Devils and American Icons

The first half of today was spent driving. We left our hotel in Montana and set out eastbound on I-90, past Billings and down into Wyoming. We were most of the way to the South Dakota state line when we reached our first stop, Devils Tower National Monument. As we drove around the base of this monolith, I kept hearing a specific five note musical sequence repeating in my head. Thank you very much for the earworm, Mr. Spielberg. :o)

There isn't a great deal to do at Devils Tower, unless you are a technical climber (and according to the park ranger we spoke to, there were about 30 on the rock today), so we admired the view, ate a picnic lunch and moved on.

We crossed into South Dakota, and headed for the Black Hills. We arrived at Mt. Rushmore early in the evening, and admired the views, just as the sun began to set. We decided to eat dinner in the cafeteria at the monument, so we could see the monument lit up for the night. At 9:00 a video program began in the amphitheater at the base of the monument, highlighting the role of each of the four presidents in American history. At the end of the program, the lights came up on the monument. The night view of the monument is dramatic and worth the wait.