Our last side trip out of Custer State Park was to Devil’s Tower which is sort of by Sundance, Wy. Sundance looked like a really cute little town. Anyway, Devil’s Tower is this relatively short circumference (1 mile) piece of rock jutting out of the prairie.
Devil’s Tower has long had religious significance to the local tribes and they are given full access to the grounds. We saw lots of prayer cloths left in the trees along the walkway. We also saw and heard a group singing and dancing; we thought that maybe it was because it was the autumn solstice.
We were mildly surprised at how many people were here considering it is now 2 1/2 weeks after Labor Day. Just like last year, we have noticed that the campgrounds are again full. We overheard a ranger talking to a couple about the fact that last year and this year there has been a shift with more people showing up after schools have started (Labor Day). She called it the “Newlyweds and Nearly Dead’s” crowd. We laughed at that. Then we started looking around. How true!!! We have figured out that a part of the problem is also that the parks are starting to close down campgrounds for the season. It is obvious this year because the weather has been amazing (70-80s) with just an occasional rainy day. We did have snow going over the summit on Highway 385, across the continental divide on our way to Custer. But otherwise, it has been very pleasant. We have to remember that it could be in the 30s and snowy next week.
The other thing at the park was a large prairie dog town. It had a trail you could walk through but naturally the dogs jump into their burrow as you approach.
This was a great excursion but only takes a day at most. It is kinda cool to see all the Alien memorabilia in the little general store.