Ok back to the subject of this blog. The Devils Tower is, for lack of a better description, a huge vertical rock in the north eastern corner of state of Wyoming. It is technically a part of the Bear Lodge Mountains (part of the Black Hills), although the area around it it much lower. it stands out for miles. It stands 867 feet from base to summit and the summit is 5,112 feet above sea level. it is big. The tower and the park land surrounding it was the first declared US National Monument, earning that status in 1906. It was used as a central theme in the movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" which was released in 1977.
How it came to be, exactly is heavily debated by scientists, but they all seem to agree that it consists of volcanic rock. So it is an old, dormant volcano. Erosion has taken away the soil around it and what we see today is what is left. That is the main theory anyhow.
There are three native tribes that each have their own version of how it was created. There was one documented in the visitor's center that was interesting.
The Lakota, Cheyenne and the Crow Indian tribes all have similar stories to explain the creation of what they call "Bear's House" or "Bear's Lodge"or "Bear's Tipi", "Home of the Bear", "Bear's Lair" There have been some attempts lately to have the name of the landmark amended to Bear Lodge National Historic Landmark
to recognize the significance to the Native American Tribes ties to the location, but each time it has been rejected - the main reason being it may hurt the tourist trade. There seems to be little respect for the Native Americans who once owned this land.
It is hard to describe what you think and feel the first time you get a glimpse of the Devils Tower as you are driving towards it. You see it for miles away. The picture below was taken when we were still 30 - 40 minutes away from the park.
You will notice from this picture that it is pretty foggy. When we left our camp sight to begin this trip the fog was very thick and we were worried we might not actually get to see the site. Turns out it is so big I think you would be able to see it regardless of the weather, just not from a distance. we were lucky, though, because the fog was lifting quickly and the sky was clear not long after this picture was taken.
As we approached the park we saw a number of teepees along the side of the road. I am not clear if they actually belonged to some of the native tribes in the area or if they were just a tourist thing.
The last few miles were a little tricky as there was construction and cars slowing down to take a look and buses and cars turning in and out of lookout areas along the road. We navigated safely and finally arrived!
To be honest, I thought the best we would do is seeing the tower from a roadside look out. I did not realize that we would be able to go into the park and drive up, almost to the base of the tower. It was even more impressive close up.
Almost since it's discovery people have wanted to climb up this big tower. The day we were there there were several people climbing up to the top. It isn't until you see these climbers on the Deveils Tower that you get a feel for just how big this really is.
With this site being sacred to several Plains tribes, including the Lakota, Cheyenne and Kiowa. Because of this, many Indian leaders objected to climbers ascending the monument, considering this to be a desecration. The climbers argued that they had a right to climb the Tower, since it is on federal land. A compromise was eventually reached with a voluntary climbing ban during the month of June when the tribes are conducting ceremonies around the monument. Climbers are asked, but not required, to stay off the Tower in June. According to the information in the visitors center, most climbers respect this. About 15% of the annual climbers disregard this request though and climb it anyhow. Some of them have sued the Parks Service for violating their first amendment rights. (separation of religion and rule). I find it funny that they find their rights have been violated while at the same time disregarding the rights of the Native Americans.
There is this big field that sits along the edge of the park as you come in. The sign by the side of the road says:
On our way out of the park we just had to stop and have a look. First of all, Prairie Dogs are a lot smaller than I thought they would be. And they are cute! This bunch was clearly used to people and I suspect that some visitors have ignored the sign not to feed them They come right up to the side of the road and look at you like you should give them something,
So we headed back to our camp. We were going to stop in a little town that it is said serves the best bacon and tomato sandwiches, but the exit was not marked coming back so we missed the exit. Oh well. The drive itself was once again full of twisty turny roads and big hills. it is always fun when you are driving and suddenly you can not see any road ahead of you because it drops off. There was also a little airplane along the side of the highway. No advertisement around it so I have no idea why it was there.
And so ended our adventures for today. Time to get the RV ready to go for tomorrow morning. It is the day we return to Canada and probably the last day in 2018 that we will get to wear shorts.
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