We headed out fairly early again today. Leaving Spearfish, we headed west on I-90 toward the Wyoming state line. It is easy to see that Wyoming is America's least populated state. Almost immediately after crossing the state line, the land became more arid and the houses farther apart. The Black Hills were still visible to the South as we headed west.
Along the way, we saw a sign for Devils Tower National Monument. We headed north on a 48 mile loop to the Tower from the interstate. This igneous rock formation is over 1200 feet tall. The first white men to see it were surveyors dispatched to map out the Yellowstone area in the 1870's. In 1893 a local rancher became the first man to climb the formation using simple wooden pegs that he drove into cracks on the rock face. Theodore Roosevelt made this our first national monument, signing it into law in 1906.
We left the monument and got back on I-90 which swings northward into Montana. A thunderstorm was brewing as we crossed the state line, and we drove through some pretty heavy rain. Off to the west the Bighorn Mountains were barely visible through the fog.
Continuing north, we ran out of the rain. By now we were on the Crow Indian Reservation. We stopped at the Little Bighorn Battlefield Monument. The picture to the left is where George Custer was killed on "Last Stand Hill". In total, 258 troopers of the 7th cavalry were killed here by an alliance of warriors from several tribes in 1876.
We headed on down the interstate and stopped for the night in Columbus, MT.
Great pictures!!! Looks as if you're having a good time!
ReplyDeleteDid you go to the Little Big Horn museum? I was fascinated that they could reconstruct the face of a skeleton found when the grass burned over. They actually identified the soldier from photos. Neato!
ReplyDeleteYou must be headed toward Yellowstone!