Having rolled in around midnight last night, we weren’t early birds out of the hotel. We further weren’t quite sure what our plan for today was other than continue our journey West. We had breakfast in the hotel, then headed in to check out Hill City on foot. There, we came across another “World’s Largest” – this time, The World’s Largest Smokey Bear. Luckily, I did not start any forest fires while there!
We had parked in a large, open lot at the Black Hills Railroad/1880 train, and when we returned to our car, the steam excursion was just getting underway. That was fun to see it leaving the station and we watched it along its way until it disappeared back in the direction of our hotel.
Our first thought for what to do that day had been to explore the Mickelson Trail on our bikes. However, “Tail passes are required, and can be purchased…” sounded a bit too much hassle and ultimately dissuaded us. Instead, we ended up taking a scenic drive along Needles Highway. There were impressive vistas, and we did get out once to scramble around, but it was a well-traveled highway with some one-lane passages carved through the rock. So, while it was neat to see, it was somewhat less fun to drive. Of course, that was in a state park, so also not free.
From there, we worked our way back North and in to Rapid City for a rapid recharge and a not-quite-as-rapid, but very tasty lunch from The Gyro Hub. From there, it was back on to our friend I 90, and in to Wyoming.
Our destination, the Devils Tower. Apparently, it has many names and origin stories among the indigious people, but given the look of the side as if clawed by giant claws, I’m favorable to “Bear Lodge”. We decided on a loop hike around it which was a fantastic jaunt if somewhat longer than we’d thought we’d spend on it. The hike gave us scenic vistas, some neat stone caves, a sally through a prarie dog town, and a turn into some deeply red rocks as the sun was getting lower in the sky that were breathtaking. So, this is a little photo-heavy, but we did spend a good bit of time here, and it was a delightful hike!
From there, we headed into Gillette, WY. And true to form, we found Mexican food for dinner! We ate at Las Margaritas. We did not, however, drink las margaritas as we were not walking distance to our lodging for the evening. We spent the night at the TownPlace Suites in Gillete after charging at an Electrify America outside a Smiths Food and Drug. We did a little shopping and walked around the adjacent high school. (Go Camels!)