1998 Northern Rockies Trip

Text on back of postcard:
LT. COL. GEORGE ARMSTRONG CUSTER'S LAST STAND,
June 25, 1876, was a hopeless hilltop attempt to defend
his 260-man cavalry unit from total annihilation by the
Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapahoe wariors who had joined
forces to drive white invaders from their land. Today,
Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument preserves
Custer Hill and its mass-grave memorial inside about a
square mile of gravestone-dotted, history-laden
Montana prairieland.

My note to the recipient:
Left Y'stone Sat and drove to Billings, MT where we stayed at a
KOA cuz they had showers and a laundromat. This morning we
went to Little Bighorn then Devil's Tower. Tonite I'm writing this
in my tent which is pitched in (ready?) Bedrock City Campground
adjacent to the Flintstones' Bedrock City Family Theme Park.
It's so-o-o-o tacky, it's silly.

The Bronto Burger Stand and Phone Booths

The (currently empty) campsites.

The main building (where you register, buy film and gifts, and do your laundry) and the bathhouse (where you have to punch a button to get the shower to go for 5 minutes ...about 12 times before the water is no longer icicles!)

You have to understand. This is supposed to be your basic, silly, sappy, young family-oriented campground. But the thing is, we showed up around sunset. The Dino sculpture out front is very Dino, the happy family pet dinosaur by day. At night his eyes light up and they glow -- not white, not yellow, but RED. He's SO very demonic! He became Dino, our Demon God. ...made it easy to find the place at night.

Dino -- Our Demon God!

Text on back of postcard:
"DEVIL'S TOWER AND COMET HYAKUTAKE"
Photographer - Richard Moe

My note to recipient:
Stayed a second night at Flintstones Bedrock City Campground
last night (our day of touring was going to be long and late, so
we decided to not take the time to break and make camp).
The place is a little like the Bate's Motel. There's NO ONE staying
here. There's a tall, thin, dark-haired young man who lives over
the office. There is a nice, old, motherly-type woman at the
registration desk. ...and just about nobody else! There are also
some strange goings on.

[the letter was continued on another postcard that wasn't saved in time]

South Dakota Wildlife: Pronghorn Antelope and Bighorn Sheep

Mt. Rushmore, of course

Jewel Cave (dogtooth spar?) and Wind Cave (boxwork)

The Panhandling Burros of Custer State Park, SD

Text on back of postcard:
WIND CAVE NATIONAL PARK has many unusual formations that
took millions of years to create. This is an excellent example of calcite
boxwork. This type of cave feature (or "speleothem") is not known to
occur as abundantly in any other cave in the world.
BLACK HILLS, SOUTH DAKOTA

My note to recipient:
The boxwork pictured is crystalized gypsum. It formed when dissolved
gypsum filled cracks in the native dolomitic limestone then crystalized
in place. Later, carbonic acid seeped through from above and dissolved
the dolomite, but left the gypsum as boxwork.
Saw Scotts Bluff yesterday and stayed at the Scotts Bluff KOA last night.
Has to be the noisiest campground on earth. There is a popular
state hyw running past and, beyond that, a RR track. Must have been
20 trains since last night!

Text on back of postcard:
DRIVER'S LICENSE PLEASE...
"I need to see your license before you enter the
park and check for proper nutritional snacks for
all the creatures you may encounter."
CUSTER STATE PARK, BLACK HILLS, SOUTH DAKOTA

My note to recipient:
Picked this up a couple of days ago when leaving SD. I forced
the guys down the "nature trail" (by driving myself) so we
could see the begging burros. They hadn't wanted to go, but decided
it was worth it after all. They also didn't want to go to Wall Drug,
but did and decided it was worth the stop. We also ate there. Sights
are fine, but you gotta throw in some silliness sometimes. :-)