Jewel Cave & Devil’s Tower

Next morning, on the 24th, we woke up by 6 AM and got ready, finished our breakfast at the motel. I tried some delicious waffles. We left to Jewels cave at around 7:50 AM after checking out from the motel. 

Drive: Keystone to Custer.
Start: 7:50 AM
Destination: Jewel Cave, Custer, SD.
Distance: 34.9 Miles
Expected Time: 47 Mins

Reached at 8:45 AM.

Actual time taken 55 Mins.

Sundar was in the other car. Attic who had come with our colleagues was his senior and he took this as an opportunity to rag him for fun. 

The cave was very interesting with its intricate formations. Jewel cave is said to be the third largest cave in the world. That is something interesting about America. They always market things well. A small stream runs by and it might be turned into a scenic view point. Everything had to be compared with the words best. 

After this, we drove to the Devil’s tower in Wyoming. 

Drive: Custer to Devils Tower

Start: 11:00 Am

Destination: Devils Tower

Distance: 96.4 Miles

Expected Time: 1 hr 42 mins

While driving a turkey came my way and I came to a screeching halt. I was at high speed too as we had taken a different route that passed through some remote locations. 

Reached 1:00 PM

Actual time - 2 Hours.

So, there stood a devils tower magnificent and as though reaching to the sky. We saw a few climbers almost reaching the summit. I wished to explore the summit too. Devils tower have unique structure. It has a gear teeth like flutes cut on them that appear impressive. 

We bid farewell to our friends from North Dakota and drove towards Colorado at around 2:30 PM.

Drive: Devils Tower to Colorado Springs

Start: 2:30 PM

Destination: Home

Distance: 464 Miles

Expected Time: 7 hrs 19 mins

We had lunch at a place called Gillet in Wyoming. When we reached Denver, it began to snow badly. I had to concentrate a lot while driving. We had dinner at Woodlands restaurant in Aurora. We had some interesting experience here. 

When we entered the restaurant the server asked - « Are you coming from the movie? »

And we honestly replied - « No, we are coming from Mt Rushmore. » 

Later we learnt that there was a new Rajnikanth film that had released and there was some offer with a movie and dinner package. So, the hotel was filled with Tamil fans of Rajnikanth. A big buffet was arranged. 

We reached home by 11:00 PM. 

Actual time taken- 8 Hrs, 30 Mins (Lunch, Dinner, Snow)

It was a great drive, great trip and it is always nice to meet old friends. I was happy to meet Vinayak and Reddy here in the US.