Hotter than the Devil!

Day 9 Devils Tower
Today we ventured farther away from camp and traveled to Devils Tower in Wyoming. We went up Route 385 to Deadwood and then headed south on 85 thru the Black Hills. Lots of long hauls up and down. As we crossed the state line we stopped for a "Kodak Moment" at the state line sign. There were 4 firefighters from Arlington Texas doing the same thing so we took pictures for them and they took pictures for us. They told us about home for them were it is typically in the 100's and very dry. However, this year it is much cooler and they've had nothing but rain. They said it gets so hot there that the blacktop practically boils on the road. Boy, remind me to skip Texas in the summer. They did tell us that there is a really nice riding along the Rio Grande where it is somewhat cooler.
Onward we traveled to Sundance where when we stopped for gas I checked our messages and found that Chelsea didn't have water at the house and the phone was out. Seems we had some severe storms last nite at home (just like here!). So, we got hold of a neighbor and he got the water going for us (thanks Bruce). I was quite relieved to hear that we didn't have to have a new well drilled!
We lost Scott and Sandy for a minute, then we met up again and journeyed on. We left the Black Hills and got back into the flatter lands where we saw many fields that were recently harvested for hay and one that they were currently harvesting wheat. It was a really hot ride and everything looked really dry again. Then we rounded a bend and there it was-Devils Tower in the distance. It was very dramatic sticking up in the middle of all the flatlands.
We got closer and it just kept getting bigger and bigger. There were tons of bikes making the same pilgrimage. We spent a little bit of time there and Sandy communed with the Prairie Dogs (see pictures). Then, onto Heulett where there were tons of more vendors set up. We ate at a little restaurant (same one Chel!) that had air conditioning. It was quite a relief to be in air conditioning, sort of, and we enjoyed the highest buffet we have all experienced. If you were short, you definitely had problems here.
We continued on to Aladin, population 52, (or was it 15) and then headed down to Route 90. We only took Route 90 for a short spell, thank god because it is sooooo boring (how will we survive the ride home which will be nothing but Route 90). We stopped at a local watering hole to cool off again and eat tons of peanuts. Then Tom took us down thru Spearfish Canyon which was breathtaking. The walls of the canyon took off from the edge of the road in many places and just went straight up. The lines of bikes coming and going was getting pretty continuous now. The best part was that it was much cooler so we started to come back to life.
Back at the campground we saw a bike arrive with a sidecar that had a yellow lab sitting contentedly in it. Molly is from St. Louis and went across country earlier this year. She has ridden in the Rolling Thunder ride which are groups, mainly vets, that ride from all across the country to the Wall in DC. She sits in the sidecar, harnessed in with goggles on! All told, she has ridden over 65,000 miles! Wow.
So far the traffic and crowds have not been bad. One cop told us the crowds were less so far and that they are typically at their peak by Tuesday. By then, it will be a continuous stream of traffic and he said that you may wait up to 1/2 hour to make a left turn. Wow, that sounds like fun.
I'd better close as it is starting to sprinkle.....till tomorrow