Devil's Tower or Bear Lodge June 24, 2017

First Flower of the Day

This morning I drove Steve and the dogs (Zoey & Buster) to Devil's Tower. You leave Spearfish and rejoin I-90 until you get to Sundance, WY then follow US 14. I think there is also a total back road - but we were ok with driving partly on the interstate. I loved this drive. This is the magnificent WEST! I love the West, this area appears to have some great ranch land that slowly changes to forest. It reminds me of a place my Dad used to rent, the Chance place. I always loved that place too. You can see for miles. Of course we saw some pronghorns-one of my favorite animals. That is one reason I love coming to Wyoming-- I love the land and the animals. I don't think I will ever get tired of seeing the Wild West.

Also, I want a ranch that has an entryway like this! All donations accepted! We saw Devil's Tower from afar-just a few glimpses at first, then it loomed larger as we got closer.

What a magnificent sight. It is the first National Monument declared by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906. Wyoming is also home to the first National Park: Yellowstone-my favorite! Bear Lodge is one of many names given to this landmark by Native American Indians. The park paper give the Kiowa legend - and other tribes have legends - but this information was not provided. I probably need to research some of the other legends - I would enjoy reading them. The formation of this Tower is still not completely decided by geologists. They agree that the tower is composed of an igneous rock and it formed about 1.5 miles below the surface when magma pushed up through sedentary layers about 50 million years ago. After touring we drove back to the RV and took a nap. Steve and I went to eat pizza at Dough Trader Pizza-it was excellent-and they also only accept cash, no credit cards. They are rated the number one Pizza place in all of South Dakota! If you come to Spearfish, bring plenty of cash. Oh, by the way, guess who forgot his wallet....Yes is was Steve - so it was good I had some cash to pay us out! After eating we toured the DC Booth Fish Hatchery in Spearfish-fun!

Then home - pooped again.