On day 5 we checked out of the Wheels West Campground, but they allowed us to keep the camper parked on an empty lot for the morning. We decided to go check out Jewel Cave, not far from there. It is the 3rd longest cave in the world only after Mammoth Cave and one in Mexico. Really impressive how much of the cave has been explored and mapped (165 miles), but then there is so much more that they have not yet discovered!
We took the "Discovery tour", which took us down an elevator about 20 stories below ground to one large cave room, which was wheelchair accessible for Elaine's scooter. It was quite impressive. They had other tours that took much longer and would have been strenuous spelunking, but we decided to skip those.
After the cave, we went back to the camper, had a picnic lunch and headed up to the Crazy Horse Memorial. That was worth seeing, too. It is a work in progress since 1948. I hope they get it finished, because it will be really awesome once it is complete!
There was a really nice museum and gift shop there, with many Native American artifacts. We did not spend a long time there, because Elaine was in the van waiting for us, but it was worth even a short stop.
After Crazy Horse, we drove along some more scenic roads all the way to Devil's Tower, Wyoming. we got there in the evening, which made for really nice lighting and views.
Elaine and Leroy stayed at the camper and Daryl and the kids and I walked the 1.3 mile loop around the tower. We had fun watching the chipmunks and squirrels, and also saw some deer.
There was a group of rock climbers about half way up the side and we watched one of them rappelling down the side of the cliff. It was impressive!
Everyone was really tired tonight, so after Devil' s Tower, we only made it to Gillette, WY, where we "boon-docked" at a Walmart. There were a lot of other campers in RVs and trailers all over the outskirts of the parking lot. It was a nice place to replenish a few groceries, too. Overnight there was a violent thunderstorm! It was so loud, wind and heavy rain, thunder and lightning, I thought something was going to blow off the camper! Somehow, the kids slept through it all, and we all stayed safe and dry. Overall we have had lovely weather every day. There have been 2 very short sprinkles of rain, both while the sun was shining brightly, creating lovely rainbows both times!
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