Devil's Tower, SD

We arrived in Spearfish, SD early since we had planned an extra day to account for possible weather or mechanical problems and none had slowed us down. We took our extra day to drive over to the Devil’s Tower in Wyoming. This rock face featured prominently in the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind back in the seventies. The drive out was beautiful since the aspen trees are turning a golden yellow and splashes of color dotted the hillsides.

 

Approach to Devil"s Tower

View from base trail

Although it was a cloudy Wednesday there were many visitors, and the parking lot was nearly full. We elected to hike the trail that winds along the base of the mountain. It is an easy hike of about 1.2 miles and the surface of the trail is paved. The level trail was a blessing because my knee is still a mess from my trip to Acadia National Park with my son Chris.

This mountain holds spiritual significance to some Native Americans and prayer bundles and prayer cloths could be seen throughout the trees along the path. It is also holds a strong attraction to rock climbers, and while we were there several could be seen hundreds of feet about the boulder field at the base of the mountain. Believe it out not, the record for climbing this mountain is sixteen minutes! That was done by a very talented, if not sane, free-climber. I understand that the average climber takes closer to six hours utilizing ropes and other aids.

Prayer bundles

We took a less direct path back to the campground and avoided the interstate. Highway 24 rolls through beautiful hill country and is a well-maintained two-lane highway. We saw some deer, but the highlight was the number of wild turkeys we encountered. In the three or four different meadows we saw at least fifty turkeys. The highway runs through the small community of Hullett, and we stopped in at the Red Rock Cafe for pattie melts and fries. Pretty darned good, so if you find yourself in this area stop in. The beef and wild rice soup was great, too.