Devils Tower, Wyoming and Montana v. 90

Montana lived up to its nickname- "Big Sky Country"- on our drive across the big state.  It seems to go on forever.  We saw mountains, grassland, foothills, lots of grazing animals, casino billboards, a few buildings, and fewer people for most of the drive.  

We watched storms pop up in the distance to our left and right.  This one stayed in place for a while- we watched it ahead of us for over an hour.  It eventually blocked our view of the snow capped mountains to the right.  Truly "Big Sky Country".

Our path almost crossed the route from last summer - we passed and saw Custer National Monument from the north as we drove on to Devils Tower National Monument in the northeast corner of Wyoming.

 

Another "WOW" experience.  Devils Tower is a massive block of igneous rock just jutting out of the earth begging to be studied, climbed, and/or worshiped. It has inspired all those activities.  Our initial plan, without having seen it, was to climb it last June.  Since there is a ban on climbing during the month of June, in deference to Native American worship in that time frame, we put it off until the last part of the trip.   As we became more knowledgeable, we realized we needed to be a lot more prepared to tackle this one.   We chose the hike around the base instead.

Devils Tower looks different from each side.  It was formed by a hot magma intrusion into the sedimentary rock above it at around the same time that the Rocky Mountains were formed.  North America was under such pressure from the North American and Pacific tectonic plates that not only were mountains formed, but caves and cracks were exposed.  One crack was filled by what was to become Devils Tower.  The softer sedimentary rock eroded over time, exposing the igneous rock. The columns on the outside were formed when the molten rock cooled and contracted.  There are enormous pieces littering the ground around the monument.  One of the interpretive signs asks you to try to figure out where some of the pieces tumbled from- a massive jigsaw puzzle!

We watched some climbers for a while, and attempted to take a picture through the eye piece of the viewer.  It didn't work, but the photo turned out kind of cool...

climbers resting during descent

telescope eyepiece- pointed at the most popular climbing routes

There is a big full service KOA right outside the national monument, and the National Park Service campground is within sight- maybe 1000 yards.  When we stopped to show our park pass at the entrance station, the ranger asked if we were camping.  Bob said no, I said yes.  She just laughed as we made the quick decision to skip the bigger KOA fee for the one night we were staying.  It was awe inspiring to end our day with the changing colors of the sunset in view of one of the wonders of our world.

Our home on wheels at Devils Tower Belle Fourche campground