Black Hills and Badlands

Devils Tower National Monument

in the Black Hills of WY

In 1906 President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed Devils Tower the first national monument. His action made Wyoming the home of both our first national park, Yellowstone in 1872, and our first national monument.

Driving along the highway to reach Devils Tower you can see it from a long way off rising sharply to its 5112 foot elevation. An easy 1.3 mile trail around the base of the tower gives views of the columns which make up the tower, the boulder field around the base where rocks have fallen to the ground, and the beautiful forest which comes up to one side of the tower.

When we arrived at the tower there was a sudden strong downpour and we sheltered below an information kiosk until the rain let up a bit. We decided to go for the hike and the clouds helped keep us cool from the hot sun. We could hear thunder but the lightning was some ways away. 

 

 

Badlands National Park, SD

From Wyoming we headed east through Rapid City,SD and headed south toward Badlands National Park. Along the way there is an area of dispersed camping just north of the Pinnacles Entrance to the Park.

Here the prairie of Buffalo Gap National Grasslands comes to the edge of the badlands. A dirt road took us along the edge of a steep bluff, dropping away into buttes and valleys stretching as far as we could see. We found a nice spot to enjoy the view for a night...what a place to camp!

From the Pinnacles Entrance we enjoyed a drive along Badlands Loop Road through the vast and varied landscape that makes up the Badlands. We saw Pinnacles, big horn sheep grazing on a butte, mounds of yellow and pink rocks, prairie grasses blowing in the wind, and grand valley views.

 

Monuments and Memorials

 

Crazy Horse Monument

Sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski was invited by Chief Henry Standing Bear to come to the Black Hills to carve Crazy Horse. Korczak accepted the contract and began the carving in 1948. He would spend the rest of his lifetime working on this project. He married and raised 10 children, some of whom are still involved in completing the sculpture according to their father’s plans.

Mount Rushmore National Memorial

We had been to Mt Rushmore close to 30 years ago but for a short visit. It was nice to schedule more time to spend on this visit. Another afternoon thunder storm met us as we arrived and turned us back from a hike along the Presidential Trail, a .6 mile walk along the base of the mountain. We retreated with all the other visitors to the stores and cafe to wait out the storm. After some snacks the rain let up and we headed back to the trail to enjoy great close views of the mountain side sculpture. We finished the trail in a second downpour, and rolling thunder!

The memorial has great exhibits that cover the making of the memorial and the history of our nation. It was an inspiring afternoon!

See you all later on our Adventures on the Road!