Day 5 Gillette, Wyoming to Rapid City, South Dakota

Location: Grand Suites, Rapid City, South Dakota
Distance travelled: 196 miles
Total hours driven: 3.5 hours
States crossed: Wyoming, South Dakota
Time left Gillette: 1215 pm
Time arrived Rapid City: 530 pm

Today we hit two national monuments, Devils Tower and Mt Rushmore. The drive from our hotel to Devils Tower only took an hour, with a stop at a Subway for lunch. With the temperature at around 95 degrees, we walked around the base of the tower on the trail.

Devils Tower from afar

Sign photo

Can you spot the climber?

The trail took about an hour and a half and was nice and paved. On the way out of the park, we stopped by a prairie dog town. The prairie dogs are rodents and named for their dog-like high pitched noises.

Prairie dog looks up at Devils Tower

It was a short drive to Rapid City where our hotel was. Mom wanted to eat in the room, so we cooked pasta and salad in our room. At around 9pm, we left for Mt Rushmore. The park was fairly empty, due to the time, but the lights were shining on the mountain face.

Mt Rushmore with all of the state flags in the foreground

TV

It was impressive, and tomorrow we will see the Native American version of Mt Rushmore, Crazy Horse. Today's the midpoint of the trip and tomorrow includes Crazy Horse and Badlands National Park.