DEVILS TOWER AND WALL DRUGS - 9/4/14

Devil's Tower was one of the most spectacular places we visited on our entire trip.  This geologic feature suddenly appears among the rolling prarie that surround the Black Hills.  It is a striking monolith of uncommon igneous rock.  Igneous rocks are formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava.  At Devil's Tower, this magma cooled creating this tower that was buried under layers of silt and dirt that through the years eroded and washed away leaving this rock formation behine.  Truly, a natural wonder.

You don't realize how big this wonder is until you find yourself on the trail at the base and see that the trail is 1 1/2 miles in length.  Other trails that take you to the red rock formations are of longer length.

The tower consists of hundred of parallel cracks making it one of the finest traditional crack climbing areas in North America.  We had a good laugh at the visitors center when a tourist asked if you need to be an experienced climber to scale the tower.  The park ranger replied, "It helps."  We counted 8 climbers on the tower the morning we visited.

The Lakota Indians and over 20 other native tribes connected to this area consider this site sacred.  When they come to pray they tie a piece of colorful fabric to tree branches as part of their ritual.  Some of the tribes still perform tribal dances at the base of the tower.

The oldest rocks visible in Devils Tower National Monument were laid down in a shallow inland sea.  This sea covered much of the central and western United States from 225-195 million years ago.  The dark red sandstone and maroon siltstone, interbedded with shale, can be seen along the Belle Fourche River.  Oxidation of iron rich minerals causes the redness of the rocks.  This rock layer is known as the Spearfish Formation. (Info obtained from NPS.gov website)

When entering and exiting the park, you drive by a very entertaining community of prarie dogs.  Our dogs wanted to get out and explore every prairie dog hole in the field.  Shiloh (our hound dog) mournfully cried and moaned when she realized we weren't letting her out of the car.  The prarie dog community was delightful to watch as they popped in and out of their burrows.

On our way to Wall, SD (just outside the Badlands) we kept seeing these signs along I-90.  The campground where we were staying just happened to be 2 blocks from Wall Drug.  After seeing 90 miles worth of signage, it peaks your curiosity.

This "Drug Store" had everything from drugs, camping gear, arcade games, dining facilities, to a chapel.  This place was more like a museum with 75 years of newpaper clippings, photos, western art work, and much more.

Visiting Wall Drug is the ultimate tourist trap, but one everyone who is driving I-90, east or west, must stop in and enjoy their "free ice water" and nickel cup of coffee.

At this point in the trip, we were getting anxious to get home.  The Truck Camper space was getting a bit cramped for the 2 of us and the dogs.  We decided we would make one more stop to see the Badlands and then start heading home.