Devils Tower National Monument
Our next bike trip was to Devils Tower National Monument just across the border in Wyoming. It was a bright, sunny day which always makes for a good ride 🙂 Our first stop was at Lead (pronounced Leed) where we stopped for a good look at a closed open pit mine. Scientists have taken over the mine and now do experiments underground.
We continued on our way driving through scenic Spearfish Canyon. We drove through this canyon several years ago in the late afternoon. I have found that it can be a challenge for a photographer because some part of the canyon is always in shadow. This makes it difficult to get a well lit photo. But the scenic drive more than makes up for that!
We then hit the interstate to head to Devils Tower National Monument. It was a hot and windy ride. Windy enough that Les started to think something was wrong with the bike because he couldn’t accelerate as easily as usual. Once we got off of the highway the wind settled down and you could see the monument rising up in the distance.
It really is quite spectacular and strange looking. There were climbers over the face of it which was interesting to watch.
We took a less travelled road back to camp which afforded more spectacular views, stopping on the way to get a cold drink at Dairy Queen. I was cooked so it was nice to bring down my body temperature.
If you get a chance to take in Devils Tower, I would recommend it. Though there isn’t a lot to do there unless you are a hiker or climber, it is well worth seeing.