Devil's Tower rises 1,267 ft. about the Belle Fourche river, and was created by a volcanic uprising that cooled quickly, resulting in columns that are virtually all the same size.
We were able to listen to the Ranger talk about the tower, and then after our picnic lunch, we walked all around it. It was pretty darned amazing! And even more amazing were the people who felt that they had to CLIMB this sheer rock face! We spent a lot of time, gazing up in awe, and listening to fellow hikers mirror our thoughts - "they're crazy!!"
On the way home, we stopped by Belle Fourche - which happens to be the geographical center of the nation! We were very skeptical of this claim, since looking at a map of the US shows that Belle Fourche isn't in the middle, but, apparently when you factor in Hawaii and Alaska, it is!
Devil's Tower
Wyoming red rock mountains
The tower from the visitor center
On our hike around the Tower
Another view
The forest around the tower
We went to "hyper zoom" to get this shot of the crazy climbers!
And here's another one - hanging out in space! We counted 15 climbers on the tower.
Expand this picture - there are more climbers here.
The tower is on Indian ground and is sacred for them. These cloths and bundles are put there by the Indians, asking for blessings or offering prayers for loved ones. Once you started looking for them, they were all around the tower
This is the "Circle of Sacred Smoke" sculpture, which is located at the Interpretive center. If you stand in the right place, the sculpture frames the tower
Actually the true geographical center of the nation is about 20 miles from Belle Fourche, out in the middle of nowhere! The monument is here, because it's the closest town to the center.
Pretty amazing!
What a fabulous day! Vivian is the BEST tour guide in all of South Dakota!!
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