Devil's Tower, WY and Mt. Rushmore, SD (Day 20)

I left Billings, Montana in the early morning, not long after sunrise. I was treated to an unusual sight as I approached the interstate: first one, then several more hot air balloons floating overhead. It was so cool that I had to pull over to the side of the road to take a few pictures before continuing on to my eventual destination, South Dakota.

The route I took didn't leave me on the interstate for very long; most of the drive was on a two-lane highway through some more beautiful Montana scenery. I passed Little Big Horn battlefield, although I didn't stop there. Still, I drove alongside that battlefield for a few miles, the whole time imagining the Custer's big final battle against the Native Americans. Along the same route, I drove through one of the Cheyenne Reservations in some pretty territory that resembled in some ways parts of Arizona and West Texas. A little further along I passed some huge cattle ranges, wher I actually saw a large group of antelope as well as a deer or two along the side of the road. So I guess I found the range where the deer and the antelope play. Beautiful, really - and I can confirm this: the skies aren't cloudy all day.

Eventually, I left Montana and entered Wyoming (right). Wyoming is just extraordinarily beautiful. Rolling hills, red earth, cliffs; even the grass seems to be a deeper shade of green in Wyoming. I enjoyed my drive tremendously, but began to get really excited when I started to see the top of Devil's Tower looming in the distance. Of course, I couldn't help but think of Richard Dreyfuss making mashed potato sculptures and suddenly the theme to Close Encounters began playing over and over in my head. (It still is, in fact - it's a bugger of a tune to get out of your brain once it's in there!). As the tower gets closer, it looks all the more impressive. I didn't drive all the way up to it but I pulled over at the side of the road to take a few pictures. Incredible, really.

About 25 miles past Devil's Tower, I found myself back on the interstate. I crossed the border from Wyoming into South Dakota, and stopped at a rest area. The restrooms are in the same area as the welcome center, and as I stepped out there was an elderly gentleman behind the counter who asked me if I'd sign the guestbook. When he saw the state that I wrote down, he started asking me what I was doing so far from home; I told him, and before I knew it he was loading me up with all sorts of maps, explaining the most scenic routes I could take while in South Dakota. I was blown away by how kind and friendly he was; for the few minutes that we chatted I felt like I was like taking a step back into a simpler time. I was in great spirits when I got back into my car, headed for Hill City.

Shortly after leaving the rest area I found myself off the interstate again and back on the two lane highway, this time driving through the Black Hills of South Dakota. This is beautiful mountain territory, but it was also the heart of the gold rush; every once in a while I drove through a town, like Deadwood, which would be entirely old-western themed, with casinos, saloons, and people walking the streets dressed like 1850s cowboys. Further down, I passed the Pactola Dam/Reservoir, nestled in the Black Hills. About 25 miles or so past the dam, I reached my destination - Hill City SD.

After checking into the hotel and getting a little rest, I got ready for the drive up to Mount Rushmore. By the time I left the hotel, the skies had begun to darken considerably; thunderstorms loomed in the distance. I drove through town, which again has the "old west" theme; and made my way up the mountain. I saw more interesting wildlife, although sadly I didn't get pictures; I passed a family of wild turkeys crossing the road, a few deer, and even a couple of mountain goats! I continued up the windy mountain, and as my car approached the top of Mount Rushmore, I found myself dwarfed by these enormous rock formations. I wish I had gotten better pictures. They looked so forbidding and so, well, alive. I was kind of reminded of the big talking rocks from Never Ending Story, and I don't think I would have been that surprised if they had started speaking. Yes, I know, I know - I'm a dork.

I got my first view of the memorial as I was parking my car - I wish I could have gotten a picture of what I saw. The thunder and lightning had started; and over the top of the stone carvings I saw crack after crack of bright white lightning tearing up the sky. It was extraordinary. Simply unbelievable. After getting out of my car I turned on the video camera to see if I could record more lightning, but it wasn't meant to be. Still, even without the lightning the memorial is really something to behold. I gazed at it for a bit while under a stone awning trying to take shelter from the rain; and then went in to have a bite at the cafeteria which looks a lot like the one from North by Northwest. While eating, I watched the storm continue over the mountain, and then as the rain began to ease up I ventured back outside and walked around. I strolled through the hall of flags, where there are flags waving that represent every state in the union. I also spent about an hour in the Rushmore museum, which includes the history of the building of the monument as well as the history of the United States. I learned quite a bit, including why each of these four presidents was chosen for the monument. Apparently, Washington signifies the struggle for independence and the birth of the republic; Jefferson the territorial expansion of the country; Lincoln the permanent union of the states; and Roosevelt the role of the US in world affairs and the rights of the common man. I thought that was pretty interesting.


I had originally intended to stay at the mountain to watch the lighting ceremony at 9:00pm, but the rain, the wind and the thought of driving back down the wet mountain in the dark made me change my mind. Also, it occurred to me that standing in the open at the top of a mountain in a lightning storm probably wasn't the smartest thing to do. As I turned to leave the monument, I gasped in awe at what I saw - a full rainbow, clearly arcing from one end of the sky to the other. It was brilliant. I took it as a sign of good luck; what a perfect way to end another great day on the road in America.