Aug 26 - Jewel Cave, Mammoth Site, Wild Horse Sanctuary

We are enjoying the Black Hills region of South Dakota.
Jewel Cave - this is the 3rd longest cave in the world, and we were able to take a 'historic' tour - via lanterns for lighting our way along the 600 steps to the "Heavenly Room"

This original lamp was a paint can with a candle.

we got real lanterns!

He was at the side of the road - munching all the minerals out of that small pool of rain from last night.

The Mammoth Site in Hot Springs SD is the largest concentration of mammoth bones in the world.  

It is also an active dig site.

The Wild Horse Sanctuary 

 rescuing the Mustangs

Ah Yes, the free birthday dessert!

Badlands (and Wall Drug)

This has been an interesting area to travel through, to read about the hardships of both the Indians and the settlers  is very humbling.  (we can complain about our hardships but it is nothing compared to our forefathers)
     The Badlands are so remote, un-inviting, and brutal.  The homesteaders had to build their houses with sod bricks cut from the prairie, collecting cow chips for fuel, surviving harsh winters, horribly hot summers, and the farming was so difficult in this terrain that it was impossible to survive here.
     The Lakotas survived nicely by their nomadic lifestyle by hunting bison until the combats with the settlers forced them into the reservations.



The Wall Drug Store may seem like the ultimate 'tourist trap' but it is aa heart warming of challenges and endurance.  They bought the drug store in 1931 and Wall South Dakota had a population of 300+ people - all poor, all suffering from the Great Depression.   Despite warnings of friends and relatives, they wanted to try to stick it out (for at least 5 years.) . The 5 year mark was approaching and things were not going well ---
Since it was hot, dry, dusty, and there were tourists at Mount Rushmore, traveling east on the highway and there were no restaurants and 'mini marts',   she decided that they would all like a drink of ice water.  She made signs and rhymes (like the Burma Shave) and put them out on the highway approaching Wall. SD.   It turned out to save the store and it has become one of the big success stories of "You can do anything if you help give people what they need and want, and are nice, kind, and hardworking"

 
                                  The place is filled with fun images of times past.

The bad lands have so many pinnacles, ugly rocks that look like sandstone, on top of the plains, it reminds me of the Cathedral Gorge - lots of erosion!

We were lucky enough to see several big horn sheep  (pretty far away - but good to see them)

The area has a huge number of fossils and we were lucky enough to be able to watch them 

"Prepping fossils" and watch the people separate the rock and sand from the fossils.  

Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse

A very impressive carving on a mountain!

This is the Sculptor's Studio with the working models

The scale is 1" to 12" on the mountain

After dynamite removes much of the granite, the workers 

have scaffolding hanging off the edges to work the details.  

Amazing processes to complete the sculptures.

Crazy Horse Memorial

If it ever gets finished it would be taller than the Washington Memorial and the Great Pyramid.

A tribute to Crazy Horse, one of the great Indian leaders that fought against the injustices of the 

US Government

 It is amazing to see how these mountain sculptures are created.

This 18 year old dancer is just heading off to college in Denver.

The Shawl Dance

The Lakota family and the traditional dances and costumes.

Aug 22- Casper to Devils Tower

The drive was not as pleasant as planned.  The landscape is rolling and 'big sky' country.  Miles of rolling hills. We drove on I-25 and I-90 and were surprised at how nice the roads looked, but were rough and rolling, with very heavy cross winds.  When the emergency brakes on the trailer locked up it took a few minutes to figure out what was going on.  Fortunately it was at low speed, going around a corner.  The activation cable for the emergency brakes had gotten wrapped around some of the hitch equipment, and Lou was able to untangle it, and we were on our way in a few minutes.  If it had happened on the interstate at 70mph, it would have been a totally different story.  SCARY!

Devils Tower is pretty amazing!

Pretty much bigger than we would have imagined, and a nice late afternoon walk around the tower.

Beautiful hills, rocks, pine trees in an area of pasture lands.   A very tall lava tower where the surrounding sedimentary rocks and soil have been washed away.  I wonder what could have caused that??

Immense rocks at the base.

This is the first National Monument named by Teddy Roosevelt in 1906.

It is thought that the name came from an interpreter misinterpreted the native name to mean

 "Bad God's Tower"

The EIGHTEEN WHEELER OF THE 1860's

No seat for the driver of the oxen because

he walked along side, carrying the bullwhip to guide the oxen.

This wagon could carry 2000 to 5000 pounds.