Bright and early we drove
into the park that surrounds the Devils Tower National Monument. In 1906 President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed Devils Tower the first national monument under the new Antiquities Act to protect it from commercial exploitation. His action made Wyoming the home of both the first national park - Yellowstone in 1872 - and the first national monument.
The unusual shape of the tower is a geological story, but more interesting to me is the legend shared by several Indian nations of the Great Plains about the origin of the prominent butte. The Kiowa people say: "Eight children were there at play, seven sisters and their brother. Suddenly the boy was struck dumb; he trembled and began to run upon his hands and feet. His fingers became claws, and his body was covered with fur. Directly there was a bear where th
e boy had been. The sisters were terrified; they ran, and the bear after them. They came to the stump of a great tree, and the tree spoke to them. It bade them climb upon it, and as they did so it began to rise into the air. The bear came to kill them, but they were just beyond its reach. It reared against the tree and scored the bark all around with its claws. The seven sisters were borne into the sky, and they became the stars of the Big Dipper." This quotation is from N. Scott Momaday, The Way to Rainy Mountain, The University of New Mexico Press.
According to the National Park Service, approximately 5,000 people climb the Tower every year. We saw some clim
bers way up already, although it was only about 8 O' Clock in the morning, they must have gotten an early start.
Because the day on which we had to give back our RV was drawing near and we had many miles to travel and some more sights to see, we departed the Devils Tower toward the west, stopping only for a little lunch in one of the few towns that we encountered on the way. As was the case several times before, we had a buffalo burger - lean meat without hormones or antibiotics.
into the park that surrounds the Devils Tower National Monument. In 1906 President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed Devils Tower the first national monument under the new Antiquities Act to protect it from commercial exploitation. His action made Wyoming the home of both the first national park - Yellowstone in 1872 - and the first national monument.The unusual shape of the tower is a geological story, but more interesting to me is the legend shared by several Indian nations of the Great Plains about the origin of the prominent butte. The Kiowa people say: "Eight children were there at play, seven sisters and their brother. Suddenly the boy was struck dumb; he trembled and began to run upon his hands and feet. His fingers became claws, and his body was covered with fur. Directly there was a bear where th
e boy had been. The sisters were terrified; they ran, and the bear after them. They came to the stump of a great tree, and the tree spoke to them. It bade them climb upon it, and as they did so it began to rise into the air. The bear came to kill them, but they were just beyond its reach. It reared against the tree and scored the bark all around with its claws. The seven sisters were borne into the sky, and they became the stars of the Big Dipper." This quotation is from N. Scott Momaday, The Way to Rainy Mountain, The University of New Mexico Press.According to the National Park Service, approximately 5,000 people climb the Tower every year. We saw some clim
bers way up already, although it was only about 8 O' Clock in the morning, they must have gotten an early start.Because the day on which we had to give back our RV was drawing near and we had many miles to travel and some more sights to see, we departed the Devils Tower toward the west, stopping only for a little lunch in one of the few towns that we encountered on the way. As was the case several times before, we had a buffalo burger - lean meat without hormones or antibiotics.
Along the way we had to make a major decision - do we go back to Grand Tetons
National Park to see the Grand Tetons Range which we did not see because of the low clouds and fog, or do we go back to Yellowstone National Park to try to get a glimpse of a grizzle bear. As it turned out, my friend was more disappointed in not seeing a grizzly as in not seeing the Grand Tetons. Therefore we headed back to Yellowstone by way of Cody, Wyoming. We were in Cody before sunset and without much ado the day, number 25, ended.
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