Close Encounters of the Turge Kind

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Day 9: Devils Tower, WY, Latitude 44.59, Longitude -104.71, 75 Degrees and Cloudy.

Day trip to Devils Tower. The boys now want to see Close Encounters. Tracey was skeptical why we had to drive another two and a half hours each way for one mountain. However, you can see it from fifteen miles away...and then when you are up close, it is so unique and impressive Tracey then appreciated why I dragged us out here. We hiked a loop around the base of the Tower. We could spy a few people ascending. One of the pics below shows someone nearing the top making the 90 degree incline of the climb. As we finished the hike we listened to Teddy Roosevelt giving a talk for a bit. The rain kindly held off until we were done the trail and on our way to lunch. At lunch we enjoyed a brief diversion at the Close Encounters Pinball machine. I hadn't seen one of those since the Fall River CYO in the early eighties.

We wanted to explore and took a different route home. Tracey nixed the forty minute drive to set foot in Montana. So, we re-entered South Dakota and made our way back through Deadwood and Keystone; but once again, the Black Hills provided the most scenic drive filled with wildlife and tunnels carved out of the stone that are one lane.

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