Devils Tower Wyoming... or Maybe More Correctly - Bears Lodge Wyoming?

On August 27th, we drive the last 165 miles east to Devils Tower National Monument.

We head to the Belle Fourche River Campground, which is on National Park Service land, almost in the shadow of Devils tower. We find a nice site with a view of Devils Tower right from our campsite.

We spend the rest of the day getting settled in and exploring around the campground.

The name "Devils Tower" probably originated as a mistake. It is suspected that, in an expedition sometime prior to 1900, some men misunderstood a translation, which led them to confuse the words for "bear" and "bad god." Prior to that, it was known to Native Americans as: Bears Lodge, Grey Horn Butte, Tree Rock and Place that Bears Live. No other evidence suggest that Native Americans associated the area with bad gods or evil spirits. As a matter of fact, it is a place held as sacred by several American Indian tribes. You can even see prayer cloths and prayer bundles around the tower, especially along the tower trail.

Devils Tower is without a doubt a striking landmark rising almost 1300 feet above the Belle Fourche River Valley. Several of our geology friends - cognoscenti (I won't name names, you know who you are) will try to explain its existence by spouting some drivel about "igneous intrusions," "phonolite porphyry," "sedimentary rock," "volcanic plugs," and erosion. Fortunately, I, as a beacon of knowledge and teller of truths, will give you the real story (uncovered in a National Park Service publication no less). The Truth shall set you free!

Early Photograph Capturing the Action

A long time ago... Before the Kiowa people came south, they were camped on a stream in the far north where there were a great many bears. One day, seven little girls were playing at a distance from the village and were chased by some bears. The girls ran toward the village, and the bears were just about to catch them when the girls jumped on a low rock, about three feet high. One of the girls prayed to the rock, "Rock take pity on us, rock save us!" The rock heard them and began to grow upwards, pushing the girls higher and higher. When the bears jumped to reach the girls, they scratched the rock, broke their claws, and fell on the ground.

The rock rose higher and higher; the bears still jumped at the girls until the girls were pushed up into the sky, where they were turned into seven little stars (a group called the Pleiades). In the winter, in the middle of the night, the seven stars are directly over this high rock. When the people came to look, they found the bears' claws, turned to stone, all around the base.

Authors note: As a responsible journalist, I corroborated this story with leading Trump administration scientist and was assured that these FACTS were all true... every word!

The hills around Devils Tower is strikingly red in color

On Monday morning, the 28th, we head up to the visitor center and go on a ranger led hike around the base of Devils Tower.

Looking out from the base of Devils Tower at the Belle Fourche River Valley

Surprisingly, there are no bears in the "Bears Lodge" area. There isn't enough food to sustain a bear population.  However, there are cougar, deer, prong-horn antelope, and porcupines here. Porcupines spend their days in the pine trees and look like a bunch of brown pine needles. Needless to say, Wendy spent the rest of the tour looking for brown pine needles! But no, we did not see any porcupines.

And of course, it is also home to a large number of prairie dogs.

Sounding a Danger Alert