Devils Tower - The OG

Seven sisters and their brother were playing in the woods one day when suddenly the brother began to grow coarse hair, sharp claws and long teeth. The sisters ran and the bear brother pursued them, growing larger at every step. The girls climbed the tallest hill and climbed to the top of the tallest tree but it was not enough. They prayed to the Great Spirit to help them and the Great Spirit answered. The hill began to rise, shooting straight up out of the earth with the girls on top and the brother down below. But the bear brother began to climb the sides of the tower, growing larger with each moment, clawing and scarring the mountain. As night came, with nowhere left to go, the sisters held hands and lept into the night sky where they became stars together. Although they left bear brother on Earth the sisters can still be seen in the night sky over the tower.

This is one version of a Native American etiological story, although there are many similar explanations, describing the physical appearance of the tower and the star cluster we now recognize as Pleiades. Devils Tower National Monument was actually the first National Monument named so by Theodore Roosevelt in 1906! The columns made from bear brother's "clawing" are mesmerizing as you walk around the tower, often laying crumbled or partially fallen at the base of the tower. There were tiny specks of people climbing the tower and I felt an overwhelming desire to do the same. Mostly because, what's up there? The curiosity and satisfaction of reaching the top, a place shared only with the birds, the clouds and the occasional climber, over 1,200 ' above the landscape - climbing this laccolith just made my bucket list.

I really enjoyed that in this park pamphlet (I told you I went geeky over these things!), next to the etiological story is the real, scientific explanation which I won't bore you with but I will tell you that most of the columns are actually hexagonal! Did anyone else spend a week in geometry talking about hexagons in nature? From the base of the tower, not a bad view!

Driving up to the tower! Also, I mark this place as officially being back in the wild wild West, but sadly this point also marks going on three weeks and nearing the end of this fantastic road trip. Much more to see and so many great things to look back on!