Last Friday we took our last little "missionary field trip" and went to see Devil's Tower,
located in the remote northeastern corner of Wyoming.
The last part of the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind was filmed there, and I have always wanted to see it. This was our first view of it along the road.
It is truly spectacular!
We hiked the trail all around its base, and from every angle the view is different.
In Indian legend tells how a huge bear clawed the side of a rock
trying to reach the Indian braves on top.
trying to reach the Indian braves on top.
It's impossible to describe how steep the sides of the tower are as it rises straight up.
Elder Cherry and Elder Thomas found themselves in interesting positions trying to get that picture!
Devil's Tower stands 867 feet above its base,
but Elder Moench said, "Hey, it's not so tall - I can put my hand right on the top!
Looking through a telescope we could see the remains of the wooden ladder the first climbers built
in one of the crevices and used to ascend to the top on July 4, 1893.
Look closely - It just looks like a long stick laying against the rock, but it is actually a ladder.
You couldn't pay me to climb that!
It was beautiful to see a jet airplane fly right over the top of it!
Devil's Tower is truly amazing - our country's first National Monument.
On the way home we had one more "Kodak Moment." In 2008 a Japanese sculptor created this beautiful statue so that it would perfectly frame Devil's Tower. It is named "Circle of Sacred Smoke" after the smoke rings created by the Lakota Sioux Indians.
Oh, and one more thing . . . we passed two fields of critters on our way home:
Prairie Dog Town, and a herd of very large buffalo!
Prairie Dog Town, and a herd of very large buffalo!
E Bushman and E Thomas bravely crossed the cattle guard in order to gather "buffalo chips!"
Knowing those two, we'll be roasting hot dogs over them soon!
What a great place to spend the day with our winter missionary family!
We love them SO much!
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