The Devils Tower

Ten miles from Hulett, WY was my next goal: Devils Tower.

Now I have wanted to see this monument, since I learned about it back in 1959 when I was just a little kid. My family did the car camping thing then, and we went past this without visiting it at all.

I had seen a postcard in some tourist trap that illustrated one of the Indian legends regarding it. It showed a giant bear trying to climb the tower to eat some Indians at the top: hence, the claw marks along the sides.

It reminded me of the Godzilla movies I so loved, then. Since then it has always held a spot in my heart to really see...someday. Well, this was that day.

I was not disappointed. It was breathtaking.



While I was there, there were several climbers attempting to scale it. I guess anyone can register a climb, and it is a fairly common activity. It takes about eight hours for a skilled climber to get to the top. I don't know how long it takes to get down, but I suspect anything quicker than an hour or so, would not be a good idea. The top is supposedly crawling with rattlesnakes. I'll take their word for it.



































More pix!






As you can see, the shape of the Tower varies, as well as the lighting throughout the day, giving it a very different perspective, depending where you are viewing it from.

As for the Close Encounters of the Third Kind angle, I can see why it was selected for the site of the first contact with our new Galactic Brothers. It is indeed a very impressive sight. No small wonder why it was our first National Monument.

I think the movie would have been cooler if a giant bear tried to eat the aliens, though.

That would have been awesome.