Devil's Tower

Because it is very late and I'm going outside soon to watch for meteor showers, here are just a few photos. Today we began our trek back to the east to visit the southwestern corner of South Dakota. We had originally planned to do that two years ago and again just a week ago but the Sturgis Rally is always held during the first half of August making accommodations hard to get and extremely expensive. Today was the close of that annual gathering and we saw many, many bikes heading home.

Before leaving Wyoming though, we took a side trip to Devil's Tower. Established on September 24, 1906, Devil's Tower was the first United States National Monument.

This turnout is several miles from the Tower. Rich took the girls for a walk while I got some photos.

Since it rises so dramatically, to 1,267 feet above the surrounding landscape, one wonders how it came to be. Some of you may remember Devil's Tower from the movie, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, like Rich does, and some may have heard various Indian legends.

In the Visitor Center, the following painting hangs over the fireplace and depicts the Kiowa legend.

These last two photos were taken at the Visitor Center and show how different this side is shaped compared to the first two photos which were taken before we entered the park.

I have to tell you that we saw more beautiful scenery on today's drive but Devil's Tower was the highlight. There is one more photo from today that I want to post though. Yes, we are finally in South Dakota!

Lovin' Life ~~ And Awesome Sights