Another sleep and we were on our way to the Black Hills of South Dakota. Black Hills had a gold rush starting in 1874. There are unique colors of gold that is called known as Black Hills Gold; pink gold is common, but I have been told green is also part of the Black Hills gold. I would have liked to pan for gold, but it is all gone by now.

We tried to go into Wind Cave National Park but their elevators were down for m maintenance so you could not get into the cave. We looked around in the visitor center, took some pictures of animals and the vistas that we found. And then we headed on.

Next, we went to Crazy Horse monument. I had been there first in 2006 and then later in 2009, so it had been 16 years since I’ve been to there. What astounded me was how little progress had been made on the statue. I took the pictures for documentation purposes, and we headed to Custer State Park. 

I think this the best State Park in the region.  it is not only beautiful, but the Needles Highway is certainly something that everyone should experience. The animal life is plentiful. I particularly enjoy the relatively tame burros that live in the park – and of course you cannot forget the adorable little prairie dogs.

Prairie dogs are not gophers but they do live in Prairie Dog towns not unlike gophers.  The ranchers hate them because it creates an unstable underground which can be harmful to their cattle.  But here in Custer State Park and then Wind Cave National Park they are protected and the little guys run crazy.  they almost have a human life appearance when they stand on their hind legs. 

I forgot how much I loved scenery in the Black Hills.  We ran into the standard traffic jam – Buffalo that are clogging up the road and tourists with phones and cameras getting too close but trying to pet the Fluffy Cow.

We then drove to Deadwood where we would spend the night after looking around a little but we did forego gambling.  Deadwood is known for being where Wild Bill Hickok was killed.  He was holding two pair — Aces and 8’s, now known as the Deadman’s hand. 

As we left the next morning, we went through Spearfish Canyon which is a beautiful stretch of mountains and streams in western South Dakota. 

We then headed to Devil’s Tower in eastern Wyoming.  The movie “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” made this butte famous.   The tower rises 867 feet almost straight up.  There is a great interest in climbing this mountain to the flat top for views from the top.  That was not on our bucket list so after looking around a little, we moved on.   

We proceeded to Casper.  Doug and Cheryl left northern Maine on April 12 and had driven over 5,000 miles so it was time for some car maintenance.  We would begin to explore eastern and central Wyoming  in the morning.