Hi again and here’s another place we’d definitely go back to!
Our Amazing Close Encounter with Devil’s
Tower
Ruthie
and I had been eager to visit Devil’s Tower ever since seeing it in Steven
Spielberg’s “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”. We passed through Hulett ,
Wyoming and suddenly there it was-a
colossal rock formation looming over the horizon.
I
yelled, “Wow! It’s just like in the movie!”
Already
snapping photos, Ruthie said, “This is way better, dear!”
If ever a travel sight rated a “Wow!” it’s this
one!
The
park’s main lot was nearly filled with cars with more pulling in behind us.
Trying to beat the crowd, we grabbed our day packs and hurried to the paved
walkway that ran for over a mile around the tower. Like everyone else when
starting off, we kept gaping up at this natural skyscraper. Our park leaflet
said it was created from molten magma ages ago, the material cooling into
enormous five-sided columns rock sweeping up 867 feet to the top. Plains
Indians had revered the Tower since ancient times and, equally awed, President
Teddy Roosevelt declared it our first national park in 1906. As we walked the
piney essence of ponderosas all around filled the air.
Ruthie
inhaled deeply. “What a wonderful fragrance!”
I
said, “They say these ponderosas smell like vanilla. I’m going to take a
whiff.” Going over to one, I pressed my nose to the bark. “It’s vanilla, all
right! Try it!”
A young couple with climbing gear stopped to
ask Ruthie what I was doing. Rolling her eyes with that I can’t take him anywhere look, she laughed, “Don’t pay him any
attention. He likes smelling trees.”
Laughing back, the young woman said, “We’re
picnicking on top of the tower. We’ll wave if we see you from up there. Bye!”
We saw tiny figures climbing their ropes up
the sheer rock faces and a few climbers were coming back down. We held our
breaths as one, belayed with ropes anchored from above by two others, kicked
off to rappel out and down in long freefall leaps. The park pamphlet rightfully
claimed this place was a Mecca for
mountaineers.
Following
a steady upgrade, we were a mile above sea level and the sweep of blue sky over
the open land below was endless. We reached an overlook where park ranger,
Doleen, was leading a tour group.
A
woman watching people scaling the tower remarked, “There sure are lots of climbers
here.”
Doleen
nodded, “They’re from all over the world and of all ages. The oldest to reach
the top was 83. The youngest, if you’re ready for this, was 6!”
Much-much
younger (68) than that older person, I muttered to Ruthie. “I bet we could do it.”
You
can barely see three climbers in the center. Hmm-on second thought…..
She
ignored me as, meantime, Doleen pointed toward one of the columns. “For those
with binoculars, try spotting the old ladder up there!”
Ruthie found it first. “I see it! Are those
people actually using it?”
Doleen
shook her head. “I hope not. It’s a wooden stake ladder built by two local
ranchers back in 1893. Their wives used it to be the first women to reach the
summit.”
My
wife gets nervous on our eight foot extension. Still peering through the
binoculars, she shook her head. “I shudder to think of them pulling themselves
hundreds of feet straight up on that thing!”
We were halfway around the trail when a white
tail doe came out of the trees right in front of us…and stopped. We Wisconsinites
see lots of deer, but they shy off if they see us. This one just looked at us
and began nibbling the grass. Used to seeing so many people here, she was so
tame we almost had to shove her out of our way.
The
trail began angling down toward our starting point. Now near noon it had heated up to where we were sweaty. We couldn’t resist taking still another break to take it
in, the Tower's soaring majesty. The Photo Queen wanted to show it off (plus, herself) to family and friends, so I finally got to use the camera.
The Queen-modeling a postcard at the best place imaginable!
It
felt good to walk downhill for a change. By the time we’d circled back to the
visitor center there’d been so much to see that we’d been two hours on a trail we’d
have normally covered in half the time. While munching our remaining trail
snacks at the pavilion, an elderly woman seated nearby was being tended to by
younger people.
One
asked, “Will you be okay, Grandma? We’ll be on the trail for awhile.”
Perky
and alert, she smiled engagingly at us and shooed them off. “I’m fine! I’ll
just have fun talking to these folks.”
Introducing
herself as Lee Ann, she told us she’d lived in these parts all her life. “My
family knows I’ve always loved coming to Devil’s Tower. They brought me here today
to celebrate my 80th birthday.” Since it had played such an
enjoyable part in her life, we asked her to relate her favorite stories about
it.
“I
was still a little girl and right here when one of the most exciting ones happened! You see,
this daredevil parachuted from the wing of a plane and landed on top of the
Tower. But then he couldn’t climb down! The rescue teams took forever to lower
the poor guy down. It made national news.”
This
and her other true life tales provided a delightful wrap-up to a most enjoyable
hiking adventure. As we drove away, I said, “Sweetie, we could come back sometime
and climb this thing! With practice and a good guide, how hard could it be?”
Studying
our road map, she didn’t bother to look up. “Only in your dreams, dear-quit
looking back at it and keep your eyes on the road, OK?”