FUN-travel: Black Hills, SD – Spearfish Canyon & Devils Tower, WY

August 23, 2018 by · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Black Hills, SD – Spearfish Canyon & Devils Tower, WY 

Devils Tower National Monument

…52 miles from Belle Fourche…

…this massive rock monolith…

…stands 867 feet high…

& escalates to 1,267 feet…

…above the Belle Fourche River…

…& rolling landscape…

…than the Black Hills…

…and a whole lot prettier scenic drive…

…than Hwy 44 to the Badlands!

  • Return via I-90 took us to…

Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway

…a stunning 19-mile cruise…

…through towering limestone walls…

…& dense deciduous forest…

…flowing next to Spearfish Creek with multiple waterfalls.

FUN-fact – President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed Devils Tower National Monument, the first national monument in 1906.

FUN-travel: Jackson Hole, WY

May 21, 2018 by · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Jackson Hole, WY 

  • Abundant wildlife lured them to the valley…

…Native Americans… then fur trappers…

..then homesteaders.

  • But soil was not ideal for raising crops…

…so the valley was used for cattle…

…the Dude Ranch was born… & tourism took off.

  • Then In 1937…

…valley residents built a ski tow at Teton Pass…

…& the rest is history.

George Washington Memorial Park – iconic elk antler archways mark each corner.

FUN-fact –The term “hole” was used by early trappers or mountain men, who primarily entered the valley from the north and east and had to descend along relatively steep slopes, giving the sensation of entering a hole.

More FF – Spotted Meg Ryan on aisle 2 at the Pearl St. Market!