Devil's Tower blasts out of the Wyoming landscape like an ancient rocket ship, like the stump of an unimaginably large tree, the biggest tree ever.  There is nothing like it, and when you see it, you won't forget it.

I've been there several times, and it never fails to excite and impress.  The anticipation of the first glimpse of it builds as I get closer, and it's always awesome.

Devil's Tower is located in northeastern Wyoming, not far from the town of Gillette.  Nearby points of interest include the Black Hills, Mount Rushmore, Wind Cave and Jewell Cave and  Badland National Park of South Dakota, all to the east, and to the west Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park.  The Custer Battlefield (Little Bighorn) is also not so far to the northwest.

This is from the National Park Service:

"The nearly vertical monolith known as Devils Tower rises 1,267 feet above the meandering Belle Fourche River. Once hidden below the earth's surface, erosion has stripped away the softer rock layers revealing Devils Tower.

Known by several northern plains tribes as Bears Lodge, it is a sacred site of worship for many American Indians. The rolling hills of this 1,347 acre park are covered with pine forests, deciduous woodlands, and prairie grasslands. Deer, prairie dogs, and other wildlife are abundant.

On September 24, 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt  proclaimed Devils Tower as the nation's first national monument. "

The Indian legend is that seven sisters and their brother were playing near the spot, when the brother suddenly transformed into a giant bear.  With a terrible roar, he came to attack the poor sisters.  The sisters called for help and climbed a nearby tree, which grew into a mighty giant to lift them away from the bear, who in his rage, clawed the base of the tree and left the giant scratches still clearly visible today.  The sisters were carried away to heaven and became the stars of the Great Bear / Big Dipper constellation.  Or something like that.

When I camped below the tower, I looked up and saw the Big Dipper sitting right on top of it, radiant in the clear night sky.  Wow, it was quite a treat, and really put something into the legend.  The picture I got of it is fuzzy but you can still see the Dipper.

My Devil's Tower experience was magnificent.  The only downer was that while I was in the park campground during my afternoon siesta, some jackass left the generator on his camper running full blast while he was away, out somewhere else in the park.  Some people are so damn rude.  So I went and peed in the gas tank of his generator.  Really folks, if you can't go camping without every last convenience of home, just stay home.

If you're ever near Devil's Tower, be sure to check it out.  But please leave no trace and don't abuse your generator.