Many Faces of America

Day 35 - June 9th

After breakfast at the hotel, we left Buffalo, WY, and drove the long drive to Rapid City, SD, making several stops along the way. 

We saw different kinds of trains along the way as well as some tepees, just standing all alone in a field. They raised our curiosity, but we had no idea of the stories behind both of these sights. However, that's all there was that was out of the ordinary. We drove an uneventful drive for about 2 hours. 

National Historic Site #27 - Devils Tower National Monument
Then we arrived at Devils Tower. What a sight! You could see it from miles away. It raised majestically into the sky, like it was stretching towards heaven. 

We were greeted by prairie dogs as we drove around the back of the Tower to get to the Visitor Center. It was like watching Whack-A-Mole, with all of their little heads popping up and then disappearing. We wanted to jump out and play, but we knew we could come back to do that, so we continued on.

We went to the Visitor Center and learned a little more about Devils Tower. It was named the country's first national monument by Theodore Roosevelt in 1905. Roosevelt really liked hearing that fact.  





Devils Tower is so tall. It stands about 867 feet from its base to the summit. Its base is quite a long walk uphill from the ground.

Many of the Plains Indians had legends about Devils Tower. The Kiowas once camped on a stream where many bears could be seen. One day some little girls were playing away from the village and bears began to chase them. As the girls ran, the bears got closer until the girls jumped on a low rock. One of the girls prayed to the rock, "Rock, take pity on us--Rock, save us." The 3 foot high rock heard the prayer and began to elongate itself upward, pushing the little girls higher and higher out of the reach of the bears. When the bears jumped at them, they scratched the rock, broke their claws, and fell back to the grounds. The rock continued to push the girls upward into the sky while the bears jumped at them. The children are still in the sky (7 little stars in a group called the Pleiades). According to the legend, the marks of the bears' claws may be seen on the side of the rock.

Many people try to climb Devils Tower each year. We watched several climbers on their attempt. Richard and Dean saw 1 actually climbing, but we didn't get pictures. We did capture them as they found a shady spot part way up the tower. We didn't stay to see if their climb was successful, but hope that it was. Usually, the average climbers take about 4-6 hours to climb up when working in pairs, and about 1-2 hours to rappel down. The fastest climber on record, Todd Skinner, climbed it alone, without ropes or protection, in 18 minutes.

 Before we left, we had to stop and watch the prairie dogs a little longer. They were so cute and so social. Even Roosevelt got in on the fun! Although it was hard, we had to fight the urge to feed them or try to get too friendly. We kept our distance and just watched.

We left Devils Tower after eating ice cream at the little general store on the way out and mailing a prairie dog postcard to Lucas at the Devils Tower Post Office. He and his papa have a connection with each other about prairie dogs. 

As we were driving, a deer crossed right in front of the car. Fortunately, Richard was able to stop in time. We traveled on and saw some really interesting sights.

We drove through the town of Alva. It had a population of 50. We had to be careful not to blink. or we would have missed it.

We continued on and came upon the city of Aladdin with its population of 15. We stopped at the General Store, which was 112 years old. The sign on the front door said the town was for sale. We loved the $1,500,000 price tag. The General Store WAS the town!  It was quite interesting inside with a bar, groceries, antiques, clothing, and much, much more! We needed gas, but the old pump didn't show the price. Dean went inside and paid $20 while Richard pumped the gas. Since we didn't know the price, Dean thought it would give us enough to get us to a bigger town. Once we got back on the road, we were surprised to see the tank had gone from driving on fumes to a full tank. We don't know if we cheated the store or got the best deal ever! We were quite entertained by the uniqueness of this tiny town.

State #13 - South Dakota
It wasn't long before we crossed into South Dakota. 

We continued on and decided to stop at Sturgis since it was right on our way to Rapid City. We hadn't had lunch yet and figured they would have to have lots of places to eat since they have such huge biker crowds each year. We were right! We chose to eat at The Bank Saloon in honor of Dean's occupation. It was under new ownership so things were still being renovated...the story of our trip. The day's special was a barbecue pork sandwich, chips, and a soda for $3.00. We couldn't beat that! It was delicious so that was a double bonus! We explored the town a little before moving on to Rapid City.

Before we got to Rapid City, we passed Black Hills National Cemetery. We decided to stop and drive through. It was beautifully maintained and very striking with the green grass and white markers. We spent time reading some of the markers, determining in which wars the veterans had served. We are thankful for all who serve to keep us free.

After having some reflection moments, we continued driving. Soon, we arrived at our hotel in Rapid City. We had planned to stay at the brand new Residence Inn. However, Dean had received an email about 2 weeks earlier that said it would not be ready in time for our dates due to high rainfall delaying construction. They had already made arrangements on our behalf with the Fairfield Inn close-by to give us adjoining rooms with a living room area for the same price. We had reserved a two bedroom suite originally with Residence Inn. They were very accommodating, even giving us a handwritten note from the Fairfield Assistant Manager the next morning under the door. He offered anything they could do to make our stay more comfortable. That was a first for us! We decided to take a breather and rest for a little bit. Robin called her brother, Hal, to wish him a happy birthday. It was great to talk with both he and his wife, Jane.

After an hour or so, we left to go to Mount Rushmore for the evening program. It had been raining, so the temperature was very comfortable. We walked through the flag display as we made our way back to the amphitheater. A Park Ranger was walking around the crowd, talking to people who were waiting for the program to begin at dusk. We found a seat and just marveled at the view of the mountain. It was so amazing! The faces were such perfect representations of the famous men. Finally, the program began. There was a wonderful movie about America and the famous faces. Then, the Park Ranger asked for all veterans to come to the stage. As they made their way to the stage, the crowd was quiet. The Park Ranger handed one of the veterans a microphone and asked him to tell his name, branch of military, and how long he served. The veteran complied and then was instructed to pass the microphone along until all of the veterans had a turn. It was very interesting to see the range of branches and service. There were even teenage siblings who stood up to honor their father who was killed in action. Once completed, everyone sang God Bless America. Then, about 8 of the veterans participated in taking down the flag for the night and folding it. As if the viewing of Mount Rushmore wasn't enough, the whole evening was very moving. We felt extremely blessed to live in the land of the free and the home of the brave.

We drove back to the hotel, a little hungry, but full from the feelings of pride in America. Food could wait until the morning. We were ready for bed.