Day 22 Crazy Woman Campground

Here is the gang getting ready to leave our hotel in Gillette, Wyoming.

As we were leaving Gillette we passed the Crazy Woman Campground. Not surprisingly, the campground was full.

Outside of Gillette we saw a huge rail yard. Using higher order math, Chad estimates that there were over 400 locomotives parked in the yard. We rode by them for over 10 minutes. I have written an angry letter to BNSF management protesting the misuse of their capital funds.

Peddling along the tracks we noticed a bunch of propane tanks. We learned that propane is used to keep the switches from freezing. Very interesting although Heiser already knew this.

At Moorcroft, Wyoming we turned north. Dino was there to greet us. I thought he was a Brontosaurus but now he is an Apatosaurus. It is all so confusing.

About 15 miles north of Moorcroft, the scenery changed to hills, ponderosa pine and grass.

As we crested a ridge we could see a monolith jutting up into the sky – Devils Tower.

Fifteen miles later we arrived near the base. In 1875 a white guy named the butte Devils Tower when his interpreter reportedly misinterpreted a native name to mean “Bad God’s Tower”. The Indians really called it Bear Lodge Butte. It was the first United States National Monument (1906).

Indian lore says that a group of girls went out to play and were spotted by several giant bears, who began to chase them. To escape the bears, the girls climbed atop a rock, fell to their knees, and prayed to the Great Spirit to save them. Hearing their prayers, the Great Spirit made the rock rise from the ground towards the heavens so that the bears could not reach the girls. The bears, in an effort to climb the rock, left deep claw marks in the sides, which had become too steep to climb. Those are the marks which appear today on the sides of Devils Tower. When the girls reached the sky, they were turned into the stars of the Pleiades.

Devils Tower is 867 feet (265 m) from summit to base. It is impressive! Michael – hundreds of climbers scale the rock each summer. That is also impressive.

Finally – Devils Tower wouldn’t be complete without the chicken.

Tonight we are staying in Hulett, Wyoming. It has old west, biker bar vibes.

Herb found one bar that had food but they closed the kitchen at 5 pm. So we showed up at 4 pm and ate dinner early. They hung their clothes on a moose head. Very handy!

Stats

• Gillette to Hulett, Wyoming.
• Distance: 72.2 miles (116 km)
• Climbing: 2037 feet (621 m)
• Temperature: 54 – 83°F (12 – 28°C)

Chad Saves the Day Again

While peddling along Chad noticed a blinking light on the shoulder. Herb’s red blinkie had fallen off. Good eye Chad!

Sundry

Chad almost always has a meat stick sticking out of his panniers.

We ate lunch near the Devils Tower. More western biker bar vibes.

These people are either looking for a geocache or bicycle parts.