Day 2 - To Mateo Tepee
Summer Vacation 2017, “Out West!”
Day 2 Itinerary:
Cheyenne, WY to Devils Tower / Devils Tower Lodge (DTL),
on the way see the Crazy Horse Memorial and Mt. Rushmore National Memorial
and then on through Rapid City to Mateo Tepee / Devils Tower National Monument, staying at Devils Tower Lodge (DTL)
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1)See the State of Wyoming Museum
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2)See the “closed for [$300M] construction” Wyoming State Capitol
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3)Drive through the high plains, seeing tall grasses blowing in the wind, seeing miles and miles of buttes, usually ending in their own hoo-doos, and seeing some oil drilling and many cows along the way
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4)the Crazy Horse Memorial
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5)Mount Rushmore National Memorial
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6)Arriving at Devils Tower
We had no official morning plans beyond “eat breakfast and see what we can see in Cheyenne before we need to drive on a couple hours later.”
Cheyenne has much to see, and more for us to see on another visit.
We wanted to check out the state Capitol, and we saw it, but with the $300M in renovations underway, you cannot get in. We did see the Supreme Court, and then, as we walked, we saw the State of Wyoming Museum.
We didn’t even know of the existence of the State of Wyoming Museum, but were quickly interested when we saw the cowboy boot outside.
We learned a lot about the state, including:
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⁃More on its being the first place in the world where women earned the right to vote - awesome!
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⁃How they built the Capitol
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⁃Insights into Native Americans and some awesome, modern, Native American art
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⁃Introductions to the state's awesome National Parks
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⁃What it was like to be a pioneer
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⁃The state's dinosaurs
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⁃A stuffed bison at the entrance
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⁃An awesome cowboy / cowgirl boot outside the front door
Photos:
Flags unfurled in strong morning winds, outside the Fairfield Inn & Suites
Abby, and the statue of “Elling William “Bill” Gollings
‘A True Cowboy Artist’
Family Photo by one of the many painted Wyoming cowboy boots all over the state
American bison
State of Wyoming Museum, Modern Art by Native Americans
The Peace Train Exhibit
More than one of the legends about how Devils Tower / Mateo Tepee was created involved a great bear scratching the tower with its claws.
We now call it a lacolith, and suspect it’s granite that formed through an upwelling into sedimentary rock that has since weathered away.
See this for more
https://www.nps.gov/deto/learn/nature/geologicformations.htm
Devils Tower is America’s first National Monument, created as such even before Yellowstone became our first National Park. To promote it, as noted in this exhibit, “George Hopkins parachutes onto Devils Tower and spends six days stranded on top of the formation until he was rescued.”
Learn more about Hopkin’s story at:
https://www.nps.gov/deto/learn/historyculture/first-fifty-years-george-hopkins.htm
The “Equality State” Seal
Letter from the Women’s Liberal Federation in Great Britain to the Women’s Suffrage Convention
Address of Congratulations
send to the
Women’s Suffrage Convention,
Washington, U.S.A.
February, 1801
We, the undersigned Women of Great Britain representing
the Executive Committee of the Women’s Liberal Federation, desire to send by our appointed delegate, Miss Florence Bulgarnie, our cordial
congratulations to the Women of Wyoming on the triumph they have
won for all Women, by the emancipation of the Women of their
State.
We believe that the status of the Women of a Nation is the
measure of the progress attained by the Men of that Nation, and
that the Men and Women of Wyoming who stand on the solid
basis of political equality and full right of citizenship irrespective
of sex, command the respect and gratitude of all civilized peoples.
We believe also, that the emancipation of the Women of
the State of Wyoming is the forerunner of the emancipation of
the Women of the United States of America and of the political
enfranchisement of Women throughout the World.
Signed on behalf of the Sohbel Aberdeen President
Women’s Liberal Federation Sophia I. <last> Hon. Secretary
(Executive Committee) <name> Hon. Secretary
Eva McLaren Hon. Treasurer
Like No Place on Earth
So true!
The Wyoming State Capitol, completely closed for a “complete” renovation.
The drive from Cheyenne to Devils Tower is about 425 miles.
And what a beautiful drive across grassy plains, with beautiful buttes.
“The mission of Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation is to protect and preserve the culture, tradition and living heritage of the North American Indians. The Foundation demonstrates its commitment to this endeavor by continuing the progress on the world’s largest sculptural undertaking by carving a Memorial of Lakota leader Crazy Horse;...”
Who was Crazy Horse?
“Crazy Horse was born as a member of the Teton Sioux tribe on Rapid Creek about 40 miles northeast of Thunderhead Mt. in the year 1843(?). He was killed at Fort Robinson by an American Indian soldier around midnight on September 5, 1877 while under a flag of truce - age 34.”
“In 1876 Crazy Horse led a band of Lakota warriors against Custer’s Seventh U.S. Cavalry battalion. They called this the Battle of the Little Big Horn or Custer’s Last Stand. Custer, 9 officers and 280 enlisted men all lay dead after the fighting was over. According to tribes who participated in the battle 32 Indians were killed. Although Crazy Horse is often given credit for killing General George A. Custer, there is no proof that he was the one who took Custer’s last breath. It is known that without Crazy Horse and his followers the battle’s outcome would have been much different as he was integral in stopping reinforcements from arriving.
“It was after the Battle of the Little Big Horn that the United States Government would send scouts to round up any Northern Plains tribes who resisted. This forced many Indian Nations to move across the country always followed by soldiers until starvation or exposure would force them to surrender. This is how Chief Joseph of the Nez Perces & Sitting Bull of the Hunkpapa Lakota were forced into submission.
“In 1877, under a flag of truce, Crazy Horse went to Fort Robinson. Negotiations with the U.S. Military leaders stationed at the fort broke down. Eye witnesses blame the breakdown in negotiations on the translator who incorrectly translated what Crazy Horse said. Crazy Horse was quickly escorted toward the jail. Once he realized that the commanding officers were planning on imprisoning him, he struggled and drew his knife. Little Big Man, friend and fellow warrior of Crazy Horse, tried to restrain him. As Crazy Horse continued to free himself, an Indian infantry guard made a successful lunge with a bayonet and mortally wounded the great warrior. Crazy Horse died shortly after the mortal wound was inflicted. There are different accounts putting the date of his death around midnight September 5, 1877.”
source: https://crazyhorsememorial.org/crazy-horse-the-man.html
Mount Rushmore National Memorial
"The purpose of the memorial is to communicate the founding, expansion, preservation, and unification of the United States with colossal statues of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt."
Gutzon Borglum
source: https://www.nps.gov/moru/learn/historyculture/index.htm
The flags of NE / Nebraska, and MO / Missouri
Mt. Rushmore Sculptor, Gutzon Borglum
https://www.nps.gov/moru/learn/historyculture/gutzon-borglum.htm
&
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Gutzon-Borglum
We learned at Mt. Rushmore that one of the Founding Father Presidents had his own recipe for ice cream. We won’t reveal the President here, but do recommend you try his flavor... it’s a good one!
We passed in famous/infamous Sturgis en route to Devils Tower:
The Wyoming countryside is beautiful:
Devils Tower is surrounded by an incredibly large ranch, and we were greeted by a grazing bison and pair of longhorn cattle just before the Park entrance. Awesome!
Another awesome “Abby Tilt” from this trip... she tilted the camera intentionally, to make for a special image!
Devils Tower Lodge - AMAZING!
Us in front of the main cabin
Us, where we stayed - the Weissner Cottage, named for Devil Tower’s first climber
The cottage offers:
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-30x35 square foot
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-Small kitchen and fridge
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-Meals in main lodge
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-Breakfast – full country breakfast – comes with the room… something sticky and sweet every morning
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-Dinners @ 7pm, family-style (WY rules – same food for all)
...
AND ONE AMAZING view of Devils Tower, as seen from our patio / deck:
Devils Tower Lodge, in relation to the National Monument
Note: we captured all other photos using ProCamera, by Cocologics.
See also http://vanvooren.us/Photography for more photography links
Links to the rest of this travel journal:
Cheyenne to Crazy Horse Memorial to Mt. Rushmore to Devils Tower
Day 2 - Friday, June 16, 2017
