We hemmed and hawed about this destination and, fortunately, decided to go. It really is a beautiful piece of rock. It was America’s first national monument, designated by Theodore Roosevelt in 1906. We listened to an excellent talk by a young ranger who is a high school science teacher in Kentucky (a bit ironic if you think about it). He explained the various theories about Devils Tower and said the most accepted theory is that it was an igneous intrusion of magma into the tube of a volcano that was beneath an inland sea. Fifty million years of erosion have exposed it.
It is 867 feet base to summit. As it cooled, it formed 4, 5, 6, and 7 sided columns 600 feet high and ten to twenty feet wide. The 6-sided are the strongest and least likely to crack and drop.
After the talk we walked the mile plus trail around the tower. Seeing the tower surrounded by giant boulders that have cracked off the columns makes one feel quite small.
This deer was grazing nearby.
A native story tells of a giant bear chasing some boys. They reached the spot of the tower which lifted and saved them. The columns are scratches from the bears claws.
Native Americans continue to visit the tower for secret ceremonies and to tie prayer cloths on the nearby trees. Hikers are asked not to photograph the cloths.
The campground we stayed at was right outside the national monument giving all of us a fairly close view of the tower. Every night the campground presents the same movie, Close Encounters of the Third Kind. It was fun to watch the tower on a large tv screen while the real thing loomed above. Unfortunately, rain forced us to leave in the middle of the movie.
There is something about the tower that is moving. About 4000 people climb it each year, we were well satisfied with our walk.
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