Devil's Tower

Kris and I took a side excursion to Wyoming to see Devil's Tower. Neither of us had been there before. Heck, I didn't even know the story about Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Devil's Tower. I kept asking Kris what the deal was with all the alien stuff and Devil's Tower. Nope, I never saw the movie, but was told that the aliens come to pick up their kind at Devil's Tower at the end of the movie. Oops, I should have given a spoiler alert about the ending.  I guess I might have to watch it sometime, even though I know how it ends!  I think I like the Native American version of how Devil's Tower became what it is better than a pick up spot for little green men or women.

There is something about this prairie land around this old farm site or town. I love the contrast between the prairie grass and the weathered buildings.

 This poor fella was roving around the prairie just outside the Devil's Tower grounds. His horns are a  bit lopsided.

 The colors were amazing around the base of Devil's Tower.

 The squirrels were busy  hiding there treasures in the rocks and stumps.  They seemed oblivious, to us as we walked down the paths, darting out in front of us to do their fall business.

 We had to be careful and cautious around the "killer tree" haha. No kidding aside, I am guessing the tree was tagged because it is infested with pine beetles.   The beetles are slowly killing a lot of the pine trees in the area. The park services are doing what they can to stop the spread and save the trees, but it is a hard job at this point.

We have climbers! From what I understand Devil's Tower is fun to climb, if you like that sort of stuff. This, of course, is not for me!  The climbers I talked with said it would take 5-6 hours to climb the south side of the tower and only about 45 min to come back down.  

Through out the area around the base of Devil's Tower, viewed as a sacred place by Native Americans, you might see what they call prayer bundles. The bundles might have tobacco, sage or feathers offered by the Native Americans in prayer and renewal.