Pullin' Chocks: Take a Hike

We still love to hike. These pictures are from a few hikes we were able to complete this summer in South Dakota.

Bear Butte, is not actually a Butte it is a mountain, and a mountain of significant spiritual significance to the Lakota and Cheyenne peoples of this region. Researchers have found artifacts on the 4,426-foot-tall laccolith (a mass of igneous rock) that date back 10,000 years, and early records indicate that famous Native American leaders Red Cloud, Frank Fools Crow, Sweet Medicine, Sitting Bull, and Crazy Horse all paid visits to the site. The Lakota and Cheyenne have both considered the site sacred. One popular legend states that Bear Butte is the body of a giant bear that was wounded during a battle. Some believe the bear’s spirit still watches over and protects the plains to this day. Since its creation, the butte has been the site of countless experiences, vision quests, encounters with The Great Spirit, and peaceful meetings between tribes.

Jim, Michelle and Steve are ready to begin the ascent.

The gang finds a nice spot to pause for a view.

The resting bench before the final push to the summit.

There is the 215 acre Bear Butte Lake down below.

It looks like spirit flowing from the summit. That's where we are headed.

Michelle, Gari & Jim at the Bear Butte summit. We could see for miles up there.

Groupie pic at the summit,

We watched a small Doe cross over the Bear Butte summit while we rested on top.

Now a short stop in Sundance, Wyoming on the way to Devil's Tower. Steve hangs with bad boy Sundance Kid in his jail cell in Sundance, WY.

Devil's Tower, Wyoming

We hiked the Tower Trail that circles all the way around Devil's Tower so we could see it up close from all sides. It is a mesmerizing place, really hard to look away from the Tower. The tube like strands are fascinating.

We took group pictures with the Tower...

Gari, Jim and Michelle at the base rocks of the Tower...

We experienced strange photo-bombers at the Tower...

We observed skilled rock climbers scaling the Tower...

A little closer in on the rock climbers, yes they really were up there! Would you do that? Not me!

Steve and Gari get a portrait with the Tower...

A view from Tower Trail....

Jim and Steve at the halfway point; they can't decide if they are worn out or rarin' to go...

And we depart at the Sacred Circle of Smoke framing the Tower....

Last hike for the day, back in South Dakota at Little Devil's Tower in Custer State Park. We spied a Trail Challenge marker half way up. The idea was to make a pencil rubbing on paper and turn it in to the State Park Office to receive a

commemorative medallion of your hike.

Gari caught a little Mountain Bluebird perching on a broken tree trunk.

Steve says the trail goes up that crack in the rocks!

Great views from atop Little Devil's Tower. We think these rocks are part of the Cathedral Spires in the area. You see these when you drive the famous Needles Highway in the SD Black Hills.