Road Trip 2012: Saturday 9/22

66 miles: Visited Devils Tower National Monument, and still camped in Sundance, Wyoming.

The air was clear and chilly.  We got an early start.  Devils Tower is about 45 minutes from the campground and we arrived just about 9:00.  There were few people there, but by the time we left at 11:30, the parking lot was full of cars and tour busses.  The moral of the story for visiting many of  the National Parks is to get there early.  I discovered that same thing last year at Yosemite and the Grand Canyon.  Get there at 8:00 and you pretty much had the place to yourself.  By 11:00, its a zoo.  I'm glad I'm a morning person.  :-)

In 1906, President Teddy Roosevelt designated Devils Tower as the first National Monument.  The rock formation stands 865 feet high and is the weathered remains of the core of a volcano that has been exposed after millions of years of erosion.  For many, it is best remembered for the 1978 movie, "Close encounters of the Third Kind".

You can spot the tower for miles away because it is so different and unique in appearance.  Its no wonder so many Native American legends surround it.  The tower has a strong ceremonial connections and is a sacred site for many of the Plains Indians.

First glimpse of Devils Tower, in the center of the photo.

There is a 1.3 mile trail encircling the base of the tower, so I hiked it.  The National Park Service has a strict policy forbidding dogs on any of the trails.  So Zoey was relegated to the truck, parking lots and scenic turn outs.  :-(

Devils Tower is a rock climber's paradise.  The first totally free ascent was made in 1937, although it had been climbed with the aid a ladders as early as 1893.  There were climbers on the rock today, and using binoculars,  I watched them for some time.

Look hard and just to the lower right of center are a couple of climbers.

I found a remote parking lot, made lunch and let Zoey run.  The aspen trees are glorious now.

We got back to the campground about 1:00 and I decided to take the rest of the day off and not travel.  I did some laundry and took a nap.  It was a nice day.  On Sunday we are off to Cody, Wyoming and plan to spent a couple days in Yellowstone and Teton National Parks.  Then its off to Craters of the Moon National Park in Idaho..........