What the Walrus said . . .

Photos and Anecdotes from a vagabond!

Devil’s Tower National Monument

Sunset on the first day outside Devil’s Tower. Truly an amazingly unique sight to behold! I stayed at the KOA Campsite that is right outside the park entrance and hiked up to the tower from my campsite the following morning.
Depending on where you hike around the tower, you can see it gradual take on a more curved shape.
The tower really does curve as much as shown in this picture.
Truly a magnificent rock . . .
. . . that changes by the minute!
There are trails to hike all around the Tower. This is what is referred to as the outer loop that goes to Red Bank. Red Bank is a gorgeous red sandstone layer on the northeast side of the Tower base.
The slopes of the Tower base have a wide variety of plants and insects like this Narrow-leaved Purple Coneflower with a pollen coated bee.
Mariposa Lily
Gunnison’s Scarlet Globemallow
Showy Milkweed
Slender Leaf Spurge
Soft-Hair Marbleseed
Spreading Dogbane
Yellow Salsify
White Milkwort
Sunshine Amanita Mushrooms can be found under the trees, pushing up through the pine needles.
And if you are lucky, a flock of large and vocal magpies will appear and commence chattering and screaming at you!
The KOA Campsite shows the movie “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” on a big screen with the Tower in the background every night (Weather Permitting!) On this night, with the colors in the clouds at sunset, you can almost understand where Steven Spielberg got the idea for landings aliens on the top of the Tower.

If you have never been to the Tower, I highly recommend it be added to your bucket. It is an amazing place and there really is nowhere else in the world quite like it! Plan your trip in advance. The KOA has a few cabins for rent at a fairly decent rate, and it is a fun and well-run site. Plus, being hiking distance from the tower makes it very convenient and loads of fun (and great exercise!)

majik756

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