This morning when I was looking at some of the great photos on the Black Hills Facebook page,  I was looking at the great skies. No disrespect to our neighbors in Montana – Big Sky Country – but I think the Black Hills have the most interesting skies in the country.

A few years ago my friend John and I hiked late one afternoon to the top of Little Devils Tower, which is next to Harney Peak. We rolled out our sleeping bags on the little patch of grass at the top, pulled out our cameras and sat back.

As the sun touched the horizon, the wind died down – as it does at sunset in the Black Hills. We uncorked a bottle of wine, and watched the show. … It was one of the most spectacular sunsets I’ve ever seen in my life. At the time, there were forest fires in the area, which helped intensify the colors. When the sun disappeared behind the limestone ridge to the west, the horizon turned blood red, rising gradually to bright orange and finally deep blue above us.

The first stars started to show themselves as the western horizon dimmed like a dying campfire. We crawled into our sleeping bags and drifted off to sleep, staring up at the starry night. Kody, my dog, curled up next to us.  (At some point he decided to take himself for a walk, got lost and had to be called back by John.)

By the way, Little Devils Tower is a great place for an overnighter. It’s not a long hike, so you can pack real food and real wine in your backpack. The view is great from there, Harney to the southwest, Cathedral Spires directly east and Elkhorn Mountain due north.

But if you’re a sleepwalker, it’s probably not a good idea. The grassy swale where we slept is on the precipice of a very tall rock face. It would be a very big step.