We left Gillette, WY this morning headed for Custer, South Dakota. On our way, we saw a beautiful sunrise.
When we got off I90 to head towards Custer, we saw a sign promoting Devil’s Tower National Monument. We decided that we needed to see it. Our niece, April Woronowicz is into all things witches and such and we thought that she would like to see photos of the Devil’s Tower.
On our trip so far, Ronnie and I have been disappointed in not seeing much large wildlife. We saw signs for deer crossing and signs for elk crossing but have not seen an elk and only a few deer. None close enough for a photo.
To visit Devil’s Tower National Monument, we had to go back the way that we came which added a couple hours to our day. That was okay because we felt that if we missed it because we were lazy that we would be disappointed in ourselves. The road to the tower twisted and turned and went through some beautiful countryside. Suddenly on the side of the road was a small herd of mule deer.
We stopped to take pictures and they just stood there and looked at us. We were thrilled. I am not sure if they were or not.
We continued towards the tower. The fog came and went and sometimes it was quite heavy. We also had rain off and on. We were concerned that this would be our first disaster day of our trip. All through Wyoming and Montana are herds and herds of cattle. We encountered this small group just before we reached the tower. You can see the fog that we battled most of the morning and into the early afternoon. There were times when it was like pea soup.
And then we saw the Devil’s Tower National Monument before we reached the park. We stopped to admire it and took some photos. The fog was moving around the tower, and we hoped that it stayed clear enough for us.
After we entered the park and traveled a short distance, we saw a sign, “Do not feed the prairie dogs.” What??? Prairie dogs????
We were not disappointed this time. There were plenty of the little rascals to photograph.
We saw some more mule deer, but we were so interested in the prairie dogs that we didn’t bother to photograph them. They left quickly so we wouldn’t have gotten the images anyway.
We continued around the park and found a unique angle to photograph the tower.
Because this part of our trip was unplanned, we wanted to continue to Custer to make sure that we did not run out of charge.
When we left the tower, we looked back at it from the spot where we took our first photograph. The fog had totally covered the tower and it was not visible. Our timing was good today.
We battled heavy fog and rain on our way to Custer. We were about a half hour from Custer and were very hungry. We decided to stop at Wayback Burgers in Newcastle, Wyoming. The burgers and onion rings were top notch are really hit the spot.
Between Newcastle and Custer, Ronnie and I crossed into South Dakota and added another state to our list of new places.
We were mesmerized by the rocky outcroppings that we saw as we approached Custer.
We stopped to supercharge in Custer. It was too early to check into our hotel, so we decided to visit the Crazy Horse Memorial about six miles outside of town and then continue to Mt. Rushmore.
The Crazy Horse Memorial relies on funds from visitors and private donations. They do not receive any government money. I guess that is why they finished the head in 1998 and are still working to complete the memorial. Here is what the finished memorial will look like.
Here is a closeup of the writing on the side of the proposed memorial.
Here is information about the memorial and its progress.
They have a wonderful museum that is worth the time to see. I have only included a few of the exhibits.
It took another forty minutes or so to drive to Mt. Rushmore. We went through this cool arch cut into the rock before climbing upwards to view another national monument.
We can’t tell you how awesome it was to see Mt. Rushmore for the first time. We were awe struck. To think what it must of took to create this monument boggles the mind.
By the time that we returned to Custer, it was time to check into our hotel. First, we charged the Tesla again so that we could be ready for tomorrow. Our plan is to drive the 17-mile wildlife loop road, 14-mile Needles Highway along with a stop at Sylvan Lake and the needles eye, and 18-mile-long Iron Mountain Road.
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