Devils Tower National Monument

What a crazy place Devils Tower National Monument (my 81st National Park visited) is. It could be seen from miles out, and it is completely unmistakable even from that distance. Still to the day a sacred place for many Native Americans, it was our home for a single night stay as we traveled back into Wyoming to avoid that mid-west heat.

As we entered the park and flashed the annual parks pass, Kerri asked about the campground to ensure there was space. The Ranger-girl chuckled and ensured us there was more than enough space and the campground is never full.  I’m almost certain she even pointed and laughed at us as we drove off. On to the campground we went, found a spot, setup camp, took the dogs for a walk, and then went straight to the Visitor’s Center at the base of the tower itself. The standard lapel pin was purchased and a couple quick photos, but we kept off the trail in the afternoon heat and crowds, instead choosing to do the hike around the tower in the cooler morning air.

After another massive thunderstorm in the afternoon/evening, and a good night’s sleep, we woke early… only so Kerri could lay in bed for two hours Instagram/Facebook-ing. Eventually we did get out to the trail and did our lap around the tower which gave us plenty of different view points of the tower in varying degrees of morning light. We even had some wildlife keep us company along the 1.3 mile trail.

Although Devils Tower would be a great place to spend an entire week, it didn’t take long after to have the trailer packed up, hitched up, and us driving down the highway again as we had other plans to get out of the heat.