I lived in the great state of Wyoming for nearly a decade, and it bothered me that I had not yet made the time to visit Devil’s Tower National Monument. My “50 by 40 Goal” is to visit all 50 states by the time I’m 40, and looking at my atlas, I realized that a trip to Devil’s Tower would easily lead me to North Dakota for my 41st state-visited via the northwestern edge of the Black Hills of South Dakota. Thus, a road trip was born. What was supposed to be a five-day scenic trip through at least eight national sites devolved to a three-day haul, but such is the journey when not traveling alone. However, I got to see my two main sites (Devil’s Tower and Theodore Roosevelt National Park, ND) sandwiching a fun time in the historic mining town of Deadwood, SD. This is a long review in spite of a too-short trip; if you read nothing else, I hope you’ll check out the conclusion and start planning your own trip.
Devil’s Tower National Monument
Wow. You can look at photos or fondly recall the mashed potato tower from Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind, but it is impossible comprehend the majesty of Devil’s Tower until you’re standing at its base. If you have more time, you can do a longer hiking loop, but if you only have an hour, you can walk around the entire tower in 30-60 minutes along a nicely-paved track. You will then be shocked at how many visitors do not take this short walk. There were probably 300 visitors near the front, from a variety of countries and states and tour buses… but we only saw seven others walking around it. This made for a nice, quiet hour but also a feeling of incredulity that people would travel so far just to stand in front of the notable geographical feature for a moment. To each his own! But I would say that if you are at all physically able to make the loop, it is worth it to view the tower from many different angles. It’s not as round as it looks, for example. Plus you can see the wooden ladder that was used long ago to make the ascent. Yes, a wooden ladder for 867 feet of rock. Talk about cojones.
If you’d like to do extensive rock climbing or hiking, Devil’s Tower could be a standalone trip, but it’s likely that you’ll combine it with some other relatively nearby sites, as it is remote by some standards. This National Monument is five hours from Cheyenne, WY; a bit less from Billings, Montana; a bit more from Yellowstone National Park; only two from Rapid City, SD; about three from North Dakota. If you’d like to boulder or climb, check with the park office about permits, and don’t go in June when the tower is closed to climbing for Native American beliefs. Making it all the way to the top, you’ll find that it’s the size of a football field.
Deadwood, South Dakota
It’s an enjoyably winding hour drive from Devil’s Tower to Deadwood, SD. I have to admit, my original itinerary gave just a night in this mining and gambling town, and that would not have been enough to appreciate the history its streets and saloons hold. My companion loves the eponymous HBO show, which I haven’t seen in spite of an adoration of star Tim Olyphant in “Justified” as well as the episode of “Sex and the City” when Carrie realizes the pitfalls of dating 20-somethings (amen), so we stayed longer than originally planned.
Your first stop in Deadwood should be the Chamber of Commerce to get their coupon booklet, which is packed with many area discounts and even freebies like a keychain at Saloon No. 10. Yes, that bar is probably the #1 tourist stop, but it’s worth it. This is where infamous Wild Bill Hickok played his final hand of poker, and they offer a fun, free reenactment of the event that’s packed with history of the town, the mining culture and information about other well-known names of the Old West like Calamity Jane and Buffalo Bill. You can stay for food, gift shopping, drinks and slots at Saloon No. 10, or head up a block and down to the basement for a wide selection of beer, indoor cigars, live music and great company at Deadwood Tobacco Company, which was my favorite place in the town and which I wouldn’t have found without the recommendation of a highly crush-worthy Wyomingite.
The Days of ’76 Museum and Adams Museum (donation-based entry) each offer so many exhibits that a history buff could spend a day just reading. But even if you only have a couple hours, they are worthwhile stops. The staff at Adams Museum was particularly notable, giving my friend a lot of info about the TV show versus reality and giving me book recommendations and unique souvenir sketchbooks.
In fact, everyone we met in Deadwood went above and beyond in terms of helpful information and general friendliness. My heart melted when, after chatting for awhile, a fellow outside Deadwood Guns actually tipped his black cowboy hat to me in recognition of our meeting. It’s not that my life is completely devoid of gentlemen, but after a few years in the city, it is really a treat to know that they are alive and well if not tucked away in less populous places.
Speaking of treats, after Mt. Moriah Cemetery (where all the local Wild West celebs were buried) on our way out of town, we stopped at Chubby Chipmunk Hand-Dipped Chocolates, which had hands-down the most decadent truffles I’ve ever tasted. Like I’ve mentioned, my sweet tooth is insatiable, but I could only eat about half of one at a time. If you don’t drive by during business hours, don’t worry, because there is a climate-controlled vending machine out front. These chocolates transcend “candy” to gold-dusted dessert you’ll never forget. We looped through Spearfish Canyon Scenic Canyon before heading north through Spearfish and Belle Fourche. Three and a half hours later, we were in Dickinson, ND for the night to prep for Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park, ND
My last year and a half of travels, seeing national parks in Germany and Hungary and hiking in Poland as well as several U.S. national and state sites, has brought me to a new level of appreciation for our public lands. Not to say I didn’t appreciate them before, given that I grew up a few miles from Black Canyon National Park in Colorado and am the daughter of a career BLMer (Bureau of Land Management), but I now seek out our national and state sites more than ever and am committed to keeping them alive and thriving.
Therefore, it was really important to me to visit Theodore Roosevelt National Park. It doesn’t have the notoriety of others like Yellowstone, Yosemite or Denali, but none of them would exist if not for this area. It was here, overlooking Mako Sika (the Lakota Sioux name for meaning “land bad,” now the Badlands) that future 26th U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt’s passion for conservation began. Unfortunately, it took a few more decades and millions of slaughtered bison and don’t get me started on the native human population, but without T.R.’s influence, we might not have the extensive public lands system that we have today.
Teddy Roosevelt said of the North Dakota Badlands, “It was here that the romance of my life began,” and, “I would not have been President had it not been for my experience in North Dakota.” It’s easy to see why he felt that way overlooking this landscape. It’s not the singular OMG moment of seeing Devil’s Tower NM or Long’s Peak presiding over Rocky Mountain National Park, nor is it the everlasting gasp of winding through Great Smoky Mountain National Park in the autumn where every rust-colored turn is breath-taking. It’s something else, more like a secret that you can only know by going. And unlike many other parks, even on Memorial Day weekend, there were far more bison (and plenty of wild horses) than tourists. Not that tourists are a bad thing; we are helping fund these lands and their conservation efforts. What’s key is that we remember how fortunate we are to live in a country that provides for such efforts and why we need to be respectful stewards of them. I’ll write a separate post sometime when I feel like ranting about what I think it means to be a respectful steward of the lands, but if you get nothing else from this road trip review, I would like to reiterate:
Of the many reasons I’m grateful to be a U.S. citizen, our public lands are so high on the list. We live in a nation with places and resources to be designated purely for preservation and personal enjoyment. It doesn’t matter which side of the political fence you’re on, the moment you cross the boundary to protected lands, you are experiencing one of the greatest gifts we’ve received and one of the greatest legacies we’ll leave. So don’t litter. Take only pictures, and leave only footprints. Stay on the trail. Thank your park ranger and those who work or volunteer for trail maintenance. Respect the wildlife as you are a visitor to its home. Go ahead and take that conference call, as long as it’s with your god to thank a higher spirit for such grandeur. As you plan a trip for the summertime or anytime around the U.S., our cities have a lot to offer… But to me, nothing embodies the spirit of U.S. America like our public lands, and they deserve our reverence and tourism.
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