Day 6: Breweries, Vore Buffalo Jump, and Devils Tower
Day 6 was without a doubt an interesting one, even though I am writing this from Day 7 (due to some technical issues our KOA's WiFI failed us, we were really roughing it there without in-site internet service). Following our departure from Mt. Rushmore we stopped in at the Crazy Horse monument, notice there are no photos... while it will ultimately be an impressive feat of rock carving and a fitting tribute to those whom originally inhabited the land, it is currently a rough sculpting of a head about 3/4's of a mile away that costs $11, per person, to see. While in the area we hit up some microbreweries, kindly Michelle offered to drive for a few hours so I was able to responsibly enjoy myself. A favorite was the Peach Mead from Miner Brewing Company that as a matter of fact I am enjoying a glass of as I write this post!
So anyhow, on to Devil's Tower we voyaged, but not without stopping at the Vore Buffalo Jump first. In case you are not aware, most of Wyoming and South Dakota (and most states west of the Mississippi until about California) are fairly barren so roadside attractions are chalked up to be much more then they really are. However, at one stop right after the Wyoming state line we found ourselves needing fuel (a loaded down GMC Sierra does not get the best of gas milage...) and right down the road there was this advertised buffalo jump and while we were somewhat unsure we figured the stretch could do us well, and little did we know how awesome the stop would be. This location was more or less a sinkhole that had been used by Native Americans hundreds of years ago to herd buffalo into a hole with the intent of killing them for a winter food supply. At far more then a simple roadside attraction, we were able to head down into the hole and see the site where hundreds of years of bone has been excavated and displayed for viewers, and is still being studied by the University of Wyoming. While this site could easily have been skipped in a rush to get to the next attraction we are certainly glad we did not miss it before heading to Devil's Tower.
Now Devil's Tower is well off the beaten path, but is definitely not a stop to be missed. I am still not entirely sure what it is, or why it is where it is, but it is huge and humbling. It rises out of the earth in the middle of the Wyoming grassland like nothing else and cannot have it's size accurately depicted by any photo. One perk of making the trek off of I-90 to the Devil's Tower, besides from the obviously breathtaking scenery and views, is the Prairie Dog colony that lives at the base of the tower itself. We had absolutely no idea that it was there until driving through and the Prairie Dogs seemed about as common as seeing a Whitetail Deer in New Jersey (so about every 18.3 inches). While the Devil's Tower was awesome, I suspect that the Prairie Dogs were the real highlight of the journey for Michelle, all in all another great day chipping away at the USA!