MaryAnn Here
Well here it is, another day gone by. Today's trip was of course to see Devil's Tower and then to drive a heck of a long way toward the Grand Tetons. It really did not take all that long to get from Custer, SD to the Devil's Tower maybe an hour and a half. Yup when we got there sure enough it was a big rock that had moved up to a height of approximately 865 feet tall. If you read the legend at the bottom of this blog you will understand when I say the mountain has huge ridges running up the sides of it.
Jim, Mike and myself walked around the perimeter of the tower. Total time was around 45 minutes (1.3 miles) so we were able to see the tower from every angle.....and yes most angles looked the same. It was very cool walking thru all the pine trees. The first picture I posted was as we were driving up to the tower.
Well here it is, another day gone by. Today's trip was of course to see Devil's Tower and then to drive a heck of a long way toward the Grand Tetons. It really did not take all that long to get from Custer, SD to the Devil's Tower maybe an hour and a half. Yup when we got there sure enough it was a big rock that had moved up to a height of approximately 865 feet tall. If you read the legend at the bottom of this blog you will understand when I say the mountain has huge ridges running up the sides of it.
Jim, Mike and myself walked around the perimeter of the tower. Total time was around 45 minutes (1.3 miles) so we were able to see the tower from every angle.....and yes most angles looked the same. It was very cool walking thru all the pine trees. The first picture I posted was as we were driving up to the tower.
Devil's Tower
Up Close view of Devil's Tower
These columns look small but they are huge and very long. Some of them as you can see broke off and fell to the ground.
Another View of Tower
Mike getting ready to film some mountain climbers
It was difficult getting Mike out of Devil's Tower because he loves to take videos and especially of mountain climbers......and there were many of them. While walking along Jim said, "MaryAnn look on the bright side, Mike only has two hours of battery left." But he really did not even come close to using up that much battery and really Mike was not all that far behind us. We have learned that Mike loves mountains and is really very knowledgeable about them. Sort of like a mountain tour guide.
Judy chose to not walk the tower, so she sat and read and of course got acquainted with anyone who walked by. Such a little social bug. Once again on the way out of the park we saw our little friends, the Prairie Dogs, climbing in and out of their little homes. They are so fun to watch.
Scenic views on our drive from Devil's Tower to Riverton, WY
The drive to Riverton, WY was just drop dead gorgeous, and the best part was I had clouds. All the fields were so neat looking and those fences that are made out of small round timbers ran all over the place.
My pic of the day.
As you can see I loved this picture for lots of reasons. The white puffy clouds, the blue blue sky, the green green pine trees, the champagne colored grasses, the fence of course and finally those cattle wandering all over the place just set the total scene. All I could say was, "Oh my gosh."
Beyond words how beautiful the scenery was
Powder River Canyon (I think)
The drive to Riverton, WY was a drive that left us spellbound it was so beautiful. The only down side to the entire day was all the road construction that was taking place. Many times we had to wait for oncoming traffic to go by before we were allowed to go. They used a lot of stone and tar in constructing their roads so we are pretty certain we have a huge task ahead of us clearing all that off.
Power River Canyon
We did notice that one of our car tires kept losing air and we thought of course that a seal might be leaking as it only went down at night. So on Tuesday morning Jim took the car to the Tire center across from our motel to have it checked. Somehow we had collected a screw along the way. All is well now and the tire is fine. If you are ever in Riverton, WY stop at the Plains Tire Center right across from the Super 8 and tell them Jim and Mary said they were wonderful. Absolutely no charge for fixing the tire, now how is that for being a good neighbor.
This car would be Mike and Judy's
Powder River Canyon
Don't ya just want to make this drive along Hwy 16?
Incredible, amazing, fantastic, astonishing and gorgeous don't even come close to describing just how beautiful this whole drive was. At every turn something more beautiful than before would come into view and all I could think was oh my gosh this is incredible.
We drove for a long while yesterday so we stopped at Wendy's for dinner and you will all be pleased to know we had a Chocolate Frosty. Tomorrow it's the Grand Tetons.
Information on Devil's Tower National Monument
In 1906 President Teddy Roosevelt designated Devils Tower as the nation's first national monument. Devils tower could be called the nation's first national and it could be called the first natural monument. It is actually the core of the volcano exposed after millions of years of erosion brought on by the Belle Fourche River and the weather.
The rocks and boulders around the base of the tower are actually broken pieces of columns having fallen from the sides. The tower stands 865 feet high and offers some of the best rocking climbing around. The tower offers 7.4 miles of walking paths. But it is best remembered from the award-winning 1978 movie, "Close Encounters of the Third Kind."
To read more about Devil's Tower click on the following link. Devil's Tower
The Legend of Devil's Tower National Monument
Many Native American legends have been passed down thru time, but this legend seems to be the most popular.......
In 1906 President Teddy Roosevelt designated Devils Tower as the nation's first national monument. Devils tower could be called the nation's first national and it could be called the first natural monument. It is actually the core of the volcano exposed after millions of years of erosion brought on by the Belle Fourche River and the weather.
The rocks and boulders around the base of the tower are actually broken pieces of columns having fallen from the sides. The tower stands 865 feet high and offers some of the best rocking climbing around. The tower offers 7.4 miles of walking paths. But it is best remembered from the award-winning 1978 movie, "Close Encounters of the Third Kind."
To read more about Devil's Tower click on the following link. Devil's Tower
The Legend of Devil's Tower National Monument
Many Native American legends have been passed down thru time, but this legend seems to be the most popular.......
One day, an Indian tribe was camped beside the river and seven small girls were playing at a distance. The region had a large bear population and a bear began to chase the girls. They ran back toward their village, but the bear was about to catch them. The girls jumped upon a rock about three feet high and began to pray to the rock, "Rock, take pity on us; Rock, save us." The rock heard the pleas of the young girls and began to elongate itself upwards, pushing them higher and higher out of reach of the bear. The bear clawed and jumped at the sides of the rock, and broke its claws and fell to the ground. The bear continued to jump at the rock until the girls were pushed up into the sky, where they are to this day in a group of seven little stars (the Pleiades). The marks of the bear claws are there yet. As one looks upon the tower and contemplates its uniqueness, it isn't hard to imagine this legend as fact.
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