Whew! A 512 mile day. Very long and wonderful. On the road by 7:30 am so we could be at Devils Tower, WY by the 9 am opening time. Cold this morning, low 40s. Both of us agreed that Devils Tower was one of the most spectacular natural sites we have ever seen.
You are just in awe standing at the base and looking up. It is a really beautiful National monument park. Factoid: DT was the first designated national monument. Polarfleece morning hike. Only a handful of hearty folks were there. Totally refreshing. DT should be on your list. The Prairie Dog meadow is a hoot to boot. Lots of smiles.
We then hit the road and lunched in Spearfish SD and then on to Deadwood. We loved Deadwood as it really looked frozen in wild west time. The setting in a very narrow deep canyon is unique and beautiful. Not at all like the barren flat plain sets of the HBO series of the same name.
We spent all of 5 minutes at the Crazy Horse monument area south of Deadwood. Great in concept. But not worth a special trip. Maybe when finished many years from now.
We backtracked from CH to Mount Rushmore on state 244. An astoundingly beautiful experience. We were lucky to have all clear sunny days so far and this midday experience was just so brilliant.
The bright yellow leaves on the trees on the winding road in back of the monument were amazing. The rounded rock formations looked like giant grey stone baguettes standing on end. This drive should be on your list. Several years back a wonderful museum, bookstore / café and stately plaza promenade were added in front of the amphitheater and monument. Dignified. Elevating. Grand-scale. We both were very impressed. We sat down and examined the faces with binoculars once we made it through the promenade.
Would have missed that Teddy Roosevelt has his spectacles on otherwise. Wonderful.
Then we hit the road to Mitchell at 4 pm. Fred drove on 90 in the dark (mostly) through this most desolate part of SD. Arrived Mitchell 9:30 PM. (Note to Robyn: Fred drove Murano for 300 miles). Would never drive that after dark again. We made a pact not to drive at night again on the journey. Any journey.
Motel overrun with hunters in camouflage gear with neon-orange highlights. Bad news for pheasants.
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