Devil’s Tower and Rapid City Eye Clinic, South Dakota

 Day 19: 11 June 2021

We travel to Devil’s Tower in Wyoming and Jean becomes “that patient”....

You know “that patient”. “That patient” is the one who calls at 4:30 on a Friday afternoon for some symptoms that have been going on for a couple of weeks but now, what with the weekend coming up and all, “I’d feel better if you could just take a quick look at it.” As we were driving to Devil’s Tower from Spearfish (SD), I noticed that my right eye was blurred. Distance and near, blinking no help. I’ve had serious retinal problems since 1984, so I pay attention, but try not to be crazytown. I devised my own macular visual field and saw a grey area in my vision—it was distinct enough that I could draw it if needed! That put a significant pall on my day, but Devil’s Tower was spectacular.

We got there just at the perfect time. There were two fantastic shots on the way in (horses in one; cyclists who just pedaled into my photo in the other) and other than getting in just after a full tour bus of senior citizens, and having to scrounge for limited parking while dodging construction, it was great.  I know, reading this, you think I’m being sarcastic. But I’m not. When we left the park, the line of vehicles attempting to enter was 3-4 times longer than the line we were in when we went in. Plus the temperatures were 30 degrees cooler than the day before! 

A calendar cover; am I right?

It was easy to take a new photo of the Big Rock every time you walked a hundred yards. 

I waited for the cyclists to ride into the frame and got two shots only. I think this one is perfect. Timing is everything, people!

My favorite—sun to the side, tree on the right framing the Tower.

My friend Marcia told me to look out for the prairie dogs because they are so cute. They ARE! What fun to see them on the way out of the park. It would’ve been easy to watch them for a whole hour. They’re just adorable!

So darn cute!

You can’t tell from this photo, but these are pups.
They’re much smaller than the prairie dogs in the photo above.
They’re so cute when they run!

Just a scene while leaving the area of Devil’s Tower. Gorgeous area. We hit it at a great time too. Red rocks and green grass, just starting to brown up. And the sky...so BLUE....

Once we left, I tried calling the Eye Clinic in Rapid City, but the call kept dropping. I guess you need some bars of signal strength in order to maintain a phone call! Dan was able to pull over when we got up higher and I had 2-3 bars and was able to get through. It took going through several people, several phone calls and finally got through. Of course, the closer we got to Rapid City, the better my sight was getting in that right eye. I was feeling like a schmuck. NO ONE likes to see “that patient” who’s a tourist from out of town, who wants to make you stay late on a Friday night, just so you can hold their hand when they no longer have symptoms. I KNOW that...and fell all over myself to be appreciative of the services I was getting. Turns out, Dr K found EBMD—epithelial basement membrane dystrophy. Which can explain all of the symptoms, the resolution, the dry eye feeling.  Oy. I was grateful to at least have an answer. (Nothing much to be done other than lubrication!)

On the way back from Rapid City, we were able to catch 14A, which took us through the beautiful Spearfish Canyon, along a stream, late in the afternoon. I hope you enjoy the photos. We sure enjoyed the ride. We had appetizers for dinner at the Latchstring Restaurant; Dan tried a “European style” hard cider and I had a Spearfish-brewed citrus ale—very refreshing. This was a fantastic way to decompress after a nerve-wracking day of vision problems. I’m so grateful for the vision I have! (On multiple levels....)

Dodge Ram Ad....for a BAT

Main Street in downtown old town Deadwood, SD

Bridal Veil Falls. Note the people at the bottom of the falls for scale.

Tomorrow we head out to Hardin, Montana. Stay tuned....