Devils Tower and the Center of the USA

I think that South Dakota is where everything happened. Sure, people from New York City think that the Big Apple is the center of the universe, but they are wrong. If you want to go to the true center, head to South Dakota. So many things of note happened in SD. South Dakota is the true old west, Teddy Roosevelt lived there, Wild Bill and Calamity Jane are buried there. There is also the Corn Palace in Mitchell, Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills, and the Badlands a little outside of Rapid City. The list goes on and on but, the fact is Belle Fourche SD is the actual geographic center of the USA.

As Chrysa mentioned in the previous post, she ran the Leading Ladies Marathon through Spearfish Canyon. We decided that it would be a great idea to board the dog and make a weekend trip of the experience. I had always wanted to see The Devils Tower Monument, and this was a great opportunity to do it.

The first stop on our little road trip was Belle Fourche SD. Belle Fourche is famous for being the geographic center of the United States. This includes Hawaii and Alaska. The town makes the most of their special designation. They have a very nice museum that has old west products and exhibits. They also have a river walk area, a historic log cabin, and informational plaques explaining the history of the area.

The best part of the visit is the monument commemorating the center of the United States. The monument is set in a beautiful and inviting park area near the river. Chrysa and I spent a little while snapping some pictures and tracking our progress across the country on the monument map.

After purchasing a sticker for the new trailer and a couple other things, we hit the road. The Devils Tower was calling our name. As we started to leave town I actually spotted some people that I knew driving in their Jeep. It was Bob and Laura from work. I waved as we pulled up next to them but they didn’t recognize me. I was just surprised that I actually ran across people I knew in a little town in the actual middle of nowhere. See…everything happens in South Dakota.

The ride to Devils Tower is very scenic. Along the way we drove through some tiny towns, over some very steep hills, and through some steep sided canyons. We also passed a group of bicycle riders doing a competitive race through this very demanding terrain. It was also an extremely hot day out. Hats off to those riders. You would never catch me riding in that!

We pulled up to the tower and were immediately blown away. The tower itself is nothing like the surrounding landscape. The other hills in the area are slope sided forming valleys in between. The tower is flat topped and steep sided. It seems alien as compared to everything around it.

We parked and checked out the visitor center and then approached the tower. We could see people on top. Devils Tower is a world class rock climbing destination and there were plenty of athletes making the ascent. We were just there to walk around and explore the area, and we were happy at the way the monument is presented. There is a developed walkway around the base of the tower that gives you stunning views. It also supplies multiple access points to the climbers.

We took a nice walk around the base and even stopped for lunch at one of the benches along the path. PB&J seems to taste better when you are admiring such a unique formation. We finished the loop and got some souvenirs in the visitor’s center. It was a really unique experience and was a great lead in for Chrysa’s marathon weekend to come.

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