Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming

We left Linda and her alpaca ranch and drove to the Devils Tower National Monument area.  I made a reservation at a campground with the name of "Devils Tower View" and it lived up to it's name. 

 

 

The funny thing is that we were the only ones at the campground.  Guess I didn't need to make a reservation!

The next morning we drove over to the park to check it out.

National Parks were preserved for the public but the Antiquities Act of 1906 was prepared to protect objects of historic or scientific interest as National Monuments.  President Theodore Roosevelt  declared Devils Tower as the First National Monument.

Right after we entered the park I looked over to my right and something caught my eye.

Can you see it?

What a beautiful fox!  Check out that tail!

He quickly started running for cover.  Well that was an awesome sight!

Next were the wild turkeys crossing the road.

We continued driving partially around the tower and then up near the base to the parking lot.  The visitor's center was closed due to the pandemic so we took the 1.3 mi walk on the Tower Trail to walk around the tower.

The fall colors made for beautiful views!

 Can you see climbers on the rock?   That's one sport I don't plan to try!

This is about as high as I'll climb!

View of the area from the base of the Tower

Maybe Devils Tower looks familiar to you?  That may be because Devils Tower was in Steven Spielberg's 1977 film Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

Mr. Patience waiting for me to take his photo!

 

 

From the park newspaper:  Native Americans are active stake holders in the use and management of Devils Tower NM.  Archeological finds along the Belle Fourche River within the park confirm that humans were present in this area at least 10,000 years ago.  The descendants of those people are known today as the Northern Plains Tribes.  Over two dozen federally recognized tribes are associated with the Tower.  Six nations are considered to have the most direct historic and geographic ties to the site: Arapaho, Cheyenne, Crow, Kiowa, Lakota, and Shoshone. 

 

The most visible element of native connections to the Tower are prayer bundles.  As you walk the trails of the park, you may notice colorful cloths attached to the trees.  These are offerings left by the native people which represent prayers.  The colors, placement, and contents have significance for the person who made them.

Please do not disturb prayer bundles and prayer cloths

An interesting story I read in the park newspaper about Parachutist George Hopkins

In October 1941 Devils Tower National Monument made headlines across the nation. A professional parachutist named George Hopkins was stuck atop the Tower with no way down. Who was this person, why was he on Devils Tower, and how was he going to get down?

During the first part of the 1900s, several advancements in parachute technology had been made; the devices were still rudimentary by today's standards, however. George Hopkins already held a number of records for spectacular parachute jumps, but he looked to push the envelope even further. He wanted to set a world record for number of parachute jumps in a single day. To create publicity for this idea, he determined a single, spectacular jump would do the trick.

Without the consent or knowledge of National Park Service officials, Hopkins parachuted from an airplane to the top of Devils Tower. He wanted to prove that a parachutist could land precisely on a small target - the Tower summit being just over one acre in size. His plan was to descend using a 1,000-foot rope which would be dropped from the plane after him. Hopkins hit his mark, but his rope landed out of reach on the side of the Tower, leaving him stuck on top.

Although Hopkins landed accurately, his rope did not. He was stuck on the summit for six days.

Chicago Tribune Political Cartoon - 1941

While the rest of the world was focused on the war, much of America was focused on George Hopkins and Devils Tower. Political cartoons provided some commentary about this idea.

"Hey!  That's only one American in danger!   Look over here at any time and see millions dying on European Battle Fields!" 

The National Park Service now had a problem to solve, and newspapers around the country ran with the story. While they considered options for rescuing the stranded man, airplanes dropped food, water and warm clothing to keep Hopkins alive. Letters written by concerned citizens, corporations and the military posed uncertain suggestions for getting him down. After a few days Jack Durrance, one of the early technical climbers to scale the Tower, offered to lead a rescue party. The park service accepted.

More supplies were dropped to Hopkins and assurances were given that help was coming. Advice and offers of assistance continued. The Goodyear Company offered to loan the use of a blimp, while the Navy offered the use of a helicopter. Bad weather forced Durrance to travel by train. On October 5, Durrance and his party arrived at the monument. Working closely with the park service, they laid out a safe climbing route for rescue operations. On the following day, Durrance led seven other climbers to the summit of the Tower. They found Hopkins who, in spite of his ordeal, was in excellent physical condition and in good spirits. The descent was made with little difficulty. The stranded parachutist and the rescue operations attracted many spectators: during the six-day period, some 7,000 visitors came to the monument to witness events first-hand.

Within a few months following the Hopkins episode, the United States entered World War II. National Park Service sites saw very little visitation during the war years. As for Hopkins, he would go on to work with the military training the new airborne infantry divisions for the war. It is believed he set his world record as he taught other young men to safely jump and land using a parachute.

George Hopkins (left foreground) with park superintendent Newell Joyner (right) and two reporters after he was rescued

George Hopkins wears a grateful grin after being rescued from the summit of Devils Tower after 6 days.

All black and white photos courtesy of the National Park Service.

On our way out of the park we stopped off at the Prairie Dog Town section to check out the "dogs".  Black-tailed prairie dogs, the most common of the five prairie dogs species find a home in the valley below the Tower.  Prairie dogs are burrowing squirrels that live in large colonies called towns.  Their towns form extensive networks of tunnels beneath the prairie, and abandoned tunnels can provide habitat for other species.  Named for their high-pitched bark, they communicate and works as a group to evade predators.  With short, muscular legs and long-nailed toes on their feet, they are well equipped for their burrowing lifestyle. 

 

At the entrance to the Tower Trail there was a newspaper type box where I picked up a Junior Ranger book to complete.  Since the visitor center was closed, I had to email my info in order to receive my latest Junior Ranger Badge in the mail.  

We had a nice visit to Devils Tower National Monument and were pleasantly surprised how much we enjoyed it.  If you are ever in northeast Wyoming, check it out.  

Next we're moving on to a bucket list item of mine!  Can you guess where?  Check it out in the next blog entry coming soon.....