Hey Guys!
This post continues our time in the Dakotas, Wyoming & Nebraska.
Our travel dates were June 26 – July 6, 2024.
Read Day 1 here, Day 2 here, Day 3 here, Day 4 here, Day 5 here & Click here to see links to all of my blog posts
I’ll start by saying, that this day was one of my favorite days. We really enjoyed everything we did on this trip, especially seeing Mt Rushmore, but I really enjoyed the stops that we had on our itinerary for this day!
We were up around 7 am and by 8 am, we were heading to our first stop of the day, Devil’s Tower.
Devil’s Tower is located in Wyoming and 1 hr 15 mins from Deadwood.
Passing into Wyoming
On the way to Devil’s Tower, we passed the Vore Buffalo Jump.
A buffalo jump is a cliff formation in which Indigenous people used to hunt and kill plains bison in mass quantities. They would herd them and then drive them off of the cliff.
Buffalo jumps have been found throughout the Dakotas.
The drive to Devil’s Tower was really peaceful….there was hardly any traffic on the roads to the tower!
After driving for about an hour, we could see the tower rising in the distance!
There was literally nothing else around but the tower!
We passed the Devil’s Tower Tipi Campsite.
Read reviews here for the campsite
Getting closer to the tower
And closer!
Once you arrive, you will go through the entrance gate where you will have to pay the $25 entrance fee.
Tip: I had purchased the America the Beautiful pass prior to leaving for our trip. It’s $80 and covers the costs of all National parks and monuments for 1 yr from date of purchase. You will have to show your driver’s license when presenting an America the Beautiful pass at the gate.
After arriving to the entrance gate, we were given a map of the area.
Continuing our drive to the tower
Tip: Word of advice, this place gets super busy and the parking is limited. I highly recommend that you get here no later than 9-9:30 am or after 3 pm or you may sit in line waiting for a parking spot for up to two hours!
After getting parked, we headed towards the tower.
There are restrooms and a visitor’s center located here.
We walked around and read some of the informational plaques before heading to the trail around the base of the tower.
The tower stands 867 feet from summit to base. The summit is 5,112 feet above sea level.
Devils Tower was the first United States national monument. It was established on September 24, 1906, by President Theodore Roosevelt. The monument’s boundary encloses an area of 1,347 acres.
Tip: Scenes from the movie, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, were filmed here
The name “Devil’s Tower” originated in 1875 during an expedition led by Colonel Richard Irving Dodge, when his interpreter reportedly misinterpreted a native name to mean “Bad God’s Tower”.
After reading about the tower, we began our walk on the Tower Trail.
The loop trail, that takes you around the base of the tower, is approx. 1.5 miles.
It’s a paved trail that is mostly shaded. It was very peaceful.
Click here for the best trails in Devils Tower
Along the trail, you will notice lots of cloth tied to tree limbs. These are prayer cloths that have been placed here by Native Americans.
Tip: These are not to be moved or touched by visitors.
Of course, we stopped and took lots of pictures along the way!
You will see lots of informational plaques along the trail.
Walking along the trail
One of the most popular things to do here is rock climbing.
There are around 5-6k people that climb this rock every year!
Tip: There is no rock climbing allowed the month of June. Also, during Sturgis week, the park changes the parking & closes campgrounds so read up on that.
Click here for a local’s guide on climbing the tower & Click here for camping near the park
We spotted several people climbing the tower!
More pics along the trail 
As we were walking along the trail, we started noticing tons of trees that were snapped into!
We could tell that it had happened recently…it looked like a tornado had ripped through the park!
As my hubby and I were standing there talking about what we were seeing, a couple overheard us and told us that the park had just opened back up the day before because a storm had blown through the park and downed many trees!
Click here to watch a video of a guy in the park at the time of the storms and narrowly avoiding being hit by a falling tree!
We couldn’t get over how many trees had fallen! Some were snapped into like a toothpick!
So glad we didn’t show up when the park was closed! Always check the park’s website before heading out to any park!
We noticed a sign showing a list of closed climbing routes due to nesting falcons on the rock.
A short while later, we saw a sign for the “window” in the rock.
The window is one of the tower’s most distinctive features. It’s a 300 ft alcove that sits above the boulder field.
Here you can see shades of orange and green lichen that cover the rocks.
Geologists are still uncertain how Devils Tower was formed, but some believe it is a special volcanic feature that formed when magma encountered groundwater, which then became superheated and exploded to the surface, puncturing the overlying sediments.
It looked like the basalt columns that we had seen in Iceland.
The tower is composed of symmetrical columns which are the tallest and the widest in the world!
Some measuring up to 600 ft tall and 10-20 ft wide!
Continuing the trail
If you zoom in on this picture, you can several climbers on the tower!
In 1941, parachutist George Hopkins, landed atop the tower. However, after landing, his 1,000 ft descent rope fail out of reach. He spent several nights atop the tower waiting to be rescued!
More pictures in front of the tower!
Along the trail we saw a sign that told about the first people to have climbed the tower in 1893!
With binoculars, you can still see the ladder they used for one section of the climb!
That ladder is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Tip: The first woman to climb the tower was the wife of the first man to climb the tower
A few more shots along the trail
Near the end of the loop trail, you will come to a boulder field.
You are allowed to climb the rocks but will need a permit to climb the tower.
After finishing the trail, we left the park.
We made a quick stop near the entrance to take our picture with the park sign.
Tip: If you get hungry or want some ice cream or a souvenir, the Devils Tower Trading Post sits right beside the entrance sign.
Click here for restaurants near Devils Tower. The Ponderosa Cafe is the one with the most reviews and was recommended in the Facebook page that I follow
Read reviews for the tower here
After getting our pictures, we headed to our next stop of the day, the Aladdin General Store.
On the way there, we passed through the cute town of Hulett, WY that has a population of around 310!
We passed the R Deli and the roof was covered with bones!
We also passed this old church.
After driving for about 40 mins, we arrived to the Aladdin General Store.
The general store is the best preserved of Wyoming’s five remaining 19th-century mercantiles, it’s been amassing inventory since 1896.
It is the oldest continuously operating general store in Wyoming.
Right outside in front of the store is a working gas pump and a historic gas pump…so cool!
The inside of the store is full of souvenirs, coffee mugs, T-shirts, wallets, postcards, key chains, books and much more!
They had all kinds of candy, snacks, as well as grocery items.
They had a bar as well.
You name it and they probably had it!
The store retained many of the original features that gave it an antique, historical feel. That includes cabinets that are more than 130 years old, and an old wooden cabinet, whose bins have been filled with bright and colorful candy.
There’s an old-fashioned wood stove, old-fashioned registers, and even an old switchboard operating system.
It was so cool!
After checking out the downstairs, we headed upstairs to check out the different rooms that were full of even more stuff!
It was almost like a museum!
They had different rooms that had all kinds of antiques, clothes, shoes, handbags and so much more!
My hubby even found a hat while we were there! 😉
We saw these stuffed badgers with prairie dogs in their mouths.
I had read where some people had seen badgers chasing prairie dogs in the Badlands National Park...I would have loved to have seen a badger!
After checking out the upstairs, we headed back downstairs….we couldn’t leave without purchasing a t shirt!
A few more pictures of the inside 
After making our purchase, we continued our drive to our next stop.
Read reviews here
Tip: One mile from the general store is the historic Aladdin Coal Tipple. It’s an old coal mine. Sadly, we missed it!!
On the way to our next stop, we once again spotted the Vore Buffalo Jump so we decided to stop and check it out.
The buffalo jump was located in Sundance, WY just 15 mins from the general store.
A sign in the parking lot told about the history of the buffalo jump.
We headed inside the tipi to purchase our tickets.
Ticket prices for adults were $12 and children ages 7-12 were $5.
The buffalo jump is open daily from 8 am-6 pm.
We arrived about the time a tour was starting so they let us join the tour.
The tours are guided and last about 45 mins.
The tour will begin in the tipi and your guide will talk about the history of the jump and how it was discovered.
As I mentioned earlier, a jump is either a man made hole, cliff or sinkhole where Native Americans would round up buffalo and chase them over the cliff into the hole where they were later killed.
The Native Americans depended heavily on the bison for survival.
This site was discovered during the construction of I-90 in the early 1970s. In 1989, the family of Woodrow and Doris Vore donated the site to the University of Wyoming, and today, the sinkhole is known as the Vore Buffalo Jump.
Archaeologists estimate that at least 4,000 bison were killed over a period of about 250 years at this place.
After listening to the guide explain what the jump was and how it was discovered, we walked outside behind the tipi where the actual jump is located.
We had to walk down a steep sidewalk to get to the building that had been built over the bison remains.
The pit is about 40 feet deep and 200 feet wide.
There were informational plaques along the way that explained what a jump was.
I know that most of us eat animals and heck, I love a good steak but I couldn’t help but feel sorry for how these animals met their demise! What a way to go lol!
Less than 10% of the Vore site has been excavated.
After a few mins of walking, we headed inside the building that contained the remains of the bison.
There is a wooden boardwalk that is built around the bones.
The Vore site was used as a kill site and butchering site from about 1500 AD to about 1800 AD. Archeological investigations in the 1970s uncovered bones and projectile points to a depth of 15 feet.
They had tipis and lots of informational signs that talked about the Native Americans and how they used every part of the bison for food, clothing, shelter, tools, jewelry and in ceremonies. The decimation of millions of bison in the 1800s was pivotal in the tragic devastation of Indian people and society.
It was really interesting to see!
The pit is estimated to contain the remains of 20,000 buffalo!
There were lots of signs hanging inside that talked about the site and the Native Americans.
After spending almost an hour here, we continued our drive to our next stop.
Read reviews here
On the way, we passed the huge water park in Spearfish.
Arriving to Spearfish
Our next stop was an ice cream store called, Leones Creamery. I had found out about it on the South Dakota Facebook page that I follow.
The creamery is located 20 mins from the Vore Buffalo Jump.
After finding street parking, we headed inside.
There was a beautiful mural painted on a wall right outside the creamery.
The historic city hall building sat across the street. It was completed in 1939.
Tip: You can do a historic walking tour of Spearfish
A picture of the creamery from the outside
After heading inside, we tried to decide on what flavor we wanted…they all sounded so good!
Leones hand crafts their own ice cream so once that flavor is gone, it’s gone!
They only offer 8 different flavors a day. They change their flavors out daily or even weekly depending on how fast that flavor sells out.
On this day they were offering vanilla bean, dark chocolate, mint oreo, orange speckled chocolate, red, white & blueberry, London Fog, pistachio and a vegan almond joy.
You can have your ice cream in a cup or one of their homemade, gluten free waffle cones.
I decided on one scoop of the vanilla bean and one scoop of the dark chocolate.
The hubby decided on the dark chocolate and a scoop of the red, white & blueberry.
It was so good!!
Read reviews here
After our ice cream, we headed to our next stop, the Termesphere Gallery.
It was located down a gravel road 10 mins from the creamery.
I had learned about this place on the Facebook page that I follow.
I highly recommend you join several Facebook pages of the places that you will visit. You can learn so much and get a lot of insight from locals.
The gallery looked like a hobbit house!
Tip: You can actually rent this place out on Airbnb as the owner used to live here but has now moved out but his studio is still here. Read more about renting the “Turtle House” here
No other visitors were here when we arrived so we weren’t sure if it was even open.
Thankfully, it was so we headed inside.
Tip: They are open 7 days a week from 9 am to 5 pm.
Follow their Facebook page here
The artist of these master pieces is Dick Termes. Dick is an internationally acclaimed artist whose work has been recognized from San Francisco to Paris, France and from New York to Japan.
His one of a kind spherical paintings have been published in books all over the world!
Unlike any other painter, Dick does his paintings on spheres, which when completed, are known as Termespheres.
Each Termesphere is a revolving, three dimensional exploration of an entire picture that revolves around you.
It’s like you standing in the center of a building and it is revolving around you!
These were the most amazing pieces of art that I had ever seen!
Dick has patented this type of painting and is the only person in the world that paints like this!
He has been painting these type of spherical paintings since 1968 after receiving his masters degree in Art at the University of Wyoming.
These are not recreations or mass produced ….it takes him months to finish one piece.
I could have purchased one of each…they were so cool!
The lady who worked at the gallery was very friendly and knowledgeable and we spent about 30-40 mins here talking to her about the different pieces.
Tip: You can purchase a unique piece online. Don’t miss the clock tower in downtown Spearfish where one of Dick’s creations sits atop the tower. Click here to find murals that are painted in Spearfish.
Read reviews here
After leaving here, we headed to our next stop, the Spearfish Canyon.
Tip: I also had the D C Booth Historic Fish Hatchery on the list to visit but we ran out of time. Read reviews here
Click here for best restaurants in Spearfish, Here & here for best hotels, and Here for best things to do
The start of the scenic Spearfish Canyon drive is located 10 mins from the Termesphere Gallery.
Spearfish Canyon scenic byway is a 22 mile drive that offers beautiful canyon views as well as waterfalls.
There are 3 different waterfalls located on this drive and you will want to see them all!
The drive is located in the Black Hills National Forest.
Tip: Click here to see all of the stops that you can do along this drive
The views along the drive were beautiful!
After driving for about 5 mins, we came to our first stop, Bridal Veil Falls.
Tip: Your 1st stop would be Spearfish Community Cave Trail
After getting parked, we noticed several people that had gathered on the side of the road and was looking up into the mountainside.
They had spotted mountain goats!
I didn’t take any pictures with my Cannon camera so this is the best I could take with my phone!
They are commonly seen in this area.
After taking a few pictures of the goats, we walked across the street to see the falls.
Bridal veil falls is a roadside falls so there’s no hiking involved.
The 60 ft falls can easily be seen from a observation platform that has been installed for optimal viewing and photos.
I had read that hiking to the falls was prohibited but we saw several people at the base of the falls.
There are a couple of informational plaques at the observation deck
After leaving here, we continued our drive through the canyon.
Tip: After leaving Bridal Veil falls, your next stop would be the very popular Devils Bathtub trail – we didn’t hike this but I’ve read a lot about it! It has several creek crossings & takes about 30-45 mins to hike. Read reviews here
We stopped to snap a quick picture of the historic Homestake Mining Co Hydro Electric Plant that was built in 1917.
Continuing our drive
Later, we arrived to our next stop, Spearfish Falls.
You can park at the historic Latchstring Restaurant in order to access the trail for this falls.
Ok, this trail was a bit confusing but if you are facing the restaurant, walk to your left and take the trail behind the restaurant.
Tip: There are bathrooms at the start of the trail
The trail is mostly flat and more importantly, shaded!
There are a few informational plaques along the trail.
Tip: There are mountain lions in this area
You will cross over the Spearfish Creek along the way.
There were wildflowers blooming all over!
At one point, you will come to a grove of pine trees.
After about 10 mins of walking, we heard the sound of rushing water and Spearfish Falls came into view.
This marks the end of the trail, where a spacious wooden platform gives visitors plenty of room to admire the waterfall.
There was only one other couple there when we arrived!
The waterfall cascaded over the hillside and dropped 80 ft into the creek below.
There were flowers blooming near the waterfall that made for some beautiful pictures!
The couple there offered to take our picture.
The water was so clear you could see fish swimming around!
After taking way too many pictures of the falls, we headed back to our car.
Once we were back, we walked to the Roughlock Falls trailhead.
The trailhead is located near the Spearfish Canyon Lodge.
You can also drive and park at the trailhead.
This trail is 2 miles round trip but, I’ll let you in on a secret, if you continue the dirt road past the trailhead parking lot, you can park right at the waterfall!
Sadly, we didn’t know this until we had already hiked a mile to the falls!
However, with that being said, it was a very pretty hike to the falls!
There were several informational plaques along the trail.
The views along the trail were so beautiful!
I was actually glad that we had hiked it but if you are short on time or have mobility issues, you can just drive to it.
Everything was so green!
I took so many pictures on this trail because I couldn’t get over how green and lush it was!
And by the way, none of these pictures are edited! It was really this green!
We had our first wildlife encounter on this trail….a shrew!
It was so tiny!
They look similar to a mole or a mouse but smaller.
After walking for about 20 mins, we arrived to the falls.
There are several overlooks here so make sure to see them all.
The first one is a small, cascading waterfall that runs through the creek.
It was pretty but definitely lacked the wow factor in our opinion.
Read reviews here
We walked up the short but steep trail to the top of the falls.
You had much better views from here but again, I wasn’t overly impressed with the falls.
It’s definitely worth a stop and the hike itself is worth it!
Tip: At the beginning of the trail is a spur trail that leads to a spillway where you can watch trout as they try to find food
After checking out the falls, we headed back to our car.
After arriving back, we decided to eat at the Latchspring Restaurant as we were starving!
The inside of the restaurant was so beautiful!
The restaurant has been serving food for over 100 years!
We were seated outside with views of the canyon!
After looking over the menu, we decided to start out with the lobster stuffed mushrooms.
They were delicious!
For our main course, I decided on the trout almondine and the hubby ordered the grilled walleye.
Our meals came with a small salad 
The food and the service was amazing!
Read reviews here & see their breakfast menu here, their lunch menu here & their dinner menu here
After dinner we headed back to Deadwood.
On the way, we passed this huge statue of Abraham Lincoln so we stopped for a quick picture.
Near the statue, was a sign that read President’s Park. However, it was permanently closed in 2010.
I googled it while writing this blog post and it looked so cool! It was a park that featured 43 president’s heads that were arranged chronologically along a path winding up into a rocky knoll of tall pines.
After this quick stop, we continued our drive…our route took us through the small town of Lead.
Incorporated in 1876 after the discovery of gold, Lead was home to the largest, deepest and most productive gold mine in the Western Hemisphere until the Homestake Mine closed in 2002.
Now the mine has been transformed into the Sanford Underground Research Facility.
The small town was so cute!
We passed lots of old buildings
We decided to make a quick stop at Lynn’s Dakotamart in Lead to pick up some bottled water and a few more snacks.
After making our purchase, we continued our drive back to our hotel in Deadwood.
Once we were back in Deadwood, we passed the Pumphouse Coffee & Deli.
I had this place on my itinerary but we never made it there.
I also had a place called the Chubby Chipmunk on my list but we never got there either!
They make homemade chocolates! Read reviews here
Heading to our hotel
After getting parked at our hotel, my hubby spotted this coffin and just had to have his picture taken inside the coffin! 😉
Across from our hotel, we saw where people were lined up for the Trial of Jack McCall.
Tip: Something else I had wanted to do was a Stagecoach ride but we never saw them!
Heading inside of our hotel
We decided to walk around and check it out before heading to our room.
One of the employees started talking to us and asked us if we had seen the lock of Elvis Presley’s hair that they had on display.
He told us where it was so we went and checked it out.
The lock of hair was won by a lady who had entered a contest where she had to write a letter saying how Elvis could best serve our country by accepting the draft notice.
The prize was a lock of Elvis’s hair and an unpublished picture of him.
How cool!
We checked out a few more displays that we had missed when we looked at them the first time.
We then headed to our room.
We noticed a door near our room that led outside to a rooftop area.
There were tables and chairs and a fire going.
So, we decided to sit outside for a while and people watch before hitting the sack.
The sun was starting to set as were sitting outside.
After sitting outside for a while, we headed to our room and called it a night!
It had been another long but enjoyable day!
Thanks for reading!
Stay tuned for Day 7!
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