Devils Tower National Monument - America's First National Monument

Devils Tower rises 1267 feet above the Belle Fourche River. Once hidden, erosion has revealed Devils Tower. This 1347 acre park is covered with pine forests, woodlands, and grasslands. Deer, prairie dogs, and other wildlife are seen.

Also known as Bears Lodge, it is a sacred site for many American Indians.

President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed Devils Tower the first national monument in 1906.

An afternoon hike around the base of the Tower.





A visit to the Prairie Dog Town, these highly social animals are not really dogs, but rodents. They are members of the Sciuridae or squirrel family, closely related to ground squirrels, chipmunks, woodchucks and marmots. There are five different species of prairie dogs, but only the black-tailed prairie dog inhabits Devils Tower National Monument.

Prairie dogs are small, short-tailed animals with eyes and small ears set far back on their heads. Their light-brown fur blends well with the dirt of their mounds except when the animal has been blackened by burrowing into coal seams. Named for their bark-like warning call and black-tipped tail, prairie dogs average 14 to 17 inches in total length and weigh 1 to 3 pounds. With short, muscular legs and long-nailed toes on their front and hind feet, they are well equipped for a burrowing lifestyle.

Historic Deadwood

Saloon No. 10 where Wild Bill Hickcok was shot in the back by Bill McCall.


Homestake Mine tour of the historic town of Lead and Homestake's underground surface operation. We followed the mining process including hoisting, crushing and milling of the underground ore and views Homestake Gold Mine's state-of-the-art Waste Water Treatment Plant and open pit mine.





Dinner "with a view of the Tower" back at camp.


Badlands National Park containing the world’s richest Oligocene epoch fossil beds, dating 37-28 million years old, the evolutionary stories of mammals such as the horse and rhinoceros arise from the 244,000 acres of sharply eroded buttes, pinnacles, and spires. Bison, bighorn sheep, endangered black-footed ferrets, and swift fox roam one of the largest, protected mixed-grass prairies in the United States.








Can you spot the Bighorn Sheep and her baby?


Wall Drug Store - America's Favorite Roadside Attraction!
A stop for a homemade ice cream milk shake.


Wind Cave National Park
One of the world's longest and most complex caves and 28,295 acres of mixed-grass prairie, ponderosa pine forest, and associated wildlife are the main features of the park. The cave is well known for its outstanding display of boxwork, an unusual cave formation composed of thin calcite fins resembling honeycombs. The park's mixed-grass prairie is one of the few remaining and is home to native wildlife such as bison, elk, pronghorn, mule deer, coyotes, and prairie dogs.

Lunch on the lawn before the cave tour.


Three types of rock features are seen in the cave (boxwork - pictured here), frostwork and popcorn.


The natural entrance to the cave...a cool breeze flows out of the cave...feels like air conditioning.


Filling our water bottles with water from the Hot Springs "Kidney" spring fountain.


Cooling off in the Hot Springs waterfall before heading back for a swim in the camp pool.

Our next blog will include Mount Rushmore and more of the Black Hills. We're off to Ft. Laramie, Wyoming and neat sites to see from the Oregon Trail.