Devils & Cowboys

---

And now to continue our time travel trip from Summer 2006.

On September 24, 1906 President Theodore Roosevelt declared Devils Tower to be America's first national monument. The Devils Tower seems to rise on the Wyoming horizon from nowhere. The monolith rises 1267 feet high and was formed when erosion stripped away the softer rock layers leaving the Tower. It was known by several northern plains tribes as Bears Lodge, it is a sacred site of worship for many American Indians. The 1,347 acre park is covered with pine forests and beautiful grasslands. We saw many prairie dogs near the tower.

The following can be found on the www.nps.gov/deto/ website... The Sioux Indian mythology said that: Once upon a time seven little girls were playing in the woods far from home and they came upon some bears that chased after them. They found refuge on a great rock, that rose into sky with them on it, making them into stars. The bears tried to pursue them, but all their efforts were in vain. You can still see the struggle and their claw marks in the rock that makes up Devil's Tower.

Many of you may remember the 1977 movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The Tower was used in the movie as the place the alien space ship took flight. We searched very "closely" and can report that their aren't any little green aliens running around.

BUT WHY IS IT CALLED DEVILS TOWER?? It seems that a guide once mistakenly translated the American Indian name for the tower into "bad god" which was later shortened to devil. Oh well...we were hoping there might be some creative story like the ones we heard at Stonehenge.

After leaving the tower we drove to Deadwood South Dakota. The old west town has a nightly re-enactment of a cowboy shoot out! While in Deadwood we stayed at a wonderful bed and breakfast called Normarke Farm. It was the perfect spot to enjoy the beautiful countyside.

Next Blog we will see the July 4th fireworks at Mount Rushmore!

---