Devils Tower

First, we haven't slept well in days.  The constant 35 + MPH winds against the RV give the feeling of a ship on the rocks.  Each gust and wave of wind shakes the place and causes billowing of the slide toppers.  You can just feel damage being done.  And this morning, we woke up and checked.  Sure enough, the slide topper over the living room is growing ragged edges and one side split away from the RV totally.  And, if that weren't enough, it appears the sail action of the topper pulled the slide in enough that one of the cables used to move the slide in and out was jostled out of position and was hanging down and banging against the side of the RV.

I went in to Gillette and bought some heavy duty tape and tried to repair the topper as best I could in driving winds and snow.  We almost bailed.  We really did.  We thought hard about packing up and driving west until the winds slowed down.  But in the end, we didn't because we have already come so far.  Oh yeah, and it didn't look like we could drive out much faster than it was supposed to pass anyway.

So, we drove out to Devils Tower.  In a snow storm.

Visibility was an issue. 

As we got closer and closer we kept seeing signs about Devils Tower view and lookout and could see nothing.  The kids decided it didn't actually exist.  We were just making it all up.

OK, so it turns out, in the above picture, that the view was across the street in the other direction.  But hey, we couldn't tell.

Eventually we saw it coalesce from the misty surrounding.

The view from the visitor's center was pretty cool.

Suddenly I wanted mashed potatoes

Inside the visitor's center, we were treated to the standard set of informational displays and gift shop.  The boys worked on their junior ranger workbooks and eventually won their badges.  They are working on a pretty good set.

This means something.  This is important!

Then it was time for a hike around the base of the tower.  1.3 miles in the snow.  The kids even loved it.

The signs of spring were there, just covered in some snow.  It made for a pretty hike and some scenery that I don't think many people get of this place.  We saw about 6 other people here.

Spring had sprung, but no one bothered to tell the snow.

Sarah was trying to get some pictures too.

It was a beautiful surprise for us, all the snow.  What with the cold and wind though, we were about ready to be done.  One last picture for the record books.

Now next time we visit.