Gone, Way Long Gone: Devil's Tower, Crazy Horse, Mt Rushmore

We woke up in the shadow of Devils Tower National Monument at the Devils Tower / Black Hills KOA campground.

Devils Tower is America's first national monument, established in 1906 by Teddy Roosevelt. Many people recognize its iconic shape from the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind, which was filmed on-site in 1976.

We broke camp and drove to the visitor center (closed due to Covid-19) where we parked while hiking the Tower Trail. This popular 1.3 mile paved walkway around the base of the Tower gave us close-up views of the Tower and the boulder field, as well as sweeping views of the surrounding landscape. The Tower itself is a very impressive geological formation. It makes you want to keep looking at it!

It was interesting to see many cloth ribbons and small cloth bundles attached to the trees. These are Native American prayer cloths, placed ceremoniously to represent the spiritual connection many tribes have with the Tower.

Good morning!

Devils Tower

beautiful vistas from the base of Devils Tower

valley view from the base of Devils Tower

Can't get enough pictures of that incredible rock!

cute inhabitants of prairie dog town
seen as we left the national monument

Devils Tower dominates the surrounding landscape

After enjoying the majesty and beauty of the Tower, we had a long scenic drive through the Black Hills of Wyoming and South Dakota. At 2:00pm we arrived at the Crazy Horse Memorial, located near Custer SD. We ate a late lunch in the camper, then toured the art gallery and museum. While we certainly appreciate the significance and importance of such a memorial, I have to admit it was a bit disappointing and sort of pricey. First, they have a LONG way to go on the carved memorial. Second, we've seen better Native American museums. And finally, the art gallery exhibited work of contemporary artists, which was all well and good. It's just that we were expecting more historic art.

on the road

beautiful landscapes

Crazy Horse Memorial in the distance

We continued on to Mount Rushmore National Memorial. Neither of us had ever visited this memorial before. It was impressive to see those 60' high carved granite faces looking down on us. Quick! Can you name the four US presidents who are depicted in stone?? George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. We enjoyed learning about the sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, and all about the making of the memorial. Completed in 1941, the carving is impressive. It's worth a visit.

Mt Rushmore

We continued on to Wall, SD, home of Wall Drug Store , which we dubbed the western South of the Border and did not visit. (North and South Carolinians will understand that reference.) We gassed up the vehicle and picked up a few groceries before driving out to the Badlands boondocking location, a dispersed camping area located in the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands, 3 miles north of the Pinnacles entrance to Badlands National Park. It's an incredible place to set up camp... on the wall overlooking the Badlands. Wow!

We chose a place to park and set up the camper. Then we poured ourselves a glass of wine and walked out across the grasslands, toward the setting sun. The meadowlarks sang. The coyotes yapped. The stars came out. It was a peaceful end to an active day.