Devils Tower

On our way from Mt. Rushmore to Yellowstone today, we took a little detour over to Devils Tower.

There are a few theories about how this unique geological formation happened, but I like the Native American's idea best, so I'll share that with you.

One day seven sisters were chased into a low rock by bears. Their prayers for help were answered and the rock carried them upward. The leaping bears' claws left furrows in the tower as it rose higher and higher. The sisters were carried so high they ended up in the sky and became the constellation Pleiades.

It was a beautiful day up at the tower. We walked up to the boulder field and could see several people climbing up the tower.

On the southeast slope below the tower is a huge prairie dog town. I walked out into the field a little and they were quite nonchalant about me being nearby and very entertaining to watch. You can see a few of them and their holes in this photo.

South of Devils Tower is the wide, green valley created by the Belle Fourche River. After we left the tower we drove through this valley on our way west.

East of the tower is a large section of Triassic red shale from the Spearfish Formation. We saw other parts of this in the Black Hills around Mount Rushmore. 

About ten miles east of Tensleep on Highway 16 there is a switchback that gives you a great view of Tensleep Canyon and this limestone escarpment. In fact today's drive was full of interesting geological formations, which made me wish I knew more about geology.