Devils Tower

After Mt. Rushmore we made the 2 hour drive to Devils Tower. Mike had visited here as a kid and really talked it up to Adam. All the talking did the trick as this was one o Adam’s favorite stops during the whole vacation. Anything having to do with volcanoes is pretty cool in of itself, but to a 7 year geology lover it is nearly heaven on Earth. Devils Tower is not technically a volcano but is considered an igneous intrusion.

It truly was another wonder of nature that we were able to see on our trip, and the first National Monument (proclaimed by Theodore Roosevelt in 1906). While we were there we watched a few climbers on the Tower and I was quite amazed. Mike said if he was ever dying of cancer or some other impending element he'd want to climb Devils Tower. I responded, "if you were dying you wouldn't have the strength to climb." To which he said, "it would be the kind of cancer where you still have strength." Is there such a kind? I don't think so but it is definitely something he'd like to do in his lifetime. I think it would scare me to death if he did.

While at the visitor center we picked up a National Parks Passport book. You can get stamps (cancellations) at various visitor centers across the US for all the National Parks. We thought it would be a fun way to track our visits as a family. Too bad we didn’t pick it up at Mt. Rushmore-we’ll have to head back there sometime to get the official cancellation in our book.

On the drive to DevilsTower we stopped at a prairie dog town that was at the base of the tower.Little dogs were popping up everywhere and would even venture very close to the people observing. As Camille loves animals and one of her favorite words is dog we heard a lot of “dawgs” and for once I didn’t have to correct her. (When we visit the zoo we see a lot of “dawgs” too.)

Again, if you’re ever traveling across the country on I-90, DevilsTower makes the list for must see sites (even though it is a little off the road). You’ll be glad you made the stop!