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Devils
Tower is a rock monolith. It is 867 feet
from its base to the summit. It stands 1,267 feet above the Belle Fourche River
and is 5,112 feet above sea level. Devils
Tower was first climbed in 1893 by two local ranchers using a wooden ladder. That must have been one hell of a ladder!
We
arrived at Devils Tower National Monument late on Tuesday afternoon. We claimed one of the last campsites at the
Belle Fourche River Campground. For some
reason, half of the campground was closed.
Then we drove to the northwest corner of the park. We drove out West Road and parked in a gravel
lot shortly before the road enters private property. From there, a short walk through a meadow led
to the spot that I’d identified as optimal for sunset photography. We had to wait a while, but alpenglow from
the setting sun finally caught the northwest face of the tower, just as I’d
anticipated.
We
returned to camp and enjoyed a late dinner before heading to bed. We had a big day planned on Wednesday. We had reservations for a morning tour of
Jewel Cave in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
Afterwards, we planned to visit Wind Cave National Park and Badlands
National Park before starting our long drive back east.
Back to Wyoming
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Please remember to Leave No Trace!