Devils Tower NM

Our travels continue as we left Montana today and found ourselves in northeast Wyoming.

For pictures and comments of all the campgrounds we visited, click on "Campground Reviews" in Top Menu or on the links in the journal.

Our itinerary took us into the northeast corner of Wyoming so we could visit Devils Tower. This was our first view of it.

At the entrance to the park, we found the sign and the tower itself perfectly aligned.

From near the Belle Fourche Campground inside the park, you can easily see the tower.

After supper we drove around to the west side to wait for sunset.

We were only 4 days away from the full moon, and found it rising right over the tower.

As the sun went down behind us, the shadows crept up the tower.

I was up early this morning to try to capture the early morning light on the east side of the tower.

Out where the Belle Fourche River meanders around the base of the tower, ersion has revealed an interesting contrast in colors of the layers.

After breakfast we went to the Visitors Center and took a guided tour walk around the base of the tower. The tower is considered a very sacred place by Native Americans. These are prayer cloths placed in memory of loved ones.

This shows the columnar makeup of the tower. Over time erosion is slowly breaking down the tower. Near the base, just left of center, you can see a tilted column - this is a column that has broken loose, but not yet fallen.

This area of the tower is called the Window - it is where a large section of the columns has fallen. Scientists have determined that the last large rock fall was about 10,000 years ago.

North of Devils Tower are two other relatives, formed in the same manner, but not eroded to the same extent.

Our guide for our walk around the tower was John Aloisio, a volunteer. John was incredibly knowledgeable about the tower and gave us a most enlightening walk.

Part of the rock fields around the base of the tower, where the remains of fallen columns lay.

OK - let's move on to South Dakota.