July 9, 2006: Badlands NP, SD and the Drive Home
	July 7, 2006: Hyalite Canyon and Natural Bridge SP, MT
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Devil's Tower

I think it all started with the mashed potatoes I had at dinner in Billings. For some reason, I kept piling them in a mound on my plate. And I was up all night in Sheridan, working on my mud sculpture in the hotel room while Fred did his drawings. By morning, we were anxious to get started over to Devil's Tower. After all, we'd been invited.

When we left the hotel in Sheridan, we continued south on I-90 to Buffalo, Wyoming. Along the way (viewpoint #1), we could look way off in the distance at the Bighorn National Forest where we had been seven days ago. Just south of Buffalo, I-25 heads south towards Cheyenne, but we turned east on I-90 to Moorcroft, Wyoming. At Moorcroft, we headed northeast on US14.

Driving north on the highway, it wasn't long before we got our first view of Devil's Tower off in the distance, and I made a movie as we drove towards it (which you can watch with the player at right). The movie was made at viewpoint #2. Even from this distance, it was impressive. A little further down the road, we came over a rise and got a second view of Devil's Tower, so Fred took two pictures- one normal view (viewpoint #3) and one closeup (viewpoint #4). The Tower kept popping in and out of view until we drove through Carlile, Wyoming, and got relatively close, at which point I took a couple of my own pictures, one that I might call a classic view of Devil's Tower (viewpoint #5) and the other a closeup of Devil's Tower (viewpoint #6).

How Devil's Tower Got Its Name

Before doing anything else, we should probably look at how this amazing formation got its name. As the information at left indicates, the name we use today came into use only relatively recently, after an 1873 expedition. Whether Colonel Dodge created the name is not clear; it simply started appearing in official accounts, on maps and in general use shortly after that expedition was completed. The Native Americans used other names, and you can see some of them listed here. Almost all of them had something to do with bears, then a common and significant animal in this area. How and why the Native Americans came to associate the Tower with the bear is also unclear, but one particular legend seems to be common.

The Legend of Devil's Tower

As the sign above indicated, the bear plays a significant role in the legend of Devil's Tower, and you'll see the bear image frequently associated with the Tower. The most common legend goes something like this:

Some Indian girls were out playing in the meadow one day when a bear charged them. They ran but realized that they wouldn't be able to outrun the bear, and so they climbed up on a boulder near their camp, but it wasn't high enough to protect them. As the bear came closer, they implored the god of the rock to save them and, magically, it did. The rock expanded and became higher- so high that the bear couldn't reach the girls. But it tried, and the vertical marks on the Tower are the marks made by the bear's claws as it tried without success to reach the Indian girls.

Perhaps not at all scientifically accurate, but perhaps just as meaningful to the people of the time.

The Geology of Devil's Tower

Before we start looking at the pictures of Devil's Tower, we can clear up some of the questions about the geology of the tower. At left, you can see the information about the Tower that was posted right at the visitor center, but I can supplement that with some additional information I got from listening to the ranger talk. Devil's Tower is composed of igneous rock called phonolite, which formed about 1.5 miles below the earth's surface when magma pushed up through the sedimentary rock layers about 50 million years ago. This resulted in an underground structure like the diagram below:

Over millions of years, erosion stripped away the softer layers of sedimentary rock, exposing the tower as we now see it. Most geologists think that the Tower was originally an "intrusion" where magma started for the surface but froze in place when the pressure behind it lessened.

The columns are a prominent feature of the Tower. They can be 4, 5, 6 or 7-sided, the most common being 6, and you will see many good pictures of these hexagonal columns as we wander around the Tower. As the rock cooled and hardened, it shrank, producing cracks similar to those in drying mud. As the rock cooled and shrank, it produced points of stress. Cracks began when the stress of cooling exceeded the strength of the rock. The cracks tended to form at 120-degree angles. These cracks intersected other cracks, resulting in the formation of roughly hexagonal columns. When these columns were upthrust, the result was a tower of rock that looks as if it is still in motion, as the lower portion of the tower appears to be "flowing" upward. Once the columns were exposed to the elements, they of course began to erode. The erosion occurs along the fracture lines, and so, eventually, a column will detach from the main body of the tower and eventually fall away, to become just the latest addition to the boulder pile at the base of the tower.

Finally, I should tie up a loose end from our hikes yesterday. Remember when we were at Palisade Falls and saw some interesting columnar rock formations? (See a picture from yesterday here.) I made the observation that the formation seemed similar to what I'd seen in pictures of Devil's Tower. Well, as the sign indicates, the same rock formation from which Devil's Tower is constructed appears in three places- Africa, here at Devil's Tower and in central Montana. Palisade Falls and the Hyalite Canyon are, of course, in central Montana, and that explains the similarity. So we've seen two of the three places in the world where this particular rock formation exists, and where columns like these are formed.

A Walk Around Devil's Tower

We arrived at the visitor center and parked, and then spent some time in the ranger station, where I got a lot of the information that has filled in the details above. Exiting the visitor center, we walked across the road to the small area where ranger talks are given and took this first picture of Devil's Tower (#1). Then we walked across the other side of the circle road in front of the visitor center and reached the entry walkway that leads up to the circular trail around the tower. We stopped here to take a couple of pictures of the tower, one with me (#2) and one with Fred (#3).

When we reached the Tower Trail, we got a good view of the tower and boulder field (#4) and could see the hexagonal column structure quite clearly. The trail circles the tower, so we started south around the circle to see Devil's Tower looking NE (#5) and then a similar view from below the boulder field (#6). From just a bit further on, we found an excellent view of Devil's Tower head‑on (#7), with the view reminding me of the bow of a ship. At this same point there was an exhibit relating the Tower to Native Americans.

The trail continued around to the south, and from the grove of trees at point #8, we found more excellent views of the Tower, which you can see if you will click on the thumbnails below:

(Click on Thumbnails to View)

Further around the trail there was a viewpoint for the valley of the Belle Fourche River (#9), and it was an excellent place to take a movie of the valley and Tower. You can watch this movie with the player at right.

Now the trail came around the southern end of the Tower and then climbed quite close to the rock wall of the Tower (#A), and so here is Fred touching Devil's Tower and some rock formations on the east side of the Tower.

Moving around to the northeast face of the Tower (#B), we could clearly see some missing rock columns. Moving further around the trail to the northwest side of the Tower (#C), we got classic views of Devil's Tower that you can see here, here, here and here.

Continuing around the northwest side of the Tower (as you've figured out, the Tower is situated on a NE-SW axis), we obtained a classic closeup and a classic view of Devil's Tower. And at our final stop on the trail (#D), there was an interesting exhibit describing life on top of Devil's Tower.

Sometimes, I can't help but think that the number of individual pictures taken by everyone has increased exponentially since the advent of digital photography, since there is no longer the constraint of the cost of film. Most of us just delete the ones that don't turn out, but I'll be there are lots of people who don't even do that- just like I'll bet there are lots of VCRs in this country that have been flashing "12:00" since the day they were plugged in. Even so, as a group, tourists take a hell of a lot of digital pictures each year, and you may get the feeling that we took too many here. Certainly, I've included a lot of pictures here, but I discarded quite a few as well. I guess that I'm driven by the realization that I may never return to most of these places, and need to get as many pictures as possible to ensure that I don't miss that "perfect" shot. The result is a lot of pictures, and I find it hard to winnow them down to just a few. So if your mouse has gotten worn out here, I sincerely apologize.

Hiking up Devil's Tower

Having completed our trek around the Tower Trail, we should now talk about our hike up to the top of Devil's Tower. Here is a picture of the trail up Devil's Tower:

There have been thousands of people who've climbed Devil's Tower. While I wouldn't try it without a great deal of training and practice (and perhaps not even then), we were told that it is not a particularly difficult climb to make. In fact, a number of pitons are permanently embedded in certain fissures on either side of the Tower. On this particular day, there were about eight or ten climbers, and they appeared in some of the pictures included here. Probably the hardest one to spot is this fellow who has made it most of the way up the east side of the tower and is resting on the ledge waving to the people on the trail below:

On the Devil's Tower Boulder Field

Back at the starting point for the Tower Trail, I told Fred that I wanted to climb up the boulder field to get close to the base of the Tower and also to see what the view from there was like. He waited at the trail intersection while I clambered off up the boulders. Climbing them was much like climbing the "boulder avalanche" at Mt. Scott in the Wichita Mountains, something we've done a number of times. After about fifteen minutes, I made it to the top of the boulder field (beyond which you aren't supposed to go without registering with the ranger station) and took this picture of the boulder field and valley and a movie of the panorama below Devil's Tower, which you can watch with the player at left.

From back at the trail intersection, Fred was able to spot me atop the boulder field, although you'll have to look carefully to spot my blue t-shirt.

Leaving Devil's Tower

We had a great time at Devil's Tower, and I especially enjoyed climbing the boulder field. Before we left the visitor center area, Fred took one final picture of Devil's Tower, and it turned out to be a great one.

Once we left the visitor's area, we drove back down towards the park entrance and turned off to the picnic area at the base of the Tower alongside the Belle Fourche River (red star on the map) and had lunch. Then it was out of the park with a last view of Devil's Tower and along Wyoming Route 24 towards the town of Belle Fourche and our first entry into the state of South Dakota. We were off to make a first visit for Fred and a second visit for me to some dead Presidents.

But first, we had to find our way to our campground for the evening.

To Sylvan Lake Campground in Custer State Park, SD

Our next stop was Mt Rushmore, although that meant getting a campsite first in Custer State Park, South Dakota.

To get to the Custer State Park area, we left Devil's Tower heading north on Montana 24, then followed that around into South Dakota, where it became South Dakota 34 near the town of Belle Fourche. When we first did our planning, I thought we might head south on US 89 and go through Spearfish Canyon, but that would have put us way too late to get to Custer State Park and, we hoped, get a campsite. So we just continued along on South Dakota 34 until it came back to I-90. Then it was east on I-90 to Rapid City, SD.

ALT US 16 is one of the most scenic roads in the United States, and is actually one of the most famous drives in the country. The real scenic portion begins after the highway passes Mt Rushmore and Keystone, and before the highway gets to Spokane, SD. The highway is narrow to start with, but there are five or six one‑lane tunnels along the route, where cars are supposed to honk before entering to ensure that two cars don't meet in the middle. The first car to honk is the first one to go through, if one is waiting at each end. The tunnels aren't very long, but backing up would be dicey. There are also many sharp, hairpin turns, as well as some sections where the road divides into separate lanes in each direction- kind of like an interstate with a forested median. There were also three places where the road had to climb or descend pretty much "in place," and the result was a spiral road, not unlike the ramps in a parking garage, except that these spirals are not so tight, they are out in the open, and the structure is wooden rather than concrete.

Driving this highway requires that the driver keep his eyes on the road, so it's the passenger who has to do most of the photography. But when you have a passenger who isn't entirely confident in the driver's ability to stay on the road, well, what you end up with is fewer pictures than you might like.

At the east entrance station, we were able to secure a campsite at Sylvan Lake. Although our campsite was now reserved, it was actually quicker to get to Mt. Rushmore by going first to the campsite. To get there, we had to cross the state park on South Dakota 87, and then turn north just before Custer, South Dakota.

The drive across Custer State Park was really pretty, and we passed quite a few campgrounds, resorts, lakes and trails. This is a pretty big place and, like some of the other places we've been, there seems to be a lot to see and do. Just before Custer, the highway leaves the state park and there is a turn onto South Dakota 89 that heads north back into the park. Right at the turn there was a rock and mineral shop that we thought we'd like to visit, and we planned to do so tomorrow when we visit Jewel Cave.

We went north back into the State Park on South Dakota 89, and after about ten miles came to the entrance for the Sylvan Lake campground (marked with the yellow star). We found the campground and our site with no problem. The site we'd been assigned didn't seem to have a good place for the tent, so I checked with the campground host and he directed us to a different site that was a good deal better. We erected the tent so we wouldn't run the risk of doing that in the dark later, and then headed off to Mt. Rushmore.

To get to Mt. Rushmore, we left the campground and continued north on South Dakota 87. This highway was similar to ALT US 16, although there were not as many tunnels and stuff. The drive was very scenic, and I made a movie along the way (yellow star #1) that you can watch with the player at right.

When we got to US 16, we went north for just a couple hundred feet, and then turned east on South Dakota 244. Just before reaching Mt. Rushmore, we encountered some mountain goats alongside the highway (yellow star #2). There are two more pictures of them here and here.

Then we arrived at Mt. Rushmore.

Mt. Rushmore

Entering Mt. Rushmore

South Dakota Highway 244 comes into the Memorial from the west, and just before you get to the side of the main complex (#1), there is the usual National Park Entrance Sign, and we used it to record our visit.

We followed the signs to the parking garage; while there were a fair number of cars here still (this late in the day), we had no problem finding a place to park. Leaving the parking structure, all traffic is funneled up a broad set of steps to the main entry for the Memorial (#2). Although you can see the Memorial if you come towards the park from Keystone, for people who come from the west this is their first view of the faces.

Walking into the Memorial through these first arches, you pass the information center (ranger station) and then walk down towards the next archway at Borglum Court (#3), named, of course, for the sculptor who created almost all of the Mt. Rushmore Memorial. From here, of course, there are good views of Mt. Rushmore, and Fred also took a very nice closeup of Mt. Rushmore from this same spot.

We stopped to check out the serving hours for the restaurant, and then walked along the Avenue of Flags towards the Amphitheatre.

The Amphitheatre Area

Mt. Rushmore itself was much as I remembered it, but all of the structures erected for visitors to the Memorial had been torn down and rebuilt. I suppose that was to be expected, since the last time I was here was in September, 1975, on the transcontinental trip that Tony Hirsch and I took. So in 30 years, there were obviously going to be changes, and changes there were. Take a look at the movie I made of the Amphitheatre area using the player at left.

The movie was taken from spot (#1) on the diagram below; it will give you a really good idea of what the whole area looks like now.

From this same spot (and again we took a lot of photos), I took two pictures of the Memorial- one a normal view and the other a closeup of the faces. Fred also took a couple of pictures from here. One was another closeup of the faces and the other was a very nice picture of the Lincoln face.

We had a good deal of time before any of the evening program was to start, and there was still enough light for photos, so we headed off around the Presidential Trail. If you will take another look at the last movie, right towards the end you will see a red structure beyond the new marble buildings. As soon as we had walked just a short distance along the trail (to #2), I discovered the old visitor center, and I made a movie of it that you can watch with the player at left.

The old center the same simple redwood building that we had visited thirty years ago, and the same one you might have seen in the Alfred Hitchcock classic "North by Northwest." But it's been sidelined, now, by the modern visitor center, museum and amphitheatre, and now serves, apparently, as an administration building.

The Presidential Trail

We walked completely around the Presidential Trail, taking pictures as we went. At Point #1, there were good views of the Washington face in profile, one normal view and one in closeup, and just a bit further (point #2) was an observation point for the Washington face front view. The next observation point was for the Lincoln face, and is just about the only spot from which you can see it looking straight on (the Washington and Lincoln faces look southeast, while the Jefferson and Roosevelt faces look pretty much directly east). The next picture we took on the Presidential Trail was of the entire Memorial, and it was taken at location #4. The last shot we took from the Presidential Trail was taken at location #5, and it looks back across the small valley towards Amphitheatre.

We continued on around the Presidential Trail, which was mostly stairs and a pathway through the sparse forest, back past the Sculptor's Studio to the Borglum Viewing Terrace (#6), from which Fred caught me on the phone to my sister, Judy.

We arrived back at the Amphitheatre about eight o'clock. The light was fading, so Fred took one last daylight shot of the Mt. Rushmore Memorial before we lost our light completely.

We planned on staying to watch the evening "Lighting Ceremony," so we had some time to spend before it could start. We spent that time mostly in the museum, where there were lots of interesting exhibits and two short movies to watch. As the light was going, we headed back out to the amphitheatre where a large crowd was already seated.

Even though the light was very low, I was able to get good pictures because I discovered the "candlelight" setting on my camera; I guess it widens the aperture to make the most of available light. I also took a movie of the people waiting for the ceremony to begin, and you can watch them using the player at right.

The Lighting Ceremony

The Lighting Ceremony began just after nine o'clock. The first part, which is going on while the light is fading, has a ranger speaking about the history of the country and a bit about the history of the Memorial. Watch this movie with the player at left.

After about 45 minutes, the light has started to disappear completely, and a film began. The film, narrated by Avery Brooks (Captain Sisko of "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" fame) begins with an introduction to the establishment of the United States, and some of the history leading up to the decision to establish the Mt. Rushmore Memorial.

After a short while, the resonant voice of Mr. Brooks (whose voice reminds one of James Earl Jones), takes us through an examination of the Presidents chosen for Mt. Rushmore.

The film was pretty good, and I wished that I had a video camera with a longer capacity than mine; I would have liked to record the entire presentation. But, as it was, I think I got good representations of the entire ceremony, and also the best part, which is coming up.

Towards the end of the film, a stirring rendition of "America, the Beautiful" is sung to the accompaniment of spectacular views of America itself. It was impossible not to get a bit choked up, listening to the music and watching the images. But there is more to the ceremony. As "America, the Beautiful" is being sung, Mt. Rushmore is being very slowly lit by what is one of the most sophisticated laser lighting systems in the country. Amost imperceptibly at first, and then very slowly afterwards, the entire sculpture is revealed in the laser light. When it has been fully lit, everyone attending is asked to rise and sing the "The Star-Spangled Banner," while the lights are being brought up full on the Memorial.

My description doesn't really match the emotion of the ceremony, so I hope you will take two or three minutes to watch my movie of the Lighting Ceremony with the player at left.

Although I ran out of battery power right towards the end of the national anthem, I hope you find the movie, the longest I took on our trip, to be worth it. By the time I put a new battery in the camera, the national anthem was over, so I took a very short movie of the Mt. Rushmore Memorial fully lit, and you can see it with the player at left.

I was also able to switch back to the candlelight setting and take a still photo of Mt. Rushmore at night.

We stayed at Mt. Rushmore almost until closing, then went back to the campsite and fixed a late dinner. It had been a long day, and we'd had a chance to experience two of the most recognizable, iconic rock formations in the country- one natural and one man-made. As we downloaded and reviewed all our pictures, it was tough to decide which was the most spectacular, but in the end we concluded it was like comparing apples and oranges.

You can use the links below to continue to another photo album page.

	July 9, 2006: Badlands NP, SD and the Drive Home
	July 7, 2006: Hyalite Canyon and Natural Bridge SP, MT
	Return to Glacier National Park Trip Index