Aladdin Wyoming Store

As I am nearly beat tonight, a picture is worth a thousand words will have to suffice!  We went to the thriving town of Aladdin, WY (Population 15) in which there is an amazing country story: the Aladdin General Store.  It is pretty much as it has been for the past100 years!  They sell general merchandise as well as souvenirs and antiques… you can get a mixed drink and your smokes here, too.

Coal Mine

This is the Aladdin Tipper mine, a coal mine that’s remains are still intact today.  I saw many mines like this still standing when I was a child, but most are now lost to time.

And then there was Devil’s Tower… looming from the distance.  It was shrouded in haze initially, and we had a beautiful day; overcast, but perfect for the walk that Millie and Jane Clargo took around the base, and that Mariethe’, Jane Carter and I painted, and that Yves photographed!  We had a lovely visit with Dorothy Fire Cloud, Superintendent of Devil’s Tower, whom we had met the previous weekend at the Thin Milk Ride.  During that time, she was awarded a very special necklace, based on the sculpture that has been installed at the monument: it is a symbol of peace, the white symbolizing a ring of smoke, and the sacredness of the site. See a 2008 news article about it:

http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/news/local/article_a278b375-9210-5d10-81c5-88b6b4b4c6aa.html

We finished off the day with a lovely meal hosted by Ken and Erin Halsey, my father and step-mother.  Thank you!!!

Devil's Tower from a distance

Devil's Tower National Park

By Junku Muto