Ellsworth Air Force Fam Camp - Rapid, City, SD

Left the state of Wyoming today and boy were we in shock to see towns, cars and trucks on the expressway and HELLO - billboards along the roadside.  It was definitely "Country Comes To Town."  We saw a McDonald's and got all excited until I saw a sign right after it that said "Next McDonald's 250 Miles!"  It is $120.00 a week here at the AFB for full hook ups for a week, so we plan to stay here and relax a week.  I definitely had to set down roots and give Billy PLENTY of time to get that satellite dish set up so I can cheer on my GA Bulldogs in the GA/SC football game at 10:00 am tomorrow.  I am happy to report that the satellite is up and working as I type!  Go DAWGS!

We stopped off at Devils Tower National Monument today and used our National Park Pass yet again!  We bypassed the hiking trails and pulled the camper up right in front of the tower and had lunch at our own kitchen table.  "Life is Good Today!"  The diaries of covered wagon women that I have been reading each mention stopping and camping at Devils Tower.  I don't think the covered wagon women could visualize our camping here in an RV in the coming years.  Although I have read how they prepared their wagons in the morning for traveling, and it is not that much different than our preparations when breaking camp.  I definitely have a mental visual of how it must have been for them because I don't think it has changed that much over the years.  The Belle Fourche River carved most of the landscape that exposed Devils Tower.  White-tailed deer live in the wooded areas and we saw plenty of them as we drove through Wyoming .  I could spend hours watching busy, playful prairie dogs in their town on the grasslands below the Tower.  In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed Devils Tower the first national monument under the new Antiquities Act.  His action made Wyoming the home of both our first national park - Yellowstone in 1872 - and our first national monument.  Scientists once thought Devils Tower was the core of an ancient volcano.  Recent data suggests it is instead an igneous intrusion.  And that scientific term is way more information than I need to know about Devils Tower.

We have a great place to park here at the AFB with a view of an opened field behind us.  Hoping to see more wildlife around our camper.  We inquired if we could wash the filthy, dirty and dusty camper and were told "NO!"  At least I will clean the windows so that we can see out.  "Life is Good Today!"