Devils Tower National Monument

Devils Tower was the prime destination for first half of my road trip in the spring of 2019. Ever since watching “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”, I’ve had a desire to visit the monument in person. That desire was only strengthened by the stories I’d heard told by friends and family who had been there over the years. Despite the hype I’d built-up for this destination, it delivered, in spades.

The park itself is easy to visit because there isn’t so much to do there that you have to make tough decisions. There are two trails that circle the tower: the Tower Trail and the Red Beds Trail. The former is a relatively easy mile on a paved walkway that’s accessible to anyone. The latter is a bit more rugged and it takes you far enough away from the base to give you beautiful views of the tower from every angle. This aspect of the Red Beds Trail was interesting to me because it never occurred to me that almost every picture I’d ever seen of the tower was from a single angle and it looks significantly different from the sides and rear. Both trails combine to about 4 miles in length.

Besides the trails, there’s Prairie Dog City which is passed on the way up to the tower’s visitor center. There are signs instructing you not to feed the animals, but, based-on how boldly they approached me when I stopped to take a few pictures, my guess is that they get their fill of Cheetos and peanuts on a daily basis.