We decided to take a day trip and go to see Devil's Tower in northern Wyoming. What a cool day. On the way there we went through Bell Fourche. We see a sign saying that near town is the geological center of the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii. Well, we had to stop for that. But it is not in Bell Fourche, it is about 20 miles from town off a dirt/gravel road surounded by farm country. To get to the marker you have to get through a barbed wire fence then walk about 100 yards into some pasture land. Watch carefully where you step t is active pasture land. So here we are at the center of the U.S!
You can see by the 1959 date it was calculated after AK and HI became states. The calculation is somewhat suspect in that this spot is considered to have a margin of error of 3 - 4 miles. So maybe we were there and maybe we weren't.
It came as no surprise to me that within 20 miles of the center of the U.S. is a Dairy Queen! How perfect is that?! So we had lunch.
We continued on toward Devil's Tower and it can be seen for miles before you are even close. It is no wonder the Native Americans consider it sacred ground and still hold ceremonies and powwows there. This thing just pops up out of nothing.
On the way home we took a side trip through Sturgis. You know, where the big bike rally is each year. We got there about 8 days before the rally starts and there were street vendors already set up prepared to sell you what ever they could. Every corner and side walk was already full. It was very impressive. While we saw lots of bikes it was clear many more would be arriving soon.
Mean while, back at the campground about an hour and a half away, more campers were pulling in with Harley Davidsons. Several of them said they were there for the rally but would likely only go to Sturgis one day and hang out in the Black Hills the rest of the time. In the church we attended on Sunday they were telling everyone the bikers were coming and what a busy week it would be. I knew the rally was big but did not realize that it spills over for miles and has a very positive image and economic impact.
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