Close encounters of the Wyoming kind

(Note: If the Little Bighorn National Monument had been open when I drove past it, this post would have been called "Everyone knows Custer died at Little Bighorn. What this book presupposes is... maybe he didn't." But alas...)

After quite possibly the quickest oil change in recorded history (it helps when there are five guys and no other cars), I said goodbye to Rapid City and headed toward Wyoming. But not before stopping for lunch in historic Deadwood, S.D. Contrary to what I've heard about the HBO show of the same name, no one used any fowl language in my presence (I guess they've cleaned up their act since the 1800s) and it seemed like any other sleepy mountain town, not unlike Maggie Valley or Blowing Rock. Except for one thing...

...there was a casino in practically every building in town. Even the mild-mannered saloon where I had a buffalo burger for lunch featured an assortment of slot machines. I did mosey over to the Old Style Saloon #10 (they had $2 single-deck blackjack, resistance was futile), but it was quickly back on the highway for Wyoming.

Last night the plan was to go straight to Yellowstone, but when I got in the car this morning I remembered that there was something on the way that I definitely wanted to see - Devil's Tower.

Devil's Tower was the first national monument, and, with all due respect to Mount Rushmore, the best one I've seen so far. Unlike Mount Rushmore, you can't really sneak up on Devil's Tower. It is a 1,000-foot high stone tower jutting out of the ground, after all. It is also a sacred Native American site, and it's easy to understand why. Not to get too flowery with the prose, but you really get a sense of the awesome power of nature when you see this huge rock that was probably part of an underground volcano 300 million years ago. Very cool.

After the 1.3-mile hike around the monument, I got back in the car and headed west. I stopped for dinner in Sheridan, Wyo., before settling for the night in Billings, Mont., in what has to be the world's nicest Best Western. So tomorrow, if all goes to plan, I'll hit the daily double of Yellowstone and Grand Teton.

Oh, and only two more states to go (!).

Note: As promised, I uploaded a full gallery of the Badlands/Mount Rushmore.