Road Trip #3: A Close Encounter...

...with Devil's Tower Monument in Wyoming.

Tom and I have always wanted to come see this since we were children.  Now was the chance for us to do it.  Devil's Tower is what is left of the inside of a volcano.  The rest of the volcano has eroded away with time.  This is all that's left - a lava flow that is called a 'Basalt Flow, or Fracture, Column.'  (I learned that from our resident Geology Wiz!)

Like I wrote before, it was not quite like we imagined it to be.  We thought it would be sitting out in the middle of a flat desert, towering over the landscape.  Don't get me wrong, this thing is BIG, but it's nestled in rolling hills and pine trees.  You actually don't see it until you're almost upon it.

We were lucky enough to find a camping spot right at the foot of it.  The picture just doesn't do it justice - it seemed huge sitting right next to the campground.  The morning sun shining on it turned it a cool orang-ey color.  The Indian legend is that there were three girls being chased by a bear.  They climbed upon a rock and asked the rock to save them.  The rock grew, and the bear clawed at the sides of the rock to get to them.  The girls turned into six stars that can be seen over the rock.  Winston asked me "Mom, is that true?"

This was our first experience staying at a KOA campground.  After our Walmart lodgings, this was wonderful!  We mostly stayed at KOA's for the rest of the trip.  Some are really nice, some not quite as nice.  This one was probably mediocre, but we were glad to be there.  If for nothing else, the pool was nice during the heat of the day.  Winston loved it, and we had the pool almost to ourselves.

A birdy that was following Tom around, talking to him.

One of the cool things this campground did was every evening at 7:00 p.m. they play the movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind."  Tom and I remembered seeing it as kids, so it was kind of fun to see it again.  Special effects have sure changed since the late 70's or early 80's!  Winston seemed to enjoy it, but when I asked him what he thought, he said "I thought they were going to blow up the mountain."  I guess he mis-interpreted the graphics on the movie poster.

Winston, snuggled in his sleeping spot.

It was a tight fit for the three of us in the back of the Expedition, but it worked.  Eventually Winston got banished to the front seat to sleep so we could at least have breathing room.

Good Morning Sunshine!

Tom caught me on film trying to catch up on blogging.  One of the perks of KOA's is the free Wi-Fi, which I tried to take advantage of when I could.  I was also probably waiting for the coffee to get done, so I could wake up!

Tom's morning face - saying 'I was here'.

We didn't go into the National Park where we would have access to the Tower.  It was $11 for the car, and it pretty much just got you a closer look in a parking lot.  If we were mountain climbers, it probably would have been a good deal.  We figured the view we had from our camping spot was spectacular enough for us.

It's definitely a place we'd go back to, and recommend it as a spot to see.  We really enjoyed our time there.

Next up, the Black Hills of South Dakota!