Night views

We rolled into our next destination at Devil’s Tower in the dark.  We were definitely hoping to get there much earlier but we packed quite a bit into the day.    

This is the picture of Devil's Tower from the campground.  On the left of the tower you can see lights which are the headlamps of rock climbers.  They are climbing up so they can see the sunrise in the morning.  How awesome would that be? 

Wyoming sunset

On our drive into Wyoming we experienced one amazing sunset.  

It was awesome to watch the sunset change colors as we were driving. 

Our next destination, Devil's Tower, was up ahead. 

Custer State Park

We had been told to visit Custer state park since it was so close and also so we could see the Bison.   The drive around the loop was about an hour so it added more to our packed day.  We were actually disappointed because we didn't see very many bison.   We were hoping they would stop our car in the road.   We did see this small group right before we had to exit, thankfully.  

Crazy Horse Memorial

Our next stop was the Crazy Horse Memorial.  We were on a bit of a time constraint so we were ready to take our picture and move on.   Sound familiar?   Our quick picture wasn't very quick.   We really didn't know much about this place and the greeter at the visitor center suggested a 22 minute video and it was just starting.  So, we quickly went into the theater and watched it.  I’m not sure why but it had me almost crying but more importantly was very informative.  

This statue on the left is a model of what the Crazy Horse Memorial will look like when it is done. 

Mt. Rushmore

From Wall Drug we drove down to Mt. Rushmore (along with everyone else?).  We were surprised when we found ourselves driving in the rain.  We kind of assumed that it would be perfectly sunny like all the sunny pictures we see.   Instead we saw the presidents crying.  It was still great to see it!  

Wall Drug Again

After driving through the Badlands, we stopped back at Wall Drug and I decided to go in to help manage the kids.  

It took me less than 2 minutes before my shopping anxiety kicked in.  Brad had more patience and stayed back with Darby and Ollie.   Overall we didn’t spend a lot of time there but definitely more than enough for me.  

Bighorn Sheep

We wanted to see Bighorn Sheep and Bison and they told us at the Visitor Center that we should be able to on the other side.    During our drive we stopped at the Homestead Lookout.   It didn't take long for Brody to spot a Bighorn Sheep.  We also saw 3 other moms with their babies so there were 8 in all. 

We saw this one while we were driving. 

We also did get to see some Bison. 

Driving through

After a stop at the visitor center we drove through the Badlands.   What a sight!    The pictures don't do it justice and we all agreed we are definitely coming back here.   We were on a bit of a time crunch so we had to skip over lots of viewpoints and places for exploring.  Next time!