American Adventure

Wyoming (Devil's Tower)

A special thank you to Freida Dent of Hulett, Wyoming

Hello to my friends Karen and Dakota from the Warren Peak lookout

Starting on August 09, 2002, 12:17:56 PM

First of all I will apologize for this page for its download size and all the redundant pictures of the tower but I really wanted to show all the different angles and surrounding area.

The Devil's Tower, located in the northeast corner of Wyoming is quite an amazing thing to see. It looms over the Belle Fourche valley like a sacred obelisk. Many of the local Indians still hold the tower and surrounding area as sacred ground.

From all sides the tower can look different and spectacular in various different sunlight. Since I spent quite a bit of toime here I got quite a few shots of this massive rock.

At just about any time you can easily see climbers dotted all around the rock as they make their way to the top and then back down. I was told that some of them took one of the warning signs from the bottom of the tower some years ago and placed it on the very top. The sign read, "No climbing beyond this point." This next image is a close up of a climber through the lens of some binoculars.

As I stated before, it amazes me as to how the tower can look so very different from the various angles. Some of the rock, facing north, actually never gets any sunlight. Some of the vegetation around the base of the tower changes as you walk around the 1.3 mile trail that circumferences the bottom.

With strict rules of no hunting, there's lots of animals around the tower area. Deer can be seen almost around every corner as well as the prairie dog field. So cute, these little animals seem to have so much fun as they scour around the ground for food and actually play with each other. Quite intrigued and actually a little accustomed to the passers by, they can make for some interesting poses as they watch the people, watching them. I walked out into the field for a while and was amused at the way they signaled each other that there was a person in their environment. They made a sharp little screeching and barking sound and I could see them all darting back down in their holes. Quite clever, each hole actually has several openings to give them the ability to escape their enemies and end up at another location.

I was fortunate to catch some of these shots of a few bucks as they passed by and eventually across the river, the road and to an open field on the other side.

The Belle Fource River and valley at the foot of the tower provides for a variety of resources. Below is a picture of the river and in the distance of the next image you can see the smoke from a nearby forest fire with a few remaining bikers heading to visit the tower.

I caught this shot of a few longhorn cattle. Unfortunately they wouldn't get up to pose for the camera.

More angles of the tower in the sunlight show some interesting perspectives.

The prarie dogs did seem to be quite social creatures as they played and seemed to talk to each other and even cuddle on occasions. It was quite common to see them appear to kiss each other.

Of course, isn't it just your luck to get caught on the toilet as some tourist is taking your picture?

I was hoping to get a chance to climb the tower myself but couldn't seem to get in touch with the right people in the little time that I had. I did, however climb up some of the boulder fields up to the face of the rock itself and get a few pictures.

Lots of small animals enjoy the foot of the tower like this little chipmunk. I think it was showing off, looking for a handout.

As I left the tower area I went for an adventure down a gravel highway up to some local mountains for a nice view of the area.

"Pssst, watch out for that guy on the motorcycle!"