Woke up to sunshine today but it was chilly. Got up to take a shower and then broke down campsite. Made a PB&J sandwich with leftover bread from last night. On the road by 8:15 am.
First stop Deadwood, South Dakota. Walked around there for a few minutes. Wild Bill Hickok was killed here in Deadwood.
Onto Devil's Tower, where Close Encounters of the Third Kind was filmed in 1976. The legend- one day, an Indian tribe was camped beside the river and seven small girls were playing at a distance. the region had a large bear population and a bear began to chase the girls. They ran back toward their village, but the bear was about to catch them. The girls jumped upon a rock about three feet high and began to pray, "rock take pity on us. rock save us." The rock heard the pleas of the young girls and began to elongate itself upwards, pushing them higher and higher out of reach of the bear. The bear clawed and jumped at the sides of the rock and broke its claws and fell to the ground. The bear continued to jump at the rock until the girls were pushed up into the sky, where they are to this day in a group of seven little stars (the Pleiades). The marks of the bear claws are there yet."
In 1906, President Teddy Roosevelt designated Devil's Tower as the nations first national monument. It is actually the core of a volcano exposed after millions of years of erosion brought on by the Belle Fourche river and the weather. The rocks and boulders around the base of the tower are actually broken pieces of columns having fallen from the sides.
We saw two climbers on the Tower. They were doing what they call "free climbing" and they had safety harnesses on but were using their hands and feet which they wedge into the rock instead of using tools.
God's country sure is a beautiful one. Dave has been wanting to see Devils Tower since he saw the movie and he says it's more magnificent than he thought it would be.
As we were driving on 1-90 to Hardin, MT today, we saw signs that said "road closed when flashing" Could you imagine closing Route 81? I know it has happened before but this state has gates that close that don't allow you to travel at your own risk. It makes sense though because when you are driving and the wind is high, like it was again today, and you add snow to that mixture, it would be very hazardous driving conditions. There is nothing to stop it - just empty plains. Heard on the radio that Casper, WY was going to have a wind advisory - up to 65 mph - but that is to the south of where we are going.
You can see for miles in this wide open country. The state motto is "Big Sky Country". No trees, just hills and valleys. Beautiful scenery.
We crossed into Montana from Wyoming and the Crow Indian Reservation was on our left and the Cheyenne Indian Reservation was on our right.
Our destination for this evening is Hardin, MT. Will go visit Little Bighorn Battlefield tomorrow and make our way toward Yellowstone.
No comments:
Post a Comment