Deadwood to Devil's Tower — 1 hour, 15 minutes
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Wow. Holy S#*T! Dude ...
How is this possible? How was this made?
Turns out molten lava formed these hexagonal columns of igneous rock over 50 million years ago. Now you can walk all the way around it, stare at it, photograph it — we even saw some crazy people climbing it. You can't miss this if you're in the area. It's jaw dropping. It's alien. Of course, if you're of a certain age, you can't help but think of extraterrestrials and Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 🎵 Re, Mi, Do, Do, So. 🎵
The name "Devils Tower" originated during an 1875 scientific expedition. The Army commander in charge of the military escort, Col. Richard Dodge, wrote that "the Indians call the shaft 'Bad God's Tower,' which he modified to "Devil's Tower."
We were also amazed to hear that tree rats and snakes live on top. How?
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The Lakota legend:
After many days of marching, the Lakota caravan encountered rugged terrain. Bears were numerous in the rough piney hills, but no one feared them as they rarely attacked human beings unless wounded, sick or hungry.
Then one day, as the travelers moved cautiously through the rough pine-studded hills, an alarm was hastily relayed through the column. Several little girls had wandered off and now were presumed to be lost. Search parties were hurriedly formed and dispatched in all directions. Finally, the little girls were spotted, but alas, they were surrounded by a pack of hungry bears. The frightened children screamed for help. The rescuers, still too far away, looked on in horror as the growling bears closed in on the girls.
Suddenly a voice from the blue sky spoke to the little girls, saying Pahá akíli (climb the hill.) It had a strange effect on the attacking bears. For a time, they stood paralyzed, giving the little girls a chance to clamber up a small knoll.
The angry bears, recovering from their surprise, began climbing after them. The situation appeared hopeless, but like the wrath of thunder, the earth shook and groaned as the little knoll, commanded by the strange voice, began to rise out of the ground, carrying the children high into the air. Higher and higher, the mound rose as the frustrated bears growled and clawed at its sides.
The children were now safe from the snarling bears, but other dangers loomed. How were they to get down? Appearing like tiny specks on top of a high, sharp mound, they kept their eyes tightly closed, not daring to look down. But the strange voice spoke again, saying, “Do not cry; you will not fall. I have many pretty birds with me. Make friends with them, for soon you will ride upon a pretty bird, away and away down to the ground.” And so it was. A covey of birds appeared. The kindly voice belonged to none other than Fallen Star.
Molten rocks poured down the sides of the mound, burying the hungry bears. Each little girl now chose a pretty bird upon whose back she flew into the anxious arms of her frantic mother. Indeed it was so, the Lakota say.
BONUS:
Don't miss the prairie dogs on the way out of the park. They're right along the road. They sound like squeaky toys.
Don't miss the prairie dogs on the way out of the park. They're right along the road. They sound like squeaky toys.
Next Stop: Casper, Wyoming — 2 hours, 51 minutes
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Casper was pretty much just a stopover for us.
We got there fairly late in the day, had dinner and got to bed early. It feels like a fairly industrial city with a lot of oil wells scattered around the countryside. We had a collared-shirt dinner at FireRock Steakhouse. Nice locals.
