September 13, 2007 - Every since I saw the movie "Close
Encounters of the Third Kind" I was intrigued by Devil's Tower, so
when I saw it on the map in Wyoming as we left the Tetons behind, I
told Mark we had to make the turn. It is a beautiful drive to get there.
When the rock showed up in the distance it was quite dramatic.
We learned that the Lakota Indians had a legend about the rock
involving a bear climbing the sides of the rock and Indians defending the
rock from its flat summit. The bear's claws scraped the rock as he
climbed, making the striped indentations that are there today. They
called it "Bear's Lodge."
An early American fellow
named Dodge had visited
the area and seen the
rock from 20 miles off. He
apparently mistranslated
the Lakota name for the
rock and thought it was
called "Bad Spirit," which
is how it came to be
named "Devil's Tower."
I was intrigued that
Devil's Tower in
Wyoming looks a lot like
Devil's Postpile in
California. But I learned
that Devil's Postpile
heaved upwards, while
Devil's Tower got its
shape from erosion, and
Devil's Postpile consists
of basalt while Devil's
Tower is granite.
One of the greatest charms of this
national monument is the community of
prairie dogs that lives in the fields at the
base of the rock. They bark and play and
scamper around to the total enjoyment of
all the tourists. There are little entrance
holes to their lairs everywhere. They were
constantly popping up out of their holes to
look around and then diving back down
again.
We had a glorious
day visiting Devil's
Tower. We didn't
see ET, but we were
enchanted by the
adorable prairie
dogs and the unique
and real stories
behind Devil's
Tower. Leaving this
unique granite
formation behind,
we wandered east
and south into the
Black Hills of South
Dakota.