With each push further to the west, the stars get more brilliant. I spent a good chunk of the night lying in bed and staring, not at anything in particular, but rather taking in the whole. I’ll have to do some Stargazing 101 when I’m in the mountains.
I took a jog into Wyoming to check out Devils Tower, because why not? It was an hour away, which quickly turned into almost two hours. Wyoming—The Construction State. The landscape here: plains bounded by vibrant mesas and filled with more trees, hills, and color. The tower is visible from at least fifteen minutes away, and I think it’s most impressive at a distance, the ruler of a crookedly majestic skyline.
Devils Tower (no apostrophe, possibly because of T. Roosevelt’s horrid opinions on spelling) is not a National Park, but a National Monument. Both are under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service, but a National Park needs to have multifaceted value as a nature preserve, landscape, recreation area, cultural site, etc. A National Monument only needs one layer of significance. This means that the average visit consists of driving up, looking at the Tower, and leaving. I’m glad I swung by, and won’t visit again. I liked E.T. better, anyway.
After working on some website tech support, I drove into Custer, South Dakota, which is everything Medora wished it could be. Yes, it has the pandering Western storefronts and a Pizza Hut, but there is a greater sense of exploration and wildness here. Hard to explain, but it feels like a Dakota tourist town should. I could even shoulder the “country” music pumped onto the main drag (that song that goes “no hugGEENG no kisSEENG” is truly dreadful).
My meal, a carnitas wrap, was quite good, and dessert, blackberry pie, was even better. Custer can cook. I have retreated a few miles west into the ponderosa pines. Next stop: hiking Wind Cave and a peek at some more big rocks.
Lots of information in Wikipedia on Wind Cave, another place I had never heard of. Probably best of all for you is that there is a large colony of prairie dogs in the area. Sounds like an interesting place to visit. Jeff and I went to Devils Tower and hiked around it. I don’t remember anything special about it. I hope you get to Mount Rushmore. Most likely there will be more tourists there than Devils Tower but it is interesting. I do remember the short hike we took there. Custer sounds like a good place to stop at along the way. Glad you had a decent meal there and got something of a feel for “the West”. I am also glad you got your website up and running again. Your dad filled me in on what the problem was. Check your spam folders regularly! Love, Grandma
“ET” was a more optimistic film than “Close Encounters” — perhaps that’s why you like it better. Besides dealing with cosmic mystery, “Close Encounters” explores the dissolution of a marriage, family relationships, etc. as Richard Dreyfus begins to doubt his own sanity. There’s a REASON why he CHOOSES to go off on that alien spacecraft — he’s made such a mess of his life on earth.