Devil’s Tower, Wyoming
Believe it or not I actually have a post completely unrelated to pregnancy or babies 🙂
And I even have pictures!
A few weeks back Will and I decided to make the trip to Devil’s Tower in Wyoming.
The night before we set the mood by watching Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Will had never seen it, and it had been years since I had.
Then the next morning we set out on our own journey to see the strange mountain.
Watching the movie first was one of the best ideas Will has had. Obviously much of what you see in the movie is a set, but it was fun to try to identify the spots things took place. Like in the picture below, to the right at the base of the mountain. We’re pretty sure this is the place where Richard Dreyfuss struggles to climb up and slides down as he is running from the government employees.
The trail around the mountain is only a mile to a mile and a half long and pretty easy.
We were super thankful the rain held off long enough for us to make our way around and snap a few photos.
We read that around 5,000 people a year come to climb to the mountain summit. The first climb was made on a rickety wooden ladder that extended all the way up 350ft to the top. Supposedly the top is more rounded than flat, and is a grassy patch of land where a few mice and small animals, and sometimes the occasion snake, call home. We only saw two climbers that day, but I can tell you now I have no desire whatsoever to take on that task myself after seeing them. Between the wind and the height I’ll pass 🙂
We made it the whole way around, and down to the parking lot before a ranger stopped us and commended us for having the dogs on leashes, but then told us he would let us by with just a warning…apparently dogs ARE NOT allowed on the trail. Oops! We totally missed that sign!
Our last stop was Praire Dog Town. The farmers near our house in Box Elder have all but eradicated the cute little fellas that we used to see daily, so I was really excited to see these little guys. I think they are adorable!
As we left we stopped by the gift shop and picked up a local sarsaparilla to hold us over on the drive home.
And at our last glimpse the rain was setting in.
We just hope those climbers weren’t caught in the storm!
Totally recommend visiting if you are in the area. We both think it was worth the drive and super cool to see…especially after watching the movie.