Devils Tower National Monument

We ended up in Washington this week visiting some friends we had met on a mission’s trip when they began talking about Devils Tower in Wyoming. Now since we were passing through Wyoming on the way back to Florida we decided it just might have been worth stopping by this grand National Monument and paying a visit. Well it just so happens that we would only have to make a one hour rabbit trail off the interstate to get a good look at this mountain, so we made plans to stay the night while we were passing through.

Now we had rented a Ford Escape from Hertz and driving this thing across America was actually a breeze, gas mileage was good and the car was very spacious. My wife actually ended up sleeping in the middle seat in the center of the car for most of the time. When we passed through Wyoming we pulled off the interstate and headed straight for a hotel just a few miles away from the mountain, and you wouldn’t believe me if I told you from there we could see the massive “tower.”

The next morning we made our way over to the National Monument and stopped at the lodge out front to learn a bit about it before walking to its basin. It stands 1,267 feet in the area, and its rock face is almost at a ninety degree angle… or straight up. I can’t really explain how the mountain was created… heck I don’t know how to explain it to you except that it’s a giant mound of rock created by volcanic reactions. When we got to the base of Devils Tower it was like being a spec of sand in a desert, it was just too massive to explain. I mean if you average a man at six feet tall, this thing was as tall as 211 men; does that put its enormous size into perspective?

I couldn’t even imagine climbing this massive structure, it’s just too big! It got its name from some of the tribes in the area; the lady at the lodge told us that they believed some of the Native Americans in the area had actually climbed it! I couldn’t imagine climbing this mountain without ropes or harnesses, especially once you get high enough you’re sitting on a rock face while the sun beats on your back!

While I usually recommend you make vacation plans to go see these sites I really wouldn’t plan an entire vacation around seeing Devils Tower. But, wow, if your ever in Wyoming its worth the trip to go see this thing, it is simply amazing!