Sun, Jan 30
01.30.05
The day started a bit unpleasantly as Brenda woke Harlan at 7am and he was a bit grumpy about this surprise. We were out of the hotel by 9:15 and headed toward Devils Tower National Monument via Rt. 585 to 85 to 16. Scenery was OK, but we learned the more scenic route is via I90 to US14 to US385. We plan on covering this route in a couple of days as we visit other places of interest in the Black Hills of South Dakota. There are so many things to see in this area.
The day was overcast and we got there before 10:30 and were apparently the first visitors of the day. While the rangers were telling us the places to see and hike both there and around Mt. Rushmore in SD, another small group arrived and headed toward the tower.
We first walked the loop around the base of the tower, where we took a fair amount of digital and 35mm photos (the digital pics should be up later tonight). Amazing place. We then drove a little bit north and walked another loop trail that covered forest, ravine, and prarrie terrain. While we got more photos from where we parked, we did not bring any cameras on that walk.
We probably spent about 3 hours there.
We then headed toward Jewel Cave National Monument where we learned that while we could still do a short cave tour, it would be better to come back tomorrow and do the long tour (which includes the short one). The ranger there also gave us a list of places to visit in the area.
We then drove past the outside of both the Crazy Horse Memorial and Mount Rushmore on the way to our hotel.
We got a room at the Holiday Inn Express in Keystone, where Bobbie the front desk clerk upgraded us to a room with a jetted tub and suggested we eat at The Gas Light in the nearby ghost town of Rockerville, where we had good salads and while Brenda did not particularly enjoy her puff-pastry wrapped salmon with onions (so Harlan finished it), she did enjoy Harlan’s chicken and shrimp marsala. A miracle happened and we did not order dessert.
Returning to the hotel (with some leftovers), we helped Bobbie with a jigsaw puzzle in the lobby. After we each found a piece, we declared victory and headed back to the room.