"I Am 60" Tour Day 2: to Mount Rushmore, Devils Tower and Gillette, Wyoming-June 21, 2017

At 6:14 am, I was rudely awakened by the sun shining on my face through the blinds. I put a pillow up as a shield and managed to fall back asleep, which was unsurprising based on how long a day we'd  had yesterday.
I didn't hear my alarm, but my daughter woke me at 8, our agreed upon time. She is used to a very dark bedroom and found the sun quite bothersome. I did my morning stretches and we did not hurry ourselves.
At 9:10, we crossed the parking lot to the main building and easily found the pancake bar easily. The machines make two pancakes in minute with just the push of a button. While I waited, I dispensed a cup of water from the dispenser with all kinds of fruit in the water. I put butter between my pancakes and chocolate chips, strawberries and syrup on top. I finished off the plate with some fruit and headed outside to a lower patio, where my daughter had secured us a table. It was so pleasant out there! The sky was blue and there was a bit of a breeze. The fruited water was very refreshing.

         

 We packed up and checked out at 10:10, a little later than planned, but that was okay. It was 81 degrees and the odometer read 1736 miles. Two miles and 5 minutes later, we pulled over to take pictures of the still incomplete Crazy Horse sculpture off in the distance. Then, we had a pleasant drive to Mount Rushmore, with a terrific stop to take pictures at a pullout that turned out to have a side view of Washington. It was a pleasant surprise.

        

 We were coming from Custer, so we were not in the main press of traffic to reach the monument. However, we still had to wait in line at the parking entrance. As usual, it was difficult to decide whether or not we'd chosen the correct line. At 11:01 (1754), we paid the $10 parking fee. We found out that part of the reason for the slowness of the lines was that part of the license plate is printed on the receipt. We  were waved to the lower level of parking and decided to try our luck in the first garage. Not only were we able to find a spot on that level, but it was one by the elevator!
We took lots of pictures on our way to the railing above the amphitheater. We decided that we didn't need an audio tour. I did stop at the entrance to get my national park passport canceled. After the requisite selfies by the railing, we went down in the elevator to the museum. We also watched the introductory video. There are signs by the windows, one in front of each president with info about the man and the sculpture. For instance, Teddy Roosevelt's pince-nez was particularly tricky and Borglum wound up just carving indentations to suggest them. Yet, some visitors claim to see the lenses!

At 12:40, we went in the cafeteria to see if we could find some seats. My daughter spied a lone empty table and held the table, while I checked out food choices. We traded places and she bought the food: Buffalo Stew ($12) and a $3 refillable Coke Zero for me; Grilled Chicken and Fries with a coke for $12 for her. I really enjoyed the stew with its large pieces of of meat, huge slices of carrots and tasty chunks of potato.

 After lunch, it was time to really shop. We'd picked up a few items in the park service shop down by the museum. Upstairs, in the concessionaire shop, I found state pins from states I didn't have and a lovely necklace with Black Hills gold and onyx. My daughter found a silver and Black Hills gold necklace on special for only $30 and gifts for friends.
By 2:24,we were finally on the road. At 3:59 (1844), we stopped at the Wyoming Welcome Center. The view was fantastic! Montana may be "Big Sky Country", but Wyoming could really give them a run for their money. We looked at a few displays, posted photos to Facebook and were back on the road at 4:20. It was now 86 degrees.
Since we weren't sure when we'd find gas again, we stopped at a Conoco at exit 185 on I 90. The odometer read 1858. We got 11.5 gallons for $2.419 each and headed off again. We made stops along the way as we saw Devils Tower in the distance. There were several handy pullouts and we availed ourselves of each of them.

 

Finally, at 5:26 (1884), we paid the $15 entry fee. It took only nine minutes to drive the two miles to the rustic park service visitor's center. From this side, we saw that the Tower is not a dark monolith, but instead boasts lovely yellows and even pink in the sunshine.

We took our time looking at the few exhibits and shopping. I just had to buy the 40 anniversary of  Close Encounters of the Third Kind t-shirt. We even took a picture of me holding it up with the tower behind me. We ate almond butter granola bars and took a pit stop before beginning our hike around the tower.
The trail we chose at 6:40  was the 1.3 mile Tower Trail, which circles the base of the Tower. A sign claimed that the average time was 45 minutes, but we knew that was not going to be our time. It wasn't just the fact that I was using my travel cane for stability. We are picture takers. Plus, we like to read any signs we come upon. I was fascinated by the details of the Tower. I managed to find a spot on the trail with no one around and just stood there soaking in the sound of birds, crickets and the wind in the trees. It was a magnificent feeling of being alone in nature.  Later, we came upon a Native American woman and her baby, who was playing on the ground. A few minutes later, I heard someone singing what sounded like an Indian song. I feel certain it was her. I suddenly realized that today was the summer solstice, so, of course, this spot that is sacred to the Indians would attract them today. We saw their prayer rags along the way.

      

      

 The north face of the Tower was steeper than the south. There was no clearing that would have accommodated the alien ship in Close Encounters, though. There was a pretty impressive shadow cast over the valley on the east side, though.

We greeted various groups along the way, who were going counterclockwise. We were amazed by the boulders at the base and just stunned to think that people actually climb this thing!
The trail was steep at times and my daughter was able to traverse it easier than I. Of course, she doesn't have arthritis in her knees, so I get a pass.
We finished the trail at 8:09, which wasn't too bad, we felt. We were happy to find that the restrooms under the long-closed visitor center were still open. I took the time to take photos of a family from Minnesota, whom we'd met on the trail. The young boy had been quick to tell me that the guy was not their dad, who lived in Fargo, ND. Now, he and his sister asked me questions about my water bottle, which I'd backed on Kickstarter last year. The former teacher in me took over, I must say.
It was 8:27 and 77 degrees, when we left the parking lot. We took more pictures on the way out, including of the "racetrack",whose legendary origins we'd read about in an Indian tale.

As we drove past the now-closed shops outside the entrance gate, we saw cars pulled over to the side and folks out with cameras. Looking back, we saw why- the sun beginning to set behind the Tower. We looked up the time of actual sunset and found it was still 15 minutes off. We hadn't eaten dinner, so we felt staying for actual sunset was impractical. My daughter did take some good photos out her window, though.

As we drove on to the southwest, we kept seeing more and more beautiful views of the sunset.

At one point, the sky was just a fantastic red, but I could find nowhere to pullover. That will just have to live in our memories.
The land we drove through was rather devoid of people. Often, we had no cell reception. We were really glad to have "Sarah", our GPS, to guide us. The road was mostly good, although for quite a stretch we drove over part that was under construction of some type. The stones hitting the underside of the car sounded like hail. Eventually, we made it back onto I 90, without ever seeing a place to eat.
Soon, we were in Gillette and exiting at exit 124. As we drove past our hotel on the ramp, I saw a McDonald's down the street. So, at 9:43 (1951), we pulled in there for a very late dinner of 2 Grilled Chicken sandwiches (buy 1 get 1, thanks to my McD app -$4.79), 1 large fries for $2.39 and 2 large Cokes for $1 each. Bizarrely late, but we weren't really starving either.
At 10:15, we got back in the car and 4 minutes later, we were at the Hampton (1952), where my daughter had reserved our room months ago. Another long, enjoyable day successfully completed!