Mostly Sunny - Beautiful day!
Lat/Lon 44 35.24 N 104 42.55W
Devils Tower made our 4th National Park/Monument in a week. Glacier on the 9th and 10th, Little Bighorn on the 13th, Mt. Rushmore on the 15th, and Devils Tower on the 16th.
I think I have 'monumental overload'!
There was a BIG flag flying near a building on the way there.
Even though Devils Tower was still 3 miles away, it looks like it's right there in the photos!
OK, this is weird. The closer you are, the smaller it looks.
Not sure if you can see them, but there are climbers in the photo below. There was a group of 5, working their way down. There are 4 in this photo, and one was still above and had not started down yet. Apparently this is a fun thing to do???
There is a trail that goes all the way around Devils Tower. So I took pictures from all sides!
Beautiful day to check out a really big rock.
I am still facinated by the red in the hillsides! Pretty view!
Devils Tower was first climbed in 1897, (or something like that.) Two local ranchers made wooden ladders, (occasionally attaching them to the rock,) and climed this sucker. It was probably after lots of beer, and most likely without the permission of their wives. The ladders are still visible - but my camera couldn't zoom enough to really see them, but they show a little.
If you want to see them,... they run down the center of the pic, up against a crack. Below that small shelf of vegetation is a hole/shadow, shaped like a lower case 'b' laying on it's back. You can see a leg of the ladder in that shadow. The ladder runs all the way down that crack. It shows up in a few places better than others. CRAZY!
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To the untrained eye, that may look like late afternoon sun. But it was a spaceship starting to land. And since I'm kinda scared of space aliens, I didn't stick around to get photos of the ship.
Buh bye!!!!
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More 'wildlife'. A prairie dog town. Cute little guys, but it's clear that they can really destroy a field.
It's obvious that this fat little dude has not missed too many meals.
That is the strangest rock formation. Isn't that formed by being pushed up? I can see the ladder, made of rope, right? Yes , that little Pick-Pin is a fatty---he must waddle as he runs.
ReplyDeleteYour poor brain will explode with knowledge before too long. Duck, Charley.