Good Morning Friends!
After all the fun on the road yesterday, we slept in this morning and didn’t leave the hotel until (gasp!) 10:30!! We are headed to Deadwood, South Dakota today with a few sights along the way.
Paul and I have been fortunate to have visited South Dakota years ago so we don’t feel compelled to “redo” some of the places there that we would normally stop at. Just so you know, if you travel there, be sure to go to Mt Rushmore, Crazy Horse, the Badlands, the Black Hills, etc.
Ok. On the road again. I haven’t mentioned the dry air yet. For a girl born and raised in South Louisiana’s humidity this is quite different! On the plus side, my hair has never been so straight and frizz-free. Negatives-dry skin, dry sinuses, just overall DRYNESS. So we try to stay hydrated and drink plenty of water. Which also means plenty of “stops”. Just outside of Billings we spy a rest area and decide to take advantage of the facilities. This is the sign we saw there.
I don’t need to go so bad after all. š³
We stopped for lunch in Sheridan, WY at the Visitor Center. Check out our view!
The sky really is this blue!
There are so many antelope along the road today. These two were just waiting to have their picture taken.
Time to get off the interstate and hit the back roadsā¦
I said earlier that we weren’t going to repeat things wellā¦ some things just can’t be passed up! Like Devils Tower National Monument.
You get off the interstate and first the landscape looks like this:
Then it changes to this:
Then suddenly you round a curve and see something in the distance:
Devils Tower is huge! It was an important landmark for Plains Indians. There are several legends that describe the origin of Devils Tower. My favorite is the one that tells about seven little girls being chased onto a low rock to escape from attacking bears, the claws of the leaping bears left marks in the sides of the rock as it was growing toward the sky. The girls prayers had been answered! But the rock grew so high that the girls reached the sky where they were changed into the constellation Pleiades (Seven Sisters).
The tower is 1267 feet tall and 1 mile around. It was formed as a result of magma being forced up from the surface of the Earth where it cooled and hardened. Ancient rivers washed away about 1.5 miles of softer layers around the Tower. Erosion is still wearing away the igneous rock of Devils Tower.
The first documented white men saw Devil’s Tower in 1859. Wonder what they thought!
Here are a few pictures:
Who are these old people?
Devils Tower National Monument
There were tons of wildlife along the road! This one posed so cute for me.
Gotta love riding on the back roads!
We just happened to see this 123 year old General Store in Aladdin, WY. It looked so intriguing we had to check it out. Snacks, drinks, liquor, tshirts, clothing, old stuff, you name it they had it. We even checked out the upstairs which I don’t mind telling you creaked ALOT and kind of freaked me out. Somebody is going to fall through the floor up there one day, just glad it wasn’t me. It really was an interesting place and is for sale if you’re interested. (But I think liability insurance is probably out of the question. š)
Aladdin General Store, Aladdin, Wyoming, established 1890
Now to Spearfish Canyon. Such a beautiful remote little canyon. We loved it!
Bridal Veil Falls, Spearfish Canyon, South Dakota
Almost in Lead, SD and look what we saw!
It isn’t everyday you see Lincoln on the side of the road!
We have arrived in Deadwood, SD.
Looks like they want to be a little Vegas in the mountains with all the casinos. Paul and I got a bite for dinner and headed to the hotel.
Tomorrow is another day!
Hold on, I'll tell you! 