It was like this...Joe and I had enjoyed the Celtic Festival about as much as we wanted to from early morning to early afternoon. This was despite the sun and the blowing wind which made it a little cool at times. We loved watching the various sports competitions and absolutely LOVED the Celtic bands.
However, realizing that we were fairly close to Devils Tower, we decided to make a spontaneous trip to check it out and off we went heading northeast. It became even more apparent to us how much the state of Wyoming changes in the way of topography. Here were beautiful green rolling grasslands and hills with lots of pine trees and wide open spaces and no sagebrush! When the wind blows up here, it's as though the grass is alive on the sides of the hills. We even saw a couple of eagles.
However, realizing that we were fairly close to Devils Tower, we decided to make a spontaneous trip to check it out and off we went heading northeast. It became even more apparent to us how much the state of Wyoming changes in the way of topography. Here were beautiful green rolling grasslands and hills with lots of pine trees and wide open spaces and no sagebrush! When the wind blows up here, it's as though the grass is alive on the sides of the hills. We even saw a couple of eagles.
It was about a 60 mile drive from Gillette to Devils Rock and finally you could see it off in the distance. Now comes the reasons for going here...(1) "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" was filmed here; (2) It was/is featured on the old Wyoming license plates; and it is America's First National Monument and run by the National Park Service.
This is a sign at a store near the entrance of the park.
First "official" view of Devils Tower at the park entrance. In 1906 President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed Devils Tower the first national monument under the new Antiquities Act. His action made Wyoming the home of both our first national park - Yellowstone in 1872 - and our first national monument. 
Inside the park are incredible amounts of black-tailed prairie dogs that live in their town. There are lots of signs up saying "Don't Feed The Prairie Dogs"! They have apparently become so used to humans that they come right up to the side of the road and look at us looking at them.
These pictures were taken on the road leading up to the monument. It almost looks like Georgia clay. 
Note the "bear claw" marks. They are very large and are big enough to run a tractor in between.
Outside the park I saw the remains of this old storefront. The picture below shows where it stands in relation to other old buildings. It looks like this might have been an old town at one time.
This is a sign at a store near the entrance of the park.
First "official" view of Devils Tower at the park entrance. In 1906 President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed Devils Tower the first national monument under the new Antiquities Act. His action made Wyoming the home of both our first national park - Yellowstone in 1872 - and our first national monument. Inside the park are incredible amounts of black-tailed prairie dogs that live in their town. There are lots of signs up saying "Don't Feed The Prairie Dogs"! They have apparently become so used to humans that they come right up to the side of the road and look at us looking at them.
These pictures were taken on the road leading up to the monument. It almost looks like Georgia clay. The Kiowa Indians say:
"Eight children were there at play, seven sisters and their brother. Suddenly the boy was struck dumb; he trembled and began to run upon his hands and feet. His fingers became claws and his body was covered with fur. Directly there was a bear where the boy had been. The sisters were terrified; they ran and the bear after them. They came to the stump of a great tree and the tree spoke to them. It bade them climb upon it and as they did so it began to rise into the air. The bear came to kill them, but they were just beyond its reach. It reared against the tree and scored the bark all around with its claws. The seven sisters were born into the sky and they became the stars of the Big Dipper."
Bear Lodge is one of many American Indian names for the Tower. Col. Richard Dodge named it Devils Tower in 1875. He led the military expedition sent to confirm reports of gold being discovered in the Black Hills and to survey the area. Scientists then thought Devils Tower was the core of an ancient volcano. Recent data suggests it is instead an igneous intrusion.
Note the "bear claw" marks. They are very large and are big enough to run a tractor in between. 
Outside the park I saw the remains of this old storefront. The picture below shows where it stands in relation to other old buildings. It looks like this might have been an old town at one time.
This is the remains of another old homestead I spotted as we were driving down the road.
-------------------------------------
Devils Tower rises 867 feet from its base and stands 1,267 feet above the Belle Fourche River (which carved most of the landscape that exposed Devils Tower. In the 1700s French fur trappers named it the pretty fork river). It is 5,112 feet above sea level and the area of its teardrop-shaped top is 1.5 acres. Big huh?!
No comments:
Post a Comment