Devil's Tower, WY - Wenesday 20 Sept

The problem with writing several days after the fact is I lose track of the day and what’s happening. Today is easier, because we’re here in Devil’s Tower, WY – home of the alien landing and Richard Dreyfus’ fight for the truth. As you can see, we're parked right at the foot of the Devil's Tower in the local KOA. Not many folks here which is good - and very quiet at night - Thanks!

Most of today was interstate 90 from Ranchester, WY, until we turned off to come to the Devil’s Tower. I always imagined the tower being tall, in the middle of prairie, visible for miles. But the approach from the southwest is through valleys and behind hills. You don’t see the tower until you literally right on top of it at the entrance to the park.

Although the long-range view is interesting, it is much more impressive when you walk around the base! About 1.3 miles they say and level grade. Well, they lie! At least, their idea of level and mine differ a great deal. But we made it. We watched folks climbing to the top, climbing down, and some just hanging there. We did talk to some on the trail who had just returned from the climb. If you’re interested, you can make it to the top – via rope and pitons – to the top in a little over 2 hours. A “casual” return trip is about 1 hour. No thanks!

The area around the base is littered with debris from the falling rocks. As you see from the photos, the rocks that make up the tower are geometric in form, usually 6 sided, but can take different shapes, including 3, 5, and even 8 sides. Several of the pieces at the base are the size of a small truck – and this is after they fell and were broken on the way down! The top is slightly domed and about the size of a football field. I’ll take their word for it.

It is easy to see why a movie was made here, it is an eerie sight. The columns look like extruded clay or the clay worms we made in kindergarten pressed together. It appears gray but a gray soften by green lichen and moss. At times it looks gray, or silver, or green, or violet. Birds circle the top, rock doves nest therein the crannies, and golden eagles ride the air currents at the top. I decided, looking at it from all angles, it looks like an up-side-down champagne cork.

More photos later from around the base. Tomorrow, we plan to visit Rapid City, SD and Mt. Rushmore.