Close Encounters of the Kim and Linda Kind

 After journeying together to Ireland last April, Kim and I realized we made good travel buddies.  So when planning my summer family visit to South Dakota, I asked her if she'd like to tag along.  Kim had never been to many of the states in the midwest, and she'd always wanted to see Mt. Rushmore, so was all for it.  To sweeten the deal, I proposed a detour to Yellowstone National Park on the return trip.

Soldier Monument, Little Bighorn Battlefield

It's a two-day, 1200 mile drive from Portland, Oregon to Rapid City, South Dakota.  Although I've traveled this route annually for the past 35 years, Kim had never been on such a long car trip.  As for myself, I was excited to show my long-time friend the place I'd grown up (and she'd heard all about).

So one sunny day this past late May found us cruising down I-90 in Eastern Montana, destination Rapid City and the Black Hills of South Dakota.  To break up the time spent inside the car, I stopped at a couple places of interest along the way.  One of these places was the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument in Eastern Montana.

Gravestones indicate where soldiers died

In history class you probably heard about "Custer's last stand."  Well that took place right here at Little Bighorn Battlefield.  This National Monument memorializes the conflict between US soldiers trying to control the Indians and the Indian's last armed efforts to preserve their way of life.  On June 25-26, 1876, 263 soldiers of the US Army's 7th Calvary died fighting thousands of Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho warriors.  The commanding officer, Lt. Colonel George Armstrong Custer, famously perished in this battle.

There were gravestones for the Native warriors also

Coincidentally, the battlefield lies on the Crow Indian Reservation.  For years this area was called "Custer Battlefield."  But the eyes of history have shifted and the powers that be decided it didn't make sense to name a battlefield after the guy who lost.  So in 1991, the monument was renamed "Little Bighorn Battlefield."  Along with a large granite monolith commemorating the US soldiers that fell, there is now an Indian Memorial honoring the Native American warriors that fought and died here.

Loved this sculpture honoring the Native American fighters

I really liked the huge sculpture depicting three warriors on horseback charging off into battle.  It is transparent so one can also take in the surrounding grassy hills and wide-open skies.

National Cemetery honoring those who died in US wars

In addition to the battlefield memorials, we found the place also had a National Cemetery.  Custer National Cemetery provides a final resting place for veterans of the many US wars.

It right before Memorial Day and each grave had a flag

It was interesting to walk among the rows of uniform, bright-white headstones.  Each section of the cemetery was reserved for casualties of a certain war.  There was an area for the First and Second World Wars, as well as the Korean and Vietnam conflicts.  There were even older graves from soldiers fighting Indian wars of the frontier.  We visited on the Friday prior to Memorial Day, so each headstone had an American flag placed at its base.

First glimpse of Devils Tower

After spending over an hour touring Little Bighorn Battlefield, it was back in the car for a long drive across the rest of Montana and into Wyoming.  But I had a second stop planned.  Northeastern Wyoming is home to another famous National Monument, one of my personal favorites - Devils Tower.

Looking up the tower

Anyone who lived through the 1970s has probably seen the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind in which Devils Tower is prominently featured.  As a matter of fact, I couldn't stop myself from humming the movie soundtrack's famous five tones as we drove towards the monument.

Close up of the rock formations

Rising 867 feet from summit to base, Devils Tower is a lone igneous formation made up of distinct vertical hexagonal rock columns.  Geologists theorize that the tower was formed by an intrusion of magma into an area of otherwise sedimentary rock.  Over time the surrounding softer rock eroded, leaving this igneous plug standing alone.  The columnar jointing on its sides are unusual, and Devils Tower has the largest and most spectacular example of this fascinating geologic phenomenon.

Local Native American tribes also had stories on how Devils Tower formed.  Several versions feature children being chased by a large bear.  The children pray to the Great Spirit to save them and in response, the Great Spirit made the rock rise into the sky.  Trying to climb the rock, the bear made claw marks in the sides, creating the hexagonal columns seen today.

A thunderstorm foiled our hiking plans

In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt declared Devils Tower the first US National Monument.  Although the tower and surrounding forest are now protected, hiking trails abound, including one path that circles the tower, and climbing Devils Tower is allowed.

This viewpoint, down a gravel road, is the best

Kim and I had planned to walk the 1-mile trail around the base of Devils Tower.  However, as we started out on the path, I noticed dark clouds building in the sky.  We hadn't gone but a quarter mile when thunder began to rumble.  Not wanting to get caught in the rain, or struck by lightning, Kim and I decided to turn around and head to the visitor center.  We had had just reached the parking lot when the skies opened up in a furious burst of rain.

Almost looks like a spaceship is coming

So we sought refuge in the gift shop, and in the process met a new alien friend.  Kim took a selfie, posted it on Facebook, and dubbed it "close encounters of the Kim and Linda kind."  (And I liked it so much I stole it for the title of this blog post!)

We found an alien in the gift shop!

With more dark clouds on the horizon, our hiking plans were not gonna happen.  On to Plan B!  From previous visits, I remembered a place down a gravel road that gave visitors nice views of the tower.  So I took Kim on a quick drive.  We both marveled over the big sky panorama here, especially of the ominous storm clouds hovering above Devils Tower.  Kinda looked like those aliens from the 70s were coming back!

On the road again!  Destination, Rapid City.  Next up - taking Kim through some of my favorite places in the Black Hills.

Devils Tower

Okay...cue the "Close Encounters" theme song.  C'mon 'fess up - you were humming the tune.....or at least thinking about it.

Cue the "Close Encounters" theme

One of the places I wanted to visit en route to S. Dakota was Devils Tower.  Located in the very sparsely populated NE corner of Wyoming, it's quite a ways from anywhere, and about a 40 minute drive out of my way.  But many years had passed since I'd seen this unique formation, and this trip I was determined to stop by.

There it is!

Because it takes two full days to travel from Portland, Oregon to Rapid City, South Dakota, I stayed overnight in Butte, Montana.  The second morning I awoke to another fierce rainstorm and drove in a downpour for most of the first two hours.  Happily, the sky cleared up after Billings, and by the time I hit the Wyoming state line, it was nearly blue again.

View from across the entrance road

The approach to this monument via a local minor road is dramatic.  This distinct columar rock formation rises prominently above the adjacent hills.  A large parking area near the official entrance provided excellent views of Devils Tower against the green prairie.

Interesting striped hills nearby

Stopping by the entrance station, I was jazzed to discover my newly-purchased "America the Beautiful" annual pass also worked for National Monuments.  Sweet!

Entrance sign

The road to the visitor center was narrow and windy, and seemed to take a lot longer than it's stated 3 mile distance.  But I finally pulled into the parking area, and was instantly blown away by my first glimpse of the tower's striated sides.

First glimpse

Devils Tower rises 1,267 feet above the surrounding terrain and its summit is 5,114 feet above sea level.  There's many theories about how this unusual shaped mountain came to be.  The most popular is that the tower's core is an eroded plug of an ancient volcano.

Visitors relaxing on the rocks

Camera in hand, I eagerly followed a small knot of visitors up a paved walkway to Devils Tower's very base.  A large area of jumbled boulders circled the ground directly below its steep cliffs.  Wind and water constantly erode this mountain, and pieces of the rocky columns are continually breaking off and falling to the rockpile below.

Huge rock slope at its base

Although skies were blue to the west, a nearby thundercloud hung in the eastern horizon.  Puffy white patches would break off the main cloud, momentarily blotting out the sun.  This shifting light made photography a challenge.

This tower fills the sky

I didn't intend to take a hike, but in an attempt to find better light to photograph the tower, I ended up following the paved path that led around the mountain.  About halfway into my trek I realized I'd gone too far to retrace my steps and decided to just finish the loop.  It was only a mile and a half, and after driving all day since 5 am, the exercise would be most welcome.

Blocky rock columns

It was interesting to see Devils Tower from all directions.  It looked entirely different from each side.  And I know because of course I took a bajillion photos of the thing from every conceivable angle!

Up close column detail

One of the cool things I noticed about the tower is a small flock of large birds that kept circling near its summit.  I couldn't tell if they were some sort of hawk or perhaps vultures.  But the birds kept catching the thermals coming off the top and soared effortlessly across the air.  Very fun to watch!

Framed by the trees

One of my favorite Native American legends about Devils Tower is where two Sioux boys wander from their village and are chased by a enormous bear.  The boys prayed to the Great Spirit to save them, and a large rock they were sitting on rose up.  Enraged, the bear tried from every angle to get the boys, his claws leaving huge scratch marks on the rock's steep sides.  After several attempts, the bear gave up, sparing the boy's lives.

Climbers on the tower

Nearing the end of the round the mountain loop, I happened to notice a small group of climbers high upon the tower's cliffs.  They looked like ants clinging to the side of such an enormous rock face.  About this time I heard a rumble of thunder, and felt a couple of raindrops.  Uh-oh, time to head for that visitor center!

Curious prairie dog

Luckily, for me and the climbers, the storm drifted on, and only a tiny amount of rain dampened the ground.  I arrived back at the visitor center just in time to watch a charter bus unload a huge group of camera-toting Chinese tourists.  Not a fan of crowds, I took this as my cue to leave.

This one looks like a fat old man

The road between the visitor center and entrance station passed by a large prairie dog town.  Having grown up around the little rodents, I initially wasn't going to stop.  But then I saw a few of them sitting fairly close to the pavement edge, and couldn't resist.

Posing pretty

Those were the tamest prairie dogs I've ever seen.  Obviously used to human visitors, those little guys let me get inches away with my camera lens.  They looked up in amusement, as if to say "Oh boy, here's another wacko tourist."  But the fat little rodents sure were cute, sitting on their haunches like pot-bellied old men.

Double rainbow!

After my prairie dog photo session, it was back on the road again!  Rapid City was a good two-hour drive from Devils Tower, and I wanted to arrive before dinner.  Passing the South Dakota state line behind a brief rain shower, I was just outside of the town of Spearfish when a brilliant double rainbow lit up the sky.  A wonderful way to end my long journey, I took this as a sign of more good things to come.


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