Day 210 - Devils Tower Loop - ETB Travel Photography

Day 210 of a Year Long Road Trip Along America’s Scenic Byways

Devils Tower National Monument

After a slow start to the morning, VANilla, Petey, and I drove past miles of prairies and pasture lands before eventually arriving at Devils Tower National Monument. The towering rock formation stands 1,265 feet above the river level and dwarfs everything around it including ponderosa pines that surround its base.

According to scientists, the tower was formed when a mass of molten rock welled up within the earth’s crust, then cooled, and was later exposed by erosion. The mass looks as though it is made up of several columns.

The Kiowa Indians, however, explain its creation in a different way. Legend has it that several maidens were out picking flowers when they were approached by a large bear. The bear chased them to a huge tree stump where they cowered and prayed for help. Their god, heeding their call, struck the stump with a lightning bolt causing it to rise toward heaven with them atop it. The bear unsuccessfully clawed at the stump creating the large grooves around it.

While some consider Devils Tower sacred, others consider it a daunting task to climb. It was initially scaled in 1893 with the help of wooden ladders. Now climbers have 200 routes to choose from to reach the summit. Beneath the bright sun, I took just over a one mile hike around the base of the tower and even completed a virtual cache in the process. Just before exiting the park, we stopped by the prairie dog colony and watched them dart into holes and quietly pose on their hind end as they carefully spied visitors.

Black Hills National Forest

The next portion of our drive took us through Black Hills National Forest. During the summer of 1874, General Custer led the first official government expedition to the Black Hills which the Sioux Indians claimed as their territory. The expedition’s discovery of gold drew miners to the area ultimately opening northeast Wyoming Territory to settlement.

The encroachment of settlers on Native American territory broke the terms of the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868. In June, 1876, the Sioux defended their land by defeating General Custer at the Battle of Little Bighorn in Montana only to surrender four months later to General Terry. In 1877, the United States confiscated the Black Hills, an action of which the legality is still being disputed in court today.

On the eastern side of Black Hills National Forest lies Aladdin, a town with the population of 15 and a general store erected in 1890. According to my book, the sleepy town comes alive in August for the Bronc Match and Horseshow. I suppose I arrived a month too soon! After a quick stop in the store, I spent the next three hours driving to Medora, ND. My route took me through South Dakota, so now I can officially say I have been to the Dakotas. ETB