GTTC: Day 10

This morning we set out from Rawlins, Wyoming, around 7:00 am Mountain time. Rather than getting on the interstate like usual, we set off across the countryside on a two lane road, US route 287. It took us north to Muddy Gap where we turned to the northeast on route 220 toward Casper.


In places, the road crossed the plain straight as an arrow. Despite its flatness, Wyoming is high like Nevada -- the GPS indicated our elevation was over 4000 feet almost the entire time.


Along the way, we passed a gap in a wall of rock called "Devil's Gate". This was the name the early explorers gave the formation, although one of them wrote that instead it should be called "Heaven's Avenue" (perhaps because it lead the settlers to fertile land?).




A little further up the road, we passed Alcova Reservoir.


There was lots of red dirt and rock...




... sometimes carved by the wind into fantastic shapes.




Finally, we approached the object of today's quest (drum roll).


The monument is surrounded by amazing scenery. The pictures don't do it justice.



It rises about 1200 feet above the surrounding countryside.


Since the surrounding countryside is at 4000 to 4300 feet, the top of the tower is around 5500 feet above sea level.



Several stories were presented to explain the origins of the tower. The Native Americans had a couple of legends that involved young men or women trying to escape from a bear. When they prayed for help, they were instructed to stand on a certain rock which then began to grow up into the sky, keeping them out of the reach of the bear. In these legends, the scratches down the surface of the tower were made by the claws of the bear trying unsuccessfully to climb up and claim his supper. In one version, after the bear gives up, eagles come and rescue the young people, helping them back to their homes. In another version, the young people and the bear turn into stars and the bear still pursues them across the night sky. Based on these stories, the Native Americans call the tower "Bear Lodge".

The western scientific stories involve volcanic activity millions of years ago which created the hardened cone that forms the tower. There are three different theories describing how the tower might have been formed under several thousand feet of earth and rock. When weather and a nearby river eroded away the softer earth and rocks over time, the hard volcanic rock of the tower was uncovered and left exposed.

When western explorers first visited the area and saw the tower, they used the Indian name for it. The first commercial map of the area, published in the mid 1800's designated the feature as "Bear Lodge". However, a subsequent military explorer listed its name as "Bad God Place" based on reports from Native American informers, which I think he may have misunderstood. If he interpreted the Native American expression for "bear" as "evil force" or "bad god", "bear lodge" might easily turn into "bad god place", which then became "Devil's Tower". And that's the name that has stuck.

My favorite account of the tower's origin is the one Karen and I came up with: Once there was a giant tree and giant dirt dobbers built their nests on it. Eventually, the tree died and rotted away. The dirt dobber nests were petrified and preserved, and that's what the tower is made of.


We got more exercise today than we have most days on this trip -- we walked a 1.3 mile trail around the base of the tower.


Huge pieces of the colums that form the tower have broken off in the past and fallen down. The tower is surrounded by these huge pieces of rock that have flaked off and fallen.


The rocks are scattered through a forest of Ponderosa pine trees.


Some of the trees show signs of past fires.




Some of the trees also seem to be missing some bark in places. We later found out that porcupines live in the area. They come out at night to feed, and one of the things they like to eat is Ponderosa pine bark!



Mixed in among the pines were are few juniper bushes. There were also some oaks and a stand of birches.


After a while, we came across this sign, so we followed the arrow to look through the binoculars.


Along the way, I managed to get a picture of this fellow. These crickets are everywhere in Wyoming making a kind of clicking noise that I've never heard anywhere before. I didn't know what it was until Karen told me it was a cricket.




Looking through the binoculars, we spotted a couple of climbers partway up the tower.


Karen pointed out to me a piece of column that has fallen and is leaning against another column in the lower part of this picture. Despite that, one of the informational signs said that since records have been kept, no major pieces of column have fallen, so the erosion of the tower is very slow. Eventually it will be all gone, but it's going to take a long time.


This is on the south side where the trail goes right to the base of the tower, looking straight up the sheer side of the tower.


Here's a piece of fallen column. Big, huh?


Here you can see where some of the columns have fallen from.


After walking (or actually, dawdling) along the trail for what seemed like a long time, we saw this sign.


So we tried to pick up the pace a bit. Here's more fallen column.



These pretty purple flowers were growing out of cracks in the rocks under the pine trees.



Turkey buzzards were soaring around the top of the tower most of the time we were there. Some of the materials indicated that golden and bald eagles sometimes frequent the tower during the winter.

Here you can see how the tower's base is surrounded by boulders.



As we were leaving, we saw this dramatic view across the landscape of red rock.



One of the last prairie dog refuges is in the monument park. I didn't manage to get any good pictures of them because their coloring camoflages them so well. We could see them, but the pictures just didn't show them.

So now the suspense is over. We survived Devil's Tower and made it to Rapid City in South Dakota. As it turns out, where Wyoming is almost entirely over 4000 feet, South Dakota appears to be almost entirely under 4000 feet.

We thought about visiting Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial tomorrow, but decided against it. Taking the time to do them justice would require more than we feel we can spare. Besides, Karen has information about a vegetarian restaurant in Omaha we want to check out. So we'll just be getting on I-80 and getting on to Omaha as expeditiously as we can tomorrow.

I'll try to get pictures.