Chapter Thirty-Six
Explosive Show
May 25, 2009—Sheridan to Devil's Tower: Well, journal fans, time to find out whether we had a major mishap. The tent looked waterlogged when we got back from Keystone. I tore open the door and found that everything was: DRY!
There was much rejoicing, and praise for REI. I had really expected things to be pretty wet. There was a little dampness on one side, but that may have been from a spilled water bottle. Everything was totally dry, not even damp, and we both slept well.
Since this was our first camping stop since the change to mountain daylight time, we were up especially early. Checkout wasn't until 1 PM, so we decided to have breakfast and do some Wi-Fi and sightseeing before packing up. This would allow the tent to dry out a bit.
After a breakfast of pancakes, eggs, and toast, in a Hill City cafe, we did some major journal updating, and then took off for Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse.
The story goes that a pope was admiring Michelangelo’s David, and asked the sculptor how he could create such a masterpiece. Michelangelo replied “Simple. I just removed all the parts that didn’t look like David.”
The Crazy Horse monument is a work-in-progress, and they are still dynamiting away the parts of the mountain that don’t look like Crazy Horse. When we got there, they wanted us to pay $20 for admission, and the thing isn't even finished yet! Gimme a break, right? Instead, we found a good view spot right outside the paid area, and watched the day’s scheduled blast. It was OK, but not worth $20.
This whole area (Black Hills) is a bit of a Disneyland tourist place, with reptile gardens, mystery spots, caves, and 5,342 gift shops.
Back at the campsite we put the tent into its official drying-out configuration (that is, upside down), gave it a few hours, and then packed up and pushed on to Devil's Tower National Monument in Wyoming.
We grabbed a secluded campsite with an extraordinary view of the tower.
After slapping a second coat of waterproofing liquid on the tent fly, we hopped on our bikes to ride up to the visitor's center. It was only a few miles away, but a good climb, and a workout because we only had fifteen minutes to closing.
We made it with minutes to spare. Staring up toward the top of the rock, we could just make out some climbers. Although it takes most mountaineers, with equipment, 4-6 hours to scale it, Wyoming native Todd Skinner did it in 18 minutes—alone and with no equipment.
The other interesting story about Devil’s Tower is that of George Hopkins, who, in 1941, parachuted onto the top of the monument as part of a $50 bet. He had a rope dropped also, so that he could descend, but it missed, and he was marooned up there for six cold days before being rescued by some mountain climbers.
Back at the campsite, we had a great chicken-apple sausage meal cooked over charcoal. And a great sleep.
Stay tuned for a major change in elevation and temperature. But first, here’s a chapter about my wacky inventions.