Devils Tower
I didn’t spy any UFO’s at Devils Tower in Wyoming (see 1977’s “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” if that doesn’t make sense to you). Aside from the tornado warning earlier in the week, this was the rainiest day of the week with really poor visibility driving into the Park Glad I brought the rain gear!!. I found it to be photographically challenging.
This geological feature jumps out of the prairie and dominates the landscape. It is 867 feet from base to the summit and about the size of a football field with a slightly domed top and about a mile around at the base. The formation of this rocky sentinel is largely agreed upon (formed as magma beneath the Earth’s surface) there are multiple theories of how the magma cooled and was then exposed. The simplest explanation is it’s a stock, a intrusive magma body formed 1-2 miles beneath the surface, that cooled underground and then was exposed by erosion. There are a couple other theories, the least likely being this is a volcanic plug given the lack of other volcanic activity in the area.
This Tower also has significant cultural significance to American Indian culture with myths and legends, (oral histories) passed down through generations. The Arapahoe, Cheyenne, Crow, Kiowa, and Lakota all have amazing stories. Along the Tower Trail one can see Native American prayer cloths attached to the trees. It isn’t appropriate to photograph these spiritual connections to the Tower.
There was also some great vistas and a visit from some mule deer as part of this trip.
