At the risk of sounding like a broken record…I’m having a wonderful time. The disappointment over losing Africa this summer is a distant memory as I immerse myself in this trip.
A couple days ago, I left Medora and made the just under 4-hour drive to Devil’s Tower, Wyoming. It wasn’t a long drive but it was tough. Storms were blowing in and the side winds battered Rosie every moment. Occasional gusts tried hard to force us off the road. It made driving very unrelaxing as I had to fight the constant wind and stay fully braced for the gust that would happen at any moment.
Although the driving part wasn’t fun, I had two marvelous stops that made it all better. First, when I stopped for gas, I saw a sign for Prairie Fire Pottery. I thought, it’s a short drive today, I have time for that. I followed the trail of signs to the pottery shop. Small, authentic, and filled with interesting pieces, I wandered for a bit and then started picking up items to buy. Ooh, this garlic thing is cool. I want one of these. Oh, and my sister would like one too. Oh, and this tray would go great with the garlic thing. I can use it for dinner parties…serve garlic oil in the little dish and use the matching tray for bread bites. Then I saw the “bread bowl” with a recipe for wheat bread you bake right in the bowl. That sounds fun to try, I want that too. They had more than just the hand-made pottery and I picked up a few more things for my sister, husband, and nephews. I got to see the back area when I used their restroom…pottery studio, storage for lots of beautiful pieces, and an old timey kitchen with appliances from the 1930’s. Every part of this road stop was thoroughly enjoyable.
About halfway through the drive, I made another stop. I had used the google maps feature and searched for “attractions” along my planned route. I saw Medicine Rocks State Park and thought it sounded neat. I wasn’t wrong. I made a nice lunch and took a walk through the rock formations before getting back on the road.
When I arrived at Devil’s Tower, I selected my camp spot at the Devil’s Tower/Black Hills KOA based on the best views.
Then I headed over to the second-best reason for camping there…the nightly outdoor showing of Spielberg’s first big hit, Close Encounters of the Third Kind. If you don’t know, the movie features Devil’s Tower and much of the movie was filmed in the actual campground. For that reason, they show the movie every night at 8:00. They even sell popcorn….fo 50 cents!! The movie is shown with Devil’s Tower in the background. It just doesn’t get cooler than that.
Yesterday morning, I went into the Devil’s Tower National Monument to hike around. Did you know that Devil’s Tower is the FIRST national monument? Designated as such in 1906 by Theodore Roosevelt.
The hike was spectacular…
See that picture with the tiny white van in the lower left corner…that’s my Rosie. She always waits patiently when I go off hiking. She’s kind of a Prima-Donna about hiking…she only goes with me when the trail is wide and paved. But if Rosie could talk…she would say she likes that picture because she feels a little self-conscious about her size sometimes…and that big-assed mountain makes her look little!
Oh, and they have an amazing sculpture in the park by a Japanese artist named Junkyu Muto. He did three sculptures as part of an International Peace Project where he placed his artwork in spiritually significant places around the world. The other two are in Vatican City (Rome) and in Bodh Gaya India (where the Buddha sat under a Bodhi tree and achieved enlightenment). What is really cool…is that I’ve been to both of those places!! Except, I was there before he did these sculptures. Anyway…the area of Devil’s Tower was considered a very spiritual place to native peoples for hundreds of years. For the Lakota people, this is where White Buffalo Calf Woman delivered the first sacred pipe to the Lakota people.
The ring of white marble represents the smoke from this pipe and was placed to encircle the monolith. Wow. The white marble and black granite base are sourced from the Fantiscritti Quarry in Italy, where Michelangelo got the marble for David. The two large stones at the base are from the Crazy Horse Monument (which is nearby). I felt awestruck by the imagery, symbolism and significance of this piece.
And the prairie dogs were too cute. I was watching this one digging out his house and nuzzling noses with friends…when he started chirping out a danger alarm. At first, I couldn’t figure out what spooked him…and then I turned around. I died laughing.
The end of my hike had me wading through tall grasses, so overgrown I could barely make out the trail. What creeped me out was the GIANT caterpillars hanging everywhere in the grass I waded through. As cool as they are to look at…I really didn’t want one crawling up my leg!
After my hike, I drove to Deadwood, South Dakota. The town seemed pretty cool at first, with a nice old-timey vibe and a beer fest with live music in the park. But, after a while the vibe of the people got to me. Most of the place was saloons and casinos and…that seems to attract old, over-privileged white men. The kind that wear hats that say, “I miss the country I grew up in.” Oh, you mean the one that criminalized having brown skin, or loving someone of the same gender, or having a vagina? THAT country? The one where folks like you were the only ones with rights? I see.
Anyway, I had enough after a couple of hours and headed back to my camp spot…which had a nice little view.
Today…is laundry day. I’ll just let the pictures tell you the rest.
Van life all the way!
Any 🛸?
Only in my dreams 👽