Travelling west on Hwy 83 is Fort Pierre National Grassland with large rolling hills and a few farms/ranches. At Murdo SD, on Hwy 90, is a reconstructed 1880 town that is very well done. It is so realistic that the saloon was the most ornate building there, just like back in the day, serving up Sarsaparilla, which was delicious and refreshing on a hot day. Long horned cattle, a camel and some donkeys were in the back 40. Old hymns were being played in the church and every kind of business was represented in buildings on both sides of the street.
From there we travelled to Badlands National Park. The beauty is striking. Rock formations of all kinds walled us in as we drove through the winding valley road – twisting, up and down. It is a harsh landscape that has a beauty all its own. Pictures really don’t capture how beautiful it is.
We decided to stop at Wall Drug in Wall SD to get an ice cream. Wall Drug was a little store when we first encountered it 30 years ago. It has grown into a huge tourist trap that spans about 4 blocks. Probably 1,000 people would be roaming around there at any given time. We encountered a new kind of tourist here – small dogs in strollers being pushed by senior men! I prefer grandkids myself!
At Ellsworth AFB we watched a B1B bomber fly around. Lots of Air Force history there with a bunch of aircraft and missiles on display. From there we made our way to Sturgis for brunch and a walk around. Sturgis is best known for its annual “motorcycle week” that sees the town grow from 6900 people to over half a million people. Originally named Scooptown because it was easy to scoop soldiers’ wages, it was renamed to honor General Samuel Sturgis and his son James who both died at the Battle of the Little Big Horn.
In Wyoming is Devils Tower – a rock formation that rises to 867 ft off the prairie floor with an elevation of 5112 ft. An interpreter misinterpreted the native name of “Bear’s Lodge” to mean “Bad God’s Tower”. Not much of an interpreter! Petitions to change the name have been defeated. It is a sacred native site where natives tie “prayer scarves” on trees.
The landscape from Devils Tower to Buffalo WY has craggy rocks high above the road. I picture myself up there on a horse beside John Wayne and his posse, but then reality pokes me on the shoulder: be more like rattlesnakes nipping at my toes!
Buffalo WY is home to the annual Longmire festival, centered on the books and TV series. Author Craig Johnson and the cast of Longmire are usually present. The story takes place in a fictional WY town but is filmed around Santa Fe and Las Vegas. Buffalo is a quaint western town. The landscape along Hwy 90 to Billings made me feel like I was sitting on Longmire’s front porch looking out over the wilderness – meadows and foothills.
The site of the Battle of the Little Big Horn was our next stop. The battlefield of Custer’s last stand is vast – a ridge (Indian position) with spreading fields below (US position). Seven Indian nations fought to keep their way of life. Custer lost his life, and the US cavalry were defeated. The site, which is miles long, is littered with white markers to show where people died. US soldiers were buried in a fenced area that has a monument that bears their names. Many of the officers were buried elsewhere, including Custer, who was buried at West Point Cemetery in NY. The site is also home to Custer National Cemetery where veterans from the Civil War on up to 1978 are buried as well as women and children from isolated outposts, Indian scouts, and Metal of Honor recipients. Wild horses also roam the site. There is also a monument to the natives who fought – a circular walled-in area that tells their story in word and picture.
Cody WY is a town named for Buffalo Bill Cody. Here we visited the Buffalo Bill Center of the West – five museums under one roof. After walking through the Buffalo Bill Museum, I wondered if he was hero or villain. As a young army scout, he killed natives, but as he matured and aged, his heart softened to the plight of the natives thinking they were ill-treated. He was a showman who was away from home for most of the year, leaving his wife to raise their children as he took the Buffalo Bill show around the world. The Plains Indian Museum displayed their native, nomadic life, its simplicity, and the craftsmanship in their handiwork. The women did everything (except go to war). We were fortune enough to be in Cody on the day of a farmer’s market.
As we made our way to Yellowstone National Park the weather turned rainy and cold. Altitude is 7700+ ft so the air is thin. Yellowstone is known for its hot springs (streams of steam rising out of the ground arbitrarily), mud pots (bubbling mud), geysers, bison (which were plentiful), elk, and Grizzly bears. We stopped to view a few geysers and they were quite odiferous! We hoped to see Prismatic Springs (a deep hot spring displaying the colors of the prism) but it was too cold, and sun couldn’t burn off the fog. But Old Faithful was spectacular, pumping out a huge fountain of boiling water every hour or so that lasted well over a minute. The show sometimes can last as long as 5 minutes and can gush anywhere between 3700 – 8400 gallons of water. The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone is a gorge where the Yellowstone River with scenic waterfalls flows. The cliffs look like the walls of the Grand Canyon. We toured the 7-story Yellowstone Inn, built around 1880 entirely of logs. Beautiful!
It was a full week of sights and wonder. We so appreciate the beauty that God has created for all to enjoy. Until next week…
Let's Do The 180! 