In case you hadn't noticed, all of my western pictures so far have been from South Dakota. Although South Dakota may not be considered the tourist destination of Disney, Hawaii, or Aspen I hope my photos have shown, it is a great place to vacation. There are many tourist trap type places to keep kids entertained. We had planned on going to a couple but ran out of time. We did spend a couple days going to Deadwood and Spearfish Canyon. We spent one day in Rapid City. There is a terrific Natural History Museum. Also, there are statues of all the presidents on street corners. It is a cool city.I can tell you, we were not the only travelers that went cross country to visit Mt. Rushmore and the Badlands. We saw campers from just about every state. I learned quickly that many people were doing the same thing as us and traveling America.
But, I won't waste your time with pictures of gravestones in Deadwood (Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane)and I won't bore you with pictures of museum pieces. The next stop on our journey was Devils Tower National Monument. The monument is just over the border in eastern Wyoming. Devils Tower is one of the most famous national monuments in the country. It has the distinction of being the first. It was protected by Teddy Roosevelt by using the Antiquities Act in 1906. It s biggest claim to fame is that it was featured in the movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind"
The tower rises about 1260 feet above the surrounding plains. The rangers told us the top is about the size of a football field. Surprisingly, there are rattlesnakes on the top. I don't know how that happened.
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| As you can imagine, rock climbing is pretty popular |
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| We were always on the lookout for wildlife. Turkey Vulture |
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| ....Until we meet again |
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