As much as we enjoyed our time at Mount Rushmore, we had to move to our next destination: Devils Tower, WY. The KOA there is directly adjacent to the park boundary so we had a great view from our campsite. If you're familiar with the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind, it was filmed on the property (before it was a campground) and they celebrate it by showing the movie every night of the year, rain or shine.
Since we were so close to the park and it was still early in the afternoon, we decided to go check it out. Most travel guides suggest arriving very early or very late in the day because it gets crowded and people wait over an hour for a parking spot. It was around 2:30 pm and just happened to be one of the five days during the year when the national parks offer free admission, so I was expecting it to be very busy. But to our delight, there was no line at the entrance and we cruised on in to a parking spot right in front of the visitor's center.
This monolith is over 800 feet tall so it can be seen from a long distance away, but this was the view from the base. We were planning to do a hike, but a storm was rolling in so we had to scrap that idea. However, the boys got to complete their Junior Ranger booklet and earn their badges.
It's a good thing we went to the park when we did, because the skies never cleared for the rest of the weekend. It rained all day the next day and was foggy the morning after, so you could only see the bottom of the tower. There is absolutely nothing else to do in the area, so we just had a lazy Saturday in the RV.
Now for the reunion I referenced in the title. Remember how in my last post I talked about meeting the British family at the rodeo in Mount Rushmore, three hours away? They ended up in the campsite right next to us at Devils Tower! They only stayed for one night, but John was thrilled to spend more time with their son. He is a fan of American football but had never played baseball, so John and Reed grabbed their bat and gloves and taught him how.
At one point I was inside washing the dinner dishes and Reed came in alone. I asked him if they were done playing and he said, "No, but Henry had to go drink his tea." Henry was actually eating dinner with his family, but because he called it "tea," Reed imagined he was inside sipping Earl Grey from a porcelain cup. It gave us all a good laugh.
The boys played together all evening while Eric and I sat and chatted with Henry's dad for several hours. We enjoyed the long, pleasant conversation. Life on the road can get lonely when you only have the same three family members to talk to, and we miss just sitting and talking with friends. Even though we won't see this family again, or likely any other friends we meet on this trip, this unexpected reunion will be a fun memory to look back on.
One final note: I think Wyoming earns the prize for the lamest state line welcome sign. The first photo shows what it's supposed to look like, but thanks to road construction they've taken the cool sign down (the posts are still there) and replaced it with this boring temporary sign. Whomp whomp...
Comments
Post a Comment