5/18/05 When I woke up this morning I looked out the window expecting more rain but to my surprise there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. I was so happy I almost teared up. After my morning jog I got on the road with a huge smile on my face and curiosity to what adventure the day would hold. I drove on Wyoming Highway 16 through the Big Horn Mountains and it was one of the most beautiful section of roads to date even though I didn’t see a single bighorn sheep. After I made it through the mountain range I was on my way to Devils Tower. I opted to take what I thought would be a more scenic back road option that was a little longer than the freeway but I did manage a little 30 minute nap alongside the road.. Well it wasn’t very scenic but still nicer than the freeway. As I came upon Devils Tower I wasn’t overly impressed but that would all change. There is a really nice state park campground about a mile from the base of the tower so I quickly snagged a spot and set up camp. At about 7:30 I went up to the tower to watch the sunset. At the base of the tower there is some serious boulders which were once part of the tower, perfect perches which to watch the sunset from. I had a little bit of time before the sun set so I had some fun bouldering and getting a better vantage point. Once I set down and watched the sun set I had the feeling that this was a very spirtual place. I can see how the Indians had held this place with such high regard. I sat there for almost 2 hours watching the sunset and listening to the wild turkeys and the other wildlife. I feel kind of bad for the place because I could just imagine in about 3 weeks the place is overrun with motor homes and crying kids and the whole experience is probably lost. For the two hours I was there I saw only three other people, a definite advantage to going early in the season. When I went back to the campground I stopped and talked for a couple hours to some really nice people from the south and finally called it a night. Today’s Specs Weather: Beautiful (75F) Distance: 275 miles, Worland, Wy. To Devils Tower Elevation: highest point 8,500 ft at the pass 5/19 This morning I woke up at 7:30 and was looking forward to hiking around the Tower. So after I packed up camp I set out on a 4 mile hike. Today was a little busier and there was a pretty steady stream of motor homes coming in to see the tower but these people didn’t make it much past the visitors center so I only saw one other person on the trail. Well feeling refreshed both mentally and physically after the hike I set out for the Black Hills with high hopes that they would be as beautiful as Devils Tower (boy would I be disappointed). As I was getting the bike ready I did a quick inspection, usual check tire pressure etc and I noticed the back tire is getting near the end of its life, I will have to start thinking about changing it soon.. My first thoughts as I came into the Black Hills is that there is allot of billboards and cheesy tourist type attractions. There was a Flintstones themed campground, a Kamono Dragon/Reptile exhibit, and several other attempts to make a cheap buck from Midwest tourists. There were two redeeming attractions Crazy Horse and Mount Rushmore. I stopped at Crazy Horse first and was amazed how huge this monument is going to be. The welcome center was really well done with real live Indians even working there, you know how hard it must be to find real Indians (even though I think a couple might have been Puerto Ricans due to the shortage of real Indians). The story on how this place began is amazing and how it started with a single mans dream and allot of hard work. They had some great live footage of when the guy started building it in 1948 by himself and for several years he did it by himself till he got married and had 10 kids to help him. Today 7 of the kids and his wife continue his dream ( he passed away quite a while ago). I don’t think it will be done for another 50 years. It is kinda funny that a Polish immigrant and his children ended up building a monument for the Native Americans. Mount Rushmore was impressive but it really paled in comparison to Crazy Horse, my advice see Rushmore before Crazy Horse. After getting several great photos I decided to try to put some miles on the bike and some distance between this horrible tourist trap called the Black Hills. When I was in Yellowstone one of the Guides from Trek America told me about a great campground outside a town called Scenic. So off I went and things were going well till I got to a Scenic and all it really was was a store poseing as a town and it was closed and I couldn’t find the campground. So I just kept driving till I came to this cool dirt road that headed in the right direction back towards the Interstate 90. So off I went down the dirt road and funny enough it turned out to be and entrance Bad Lands National Park where I found the really cool campground my friend had told me about. I also hit the 3000 mile mark today, only 59,000 or so to go. Today’s Specs Weather: Beautiful, 80F + Distance: 220 miles, Devils Tower to Bad Lands State Park Elevation: Bad Land Park 2600ft