Devil’s Tower (19) and Prairie Dogs

 The trip from Hill City in South Dakota (15) to Buffalo in Wyoming (17) was not too long, about 450 kilometres and was north west to the Tower, then pretty much due west. The road along the way wasn’t of particular photographic interest, nevertheless, a few photos were taken to show the (same old) prairies. It wasn’t till we got closer to Buffalo that we caught sight of the Rocky Mountains again which made more interesting viewing.

As we were travelling, Devil’s Tower appeared “all of a sudden” when we rounded a bend and were sitting at the top of a hill. It was still about 25 kilometres away but stood out way above the surrounding area. Even from that distance we could see the vertical lines, representing an Indian legend about a giant bear’s claw scratches.

Many Native American legends have passed down through time, but the legend below seems to be the most popular.

“One day, an Indian tribe was camped beside the river and seven small girls were playing at a distance. The region had a large bear population and a bear began to chase the girls. They ran back towards their village, but the bear was about to catch them. The girls jumped on a rock about three feet high and began to pray to the rock, “Rock, take pity on us; Rock, save us.” The rock heard the pleas of the young girls and began to elongate itself upwards, pushing them higher and higher out of reach of the bear. The bear clawed and jumped at the sides of the rock and broke its claws and fell to the ground. The bear continued to jump at the rock until the girls were pushed up into the sky, where they are to this day in a group of seven little stars (the Pleiades). “

In 1906, President Roosevelt designated Devil’s Tower as the nation’s first national monument. It is actually the core of a volcano exposed after millions of years of erosion brought on by the Belle Fourche River and the weather.

The rocks and boulders around the base of the tower are actually broken pieces of columns having fallen from the sides. At its base, there is a paved walking path around the perimeter, a distance of 1 ¼ miles. The tower is 865 feet high.

It is possibly best remembered for the 1978 movie “close Encounters of the Third Kind”.

It is a popular climber’s challenge and the day we were there, about 8 people in three different groups were taking the challenge. The age records of people to scale to the top are: the youngest 6, and the oldest, 81 years old! Over the years, five climbers have fallen to their death – the record for the fastest climb: 18 minutes!!

One man made a pledge to climb the tower 365 times in one year, however due to bad weather was falling behind in his quest. To catch up, he climbed from the bottom to the top, and all the way back down again…16 times!!

While we were looking about in the visitor’s centre, the Chantelle and Rochelle found paperwork that, if completed would allow them to become Junior Rangers. Bowing to their request, we spent over thirty minutes trying to answer questions that were to be found throughout the centre. Unfortunately, to complete the paperwork would have taken about 2 hours so we went back to the “real” Ranger behind the desk to ask if we could post the forms back. He surprised them (and us) by saying they did a great job, could complete the work while we travelled and rewarded them with a badge and certificate each.

As we left Devil’s Tower and headed back down to ground level, we noticed in a flat grassy area beside the road, hundreds of small animals, about the size of a small cat. However, they could sit up on their bottoms/hind legs and look about. They were obviously herbivorous and appeared to live in burrows.

They were Prairie Dogs, bearing no resemblance to a dog except their call is termed a bark, like that of a dog. Their buff coloured fur blended well with their surrounding and black hairs covered the tip of the tail and seem to be scattered over the upper parts of their bodies. They are actually members of the squirrel family.

Great to watch them but we also had to be a careful – one was working its way closer and closer to Grace, perhaps in search of food – none was offered. Apparently they have a nasty bite and carry diseases, fleas, ticks and lice, some of which can be fatal to humans.

Enough, onwards to Buffalo then the Little Bighorn National Monument.