2014XC: Day 7, June 18 – South Dakota to Wyoming
Pancakes and OJ to start the day, then off to a long day of driving.
Looking at the map, we thought a stop in Sturgis, South Dakota would be a good break. I had never heard about it before, but Steve was excited to check it out with the boys. Apparently, in case you’ve never heard of it either, it’s a big party place where bikers come from all over the country to visit at a specific time of year, I think it’s in August. The town was small, and you could tell by the number of bars and souvenir and tattoo shops that this is what they gear up for all year. Anyway, we stopped at the Motorcycle Museum in town. It was cool to see different bikes and other memorabilia. But the best bike, we all agreed, was the “Bic” bike by Orange County Choppers!
Great thing about having the camper is that we can just make some sandwiches from the fridge and just about have lunch anywhere. Definite bonus. So back on the road to Wyoming. It was a beautiful ride in, over lots of hills. Steve had been giving the boys challenges as a way to earn money for snacks or souvenirs – little challenges like who was the first to see a certain animal or monument, etc. It was only for $1, but all the kids had their eagles eyes out for Devil’s Tower. Too bad for them that I snagged this one! 🙂
The campground was just outside of the entrance to the Monument. We were really happy about that, and that we arrived there before it was dark. It was so much nicer to set up during daylight and take advantage of some of the campground amenities. The kids loved the pool, of course. The campground was laid out nicely against the backdrop and area surrounding the monument and I was able to get some nice pictures with the sun setting. Each night, the campground plays the movie “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” on a big screen TV outside with Devil’s Tower directly behind it. I guess a large portion of the film was made there, so it’s their claim to fame I suppose. The boys liked the movie but were unimpressed with the “special effects” from back in “our” day.
Excited to hike around the monument tomorrow!