The First United States National Monument

 Devil's Tower

WY-110, Devils Tower, WY 82714

Open 24 hours

     I, like millions of other people, clearly love nature. I love travel. I love history. I love getting far, far away from people. So, I was very excited when I learned about the Devil's tower! 

     Kevin, Lily and I were driving through Wyoming, headed towards Nevada. Wyoming, by the way, is not the state I thought it was. I didn't know much about the cowboy state, but I still had this preconceived notion that it was going to be way more boring. It was actually really cool driving through the rolling plains. with the occasional Pronghorn sighting. Kevin never caught sight of them, which is great because he was paying attention to the road, but also means he didn't believe that I actually saw anything. 

     What wasn't cool was the storm we drove through. I lived in Houston for ten years and am pretty familiar with intense rain, but holy guacamole. It started as some rain in the distance, then turned into the most blinding and intense storm I had ever driven through. We were on a two lane road with no shoulder, and even with headlights, we couldn't see a car near us until it was two feet away. Terrifying.

     Anyway, we got through that, and Kevin threw out the idea of going to see the Devil's tower, which was only an hour out of the way. It didn't take long for us to see this huge, cylindrical mass sticking out of the middle of no where. 

     Originally named "Bear Lodge" by local Native Americans, it is now known as Devils Tower because of a mistranslation by Colonel Richard Irving Dodge, who was exploring the area. He mistook the Lakota word for "bear" for "bad god's". To be clear, there is no association with evil spirits or anything like that and this monument. However, it is and was a sacred place for the Plains Indians. The most sacred time of the year here is June, which was unfortunately also a great time of the year for mountain climbers to visit. Obviously there was some tension, and climbing was suspended back in 1995. You can still get in some great hiking on these trails, though! Just make sure you leave the pups at home (they are not allowed on any trail). 

     The tower is a geological wonder, and despite centuries of being studied, scientists cannot agree on how it was formed. It is definitely began as magma, then became phonolite porphyry, and sits on a heap of sedimentary rock. How that magma came to be formed into on of the biggest specimens of columnar jointing on earth has yet to be determined, but there are theories. 

     Okay, so that's the fun science-y stuff. Let me tell you about half the reason you should love this place. 

Wild Prairie Dogs!

     Actual. Wild. Prairie dogs. So many of them. While we were driving the loop that goes around the tower, we saw an open field with warning signs to be careful for them, so I immediately made Kevin pull over. Sure enough, we saw well over a hundred little doggies, some were clearly sentinels who started piping up once we approached, and all the little babies started scurrying closer to their holes. A few of them, obviously aware that people have food, starting inching closer and closer to us. 

     Remember, be extra careful driving around this part, and do not feed or kidnap the prairie dogs. 

     I was careful not to get too close, but couldn't help taking a million videos and pictures of them. Kevin and Lily almost drove away without me while I kept crying " WAIT JUST ONE MORE". 

     We visited during the pandemic, when the visitor center and all amenities were closed, so we didn't pay an entrance fee, which is normally $25 per vehicle. We still saw a few people out there, but it definitely was much less crowded than normal. Either way, it was definitely worth the visit!