This morning we drove up to Devils Tower National Monument which is in the northeastern most corner of Wyoming and spent most of the day there. Devils Tower is 867 feet high basalt tower. I had learned before that it was the old core of a volcano, but they are now saying that the basalt was an intrusive formation. As you approach Devils Tower from the south, you can see it from quite a distance away.
Devils Tower was used by the native Americans as a sacred spot. Explorers were sent into the area at the time that gold was being discovered in the Black Hills. Teddy Roosevelt named Devils Tower as the first National Monument in the National Park System.
The Tower is a popular rock climbing spot and you could watch groups up on the rocks.
After learning about the Tower - its geology and its history - we went out and listened to two different park rangers talks - one about porcupines and one about prairie dogs.
Learned that there are several different species of porcupines, the largest, in Africa, weighing around 70 - 80 pounds. Those around the U.S. weigh closer to 15-20 pounds. They are primarily nocturnal.
There are five different species of prairie dogs and we visited the very large area of their colony. The fields were covered with the mounds of their burrows. They would sit on the edges of these mounds and give out their loud calls.
Eb did some hiking on a 3 miles Red Rock Trail that circled below the Tower, through the red rock formations, and through the prairie dog colony. I enjoyed sitting on a bench under a pine tree enjoying the breeze. Had a picnic lunch under the trees near the prairie dog colony.
Headed north to I-90 which took us north in Wyoming and then up into Montana. In Wyoming we could see high mountains in the distance and found on the map that these were the Bighorn Mountains. We could see white along the front of the mountains which I first thought were low clouds, but as we got closer could see that they were still covered with snow. As we got into the town of Sheridan, Wyoming, where there is a large road that connects over to Yellowstone, we learned that the road was closed because of slides (caused by the snow melt) blocking the road.
Montana is a very empty state, at least where we have traveled so far. We went almost 100 miles before arriving at the first rest area. You go miles without seeing any towns, ranches, or any habitation. There is not much farming, but lots of cattle grazing and oil wells pumping. We have seen several oil refineries.
For tonight we are in Columbia, Montana in a Super 8 motel which is located next to (surrounded by) a Pilot truck stop.
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