Devils Tower – Close Encounters of the Best Kind.

 

Devils Tower.

On Monday, 6/10, we relocated to Bell Fourche River Campground in Devils Tower National Monument. The Tower has been on my list for years, but it just never seemed to work out. Did you know that Devils Tower was the first National Monument? On September 24, 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed it America’s first National Monument under the newly passed Antiquities Act. The Tower was initially difficult to visit, improved roads built in the 1920’s led to more visitors. And then the 1977 movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind featured Devils Tower, resulting in a huge increase in visitors and climbers to the monument.

Devils Tower in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. 
(photo from Pinterest)

We had three days scheduled there and managed to snag truly excellent spots in the first come/first served campground. We had views of the Tower right from our patio! We also had a tiny visitor, a baby raccoon was toddling around behind Bob and Carole’s RV. We thought he might have fallen from a nest in the tree by their campsite. We let the camp host know and the little guy spent the night at the base of the tree. We were hoping mom would return to claim him, but no love. We were happy when some of the park volunteers picked him up and said they would at least give him a chance.

How's that for an awesome site?!

We hope the tiny guy is doing well.

We had bovine neighbors again! 
They were supposed to be fenced, but several wandered through our campsite.

After getting settled in we drove up to the visitor’s center, which is located close to the base of the Tower to look at the exhibits and learn more about the area. There are several trails, and while most of the hikes are fairly short, you can string together a couple if you want a bigger challenge. The one we were most interested in was the hike around the base of the Tower.  

The visitor's center had a perfectly positioned "selfie stand".

That afternoon we watched yet another huge thunderstorm pass by. The clouds were massive and moving fast. Happily, we experienced none of the heavy rain and 2-inch hail that it produced further to the north of us.

We dodged another big thunderstorm.

We got up Tuesday morning and headed back to the Tower. The hike around the base is a must do! It’s a 1.3-mile paved trail that circles the monument. Devils Tower rises 867 feet and the diameter at its base is 1,000 feet. About 50 million years ago magma was forced into sedimentary rock and cooled underground. As it cooled, it contracted and fractured into columns. Over millions of years, the softer sedimentary rock eroded leaving the monolith exposed. It is fascinating to hike around it, it’s the rock with a thousand faces. You rarely get to see a formation of this size from every angle. As you walk around it, the view constantly changes.

The view from the visitor's center is excellent. 

The Tower Trail around the base is paved...

...but it's fun playing on the boulders too!

The Tower had many faces, changing as we circled the base.

The symmetrical columns are the tallest (up to 600 feet) and widest (10-20 feet) in the world. One feature is the “window”, a 300-foot alcove formed when a section of columns toppled to the ground. On the west side there is a huge boulder pile 150 feet deep, more evidence of fallen columns. The good news, none have fallen in the known history of the monument.  

The symetrical columns can be seen from every angle.

Columns fell away to create the 300 ft tall Window.

The boulder field on the west side
of the monument is impressive.

The tower is a popular climbing spot, the earliest recorded ascent was in 1893 when William Rogers built a wooden ladder to climb the first 350 feet before ascending to the top. Records of Tower climbs have been kept since 1937. Approximately 5000 climbers come every year. Over 220 climbing routes have been used and the youngest climber was just six years old, while the oldest was over 90! Please note, I will not be one of the 5000 somewhat deranged individuals who make the climb. One look up, and I am in awe. There is no easy route to the top – although the vertical columns offer a variety of foot and handholds, it’s all ropes and technical climbing gear. I get sweaty palms just thinking about it. Lol.

Remnants of William Rogers wooden ladder are still visible.

The Tower is also a sacred place to over 20 indigenous tribes. There are many Native American stories centered on the tower and Bear Lodge is one of the names given to the Tower. When we visited in June, there was a voluntary restriction on climbing the tower as several tribes visit and hold ceremonies during this time. All along the trail there were prayer cloths tied to trees.  

Prayer cloths were tied all around the monument.

We spent a couple evenings trying to catch the Tower at sunset with varying degrees of success. I also stayed up until 11:30 on Tuesday night to try for a night sky shot with the stars above the monument. No love, by the time it got dark enough for the stars to come out the clouds had rolled in over the Tower. Sigh. I tried a second time and had some success. Yay! Learning how to do night sky photography has been on my list for quite a while. But I thought I’d need to spend big bucks on a high-end camera, who knew you can do it with your phone?! Now, I’m not saying the results are going to be anywhere near as good as those folks who have invested in quality camera equipment, but I was thrilled to be able to capture the stars around Devils Tower. Can you see the Big Dipper right above the Tower?

Evening light on Devils Tower.

We got a little color in the clouds.

Can you see the Big Dipper above the Tower?

The stars were glorious!
Yes, it was worth getting up at 1am.

Wednesday, 6/12, was Riley’s seventh birthday! How is that possible?? He was such an adorable, sweet tiny chunk and he is still our sweet baby boo – although not so tiny anymore. The birthday boy got extra treats and his favorite game – chase the red light. We thought about crossing off the “ss” on the pink Birthday Princess banner, but opted to leave the old man a little dignity. Lol. In the evening, we drove back for sunset pics of Devil’s Tower and Riley posed for a birthday photo shoot.     

Riley at 8 weeks and 7 years. 
Still the best boy!

On Wednesday, we cobbled together a 2-mile hike, doing bits of several trails. Since we’d already seen the Tower from just about every angle, we chose routes that gave us some different views. We passed by a prairie dog town and then did part of the Red Beds Trail which took us past cliffs of dark red sandstone. The color was a stunning contrast against the green meadows. Then we hiked down to see The Circle of Sacred Smoke sculpture by sculptor Junkyu Muto. The sculpture was designed to help raise awareness of the importance of the tower to over twenty native tribes. The sculpture represents the first puff of smoke from a newly lit peace pipe and perfectly frames the mountain.  

Prairie Dog convention. 

Red rocks and green fields.

Bell Fourche River and our neighborly herd.

The Circle of Sacred Smoke.

Bob and Carole capture Devils Tower in the Circle of Smoke.

Our three days at Devils Tower passed much too quickly and we left on Thursday, 6/13, to spend one night at Gruner Brothers Brewery, a Harvest Host spot in Casper, WY. They had an excellent selection of craft brews and good food. Rog and I both opted for a spicy chicken sandwich called the Angry Yardbird. 😊 We had a lovely meal on the deck watching the thunderclouds in the distance and spotted a rainbow arcing over the RV’s, no sign of that pot of gold though. Lol.

Gruner Brothers Brewery in Casper, WY.

A rainbow over our happy homes.

Next up is a super busy week in Rock Springs, WY. Why there? We’re meeting up with about a thousand of our favorite RVing friends!