry heat and the plants are dessert type plants. We stop at the park lodge and see the
beautiful Lakota Indian artwork and crafts.
We drive on to Interior, the oldest town in the badlands mostly Native
population. It’s very sparse with old
buildings. One of the Native Tribes operates a portion of the park; it is an
interesting relationship that seems to work. It is an incredible site, the valley is
huge. We know there are bison out there
but can’t see them. We pass a huge wild
prairie dog village, wild turkeys, vultures, and prong horn sheep. We pass acres of original prairie
grassland. It’s a very fragile
environment. We complete the loop road stopping occasionally at the viewing
points. We pass by Wall and Wall Drug this time. Only we finally understand the
name Wall. The town is atop the ‘wall’
of land preceding the large erosion areas of the badlands.
On to
Rapid City on I90. Lots of crops and
cattle and a few abandoned prairie homes. Don’t know how the soil supports it
all. We can see mountains in the distance. The wind is as fierce as we remember. We bypass Rushmore this time but still have
the same winds. We meander through the
Black Hills National Forest, covered in Ponderosa pine that is so thick it
makes the hills black. Black Hills gold
is mined here. It’s very distinctive,
green, pink and gold colors. There are
still some snow piles under trees. We
arrive at Deadwood. This very narrow
valley is the historic home of silver mining. It looks like someone dropped
dynamite on the hills. Dead trees are scattered
everywhere. It’s not because it’s named
Deadwood, but in the last decade or so, a pine beetle has invaded and killed
the trees. Deadwood has a reputation for past gambling and murders. Wild Bill Hickok was murdered here. Famous Boot Hill cemetery is here with names
of past luminaries. The road is too
narrow to take the RV so we don’t go.
When the railroad left and silver mining slowed it was almost a ghost
town. Citizens of South Dakota voted to
fund revitalizing the town as an historic area.
They also voted to allow gambling with a $100.00 limit. The visitor’s center is an old depot and we
walk the main street. It is filled with
old hotels and gift shops. Every hotel
and restaurant has a gambling casino in front.
We stop at Kevin Costner’s Midnight Star hotel and lose two dollars in
the slots. He also has a center that
offers shows on the history of the Native Americans and the buffalo. He filmed Dances with Wolves nearby. It remains very warm so we have to eat some
ice cream.
We
travel up I90 West, the land changes and it becomes obvious that we are nearing
Wyoming. The land turns red and buttes
appear. We cut off for Devil’s Tower
National Monument, thank your Teddy Roosevelt.
It is sunny and hot. Lots of
ranching, black pines and then all of a sudden up pops the Tower. It is so incredible. Remember Close
Encounters of the Third Kind. Lava tube DT
is joined by lesser renowned Little Missouri Buttes nearby. We can’t stop taking pictures and there are
red rock canyons on the sides of the road.
The campground in the park is in a valley at the foot of the Tower with
the Belle Fourche River running through.
It is 92 degrees as we pull in, the RV is an oven. We open up to air out and take off on short
walk through the wild prairie dog village.
They are not happy with us and squeak and squeal and bat the ground with
their tails. There are hundreds of
them. Their holes are everywhere and
they duck in when we pass. This is early
spring, the trees are not bloomed. Our camp space looks up at the Tower and the
river runs beside us. We have another
salad and chicken dinner. As the sun
sets the temperature drops significantly.
It will be good sleeping tonight.
Large catfish are active in the river.
We see a buffalo chase off a horse on a neighboring farm. It’s really strange.
Still taking pictures because the light changes
the Tower, luckily we have nearly clear skies.
The moon arrives.
It’s time to sleep with the RV cooled.
Good night!
Tomorrow is another day.
Miles: 225
Travel hours with stops: 9 hours
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