Devils Tower: Keeping it Surreal

By Irina Zhorov

Yellowstone is pretty weird, right? Things gushing and bubbling up out of the ground, Technicolor pools dotting the horizon like some sort of spectral remnants of a sci-fi amusement park. The hot springs of Thermopolis? Also pretty strange; water trickling from somewhere within the earth, consistently nice and steamy. Wyoming’s also got dinosaur fossils, fish fossils, giant mountains and glacial moraines. No shortage of geologic wonders here. But Devils Tower National Monument pretty much takes the cake.

And I’m not the only one who thinks so. Devils Tower was the first site to be named a U.S. National Monument in 1906. And long before that, the site was frequented by many different American Indian tribes and considered sacred.  

Devils Tower is a monolith that rises more than 1,000 feet out of the flat, rolling prairie that surrounds it. From a distance it looks like the stump of a tree magnified one million times, but it’s actually surrounded by normal sized trees, which makes approaching it pretty surreal (surreal enough, in fact, to appear in Spielberg’s science fiction epic, “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”).

Find Devils Tower National Park on the Black to Yellow route on our interactive map.

When you approach the tower and examine it up close, you’ll see that it actually looks like it’s made of a bundle of columns, like a packet of pencils tied together. What it actually is though is an igneous intrusion that, millions of years ago, made its way through the layers of sedimentary rock. There’s still disagreement over how exactly that happened; some say it’s a laccolith intrusion, others claim that it’s a volcanic plug of an extinct volcano.

The monument is very accessible to visitors and is one of Wyoming’s biggest attractions. Park at the Visitor Center and take a stroll on the paved path that loops around the tower. Alternatively, you can take longer hikes around the tower, some of which take you through the prairie and on the sedimentary, red rock that surrounds the tower, which offers another bizarre perspective of the tower’s irreconcilable presence in that otherwise soft, flat landscape.

Because of the tower’s geometric columns, the tower has also become a popular place for climbers, who come there for the cracks. If you’re planning to climb, keep in mind that there’s a voluntary climbing ban during the month of June to give certain tribes the space to use the site for ceremonies. If you’re not much of a climber yourself, it’s also fun to look for the tiny human dots moving steadily up the pillar.

The monument is open year round, but if you’re planning to come in the winter (which is my favorite time to go, quiet and especially mesmerizing if there’s snow on the ground) check with the visitor center to make sure roads are passable. Also consider the campground at Belle Fourche Campground inside the national monument park (open roughly from April–October). 

Learn more about Devils Tower National Monument 

Journey through the Paul Stock Nature Trail in Cody

Blogger Jackie Heinert and her family spent an afternoon walking through the Paul Stock Nature Trail near Cody. View photos from their trail. The gravel trail totals 1.3 miles and features benches with panoramic views of the Shoshone River and surrounding public lands. All photos courtesy Jackie Heinert.

The Wyoming Pioneer Museum: A Wyoming Time Capsule

By Sara Hossaini

The old adage “you get what you pay for” often applies to eclectic exhibits in small towns. However, travelers lucky enough to stumble upon the Wyoming Pioneer Museum in Douglas soon discover how it turns that sentiment on its head.

First off, entry is free! But the experience is a worthwhile look into the area’s history. The spacious building is located on the fairgrounds at 400 West Center in Douglas. The collections are a well-organized cornucopia of ingredients that, together, transformed this land into the state we know today.

The museum often feels like a time capsule. The pioneer exhibits reveal the lifestyle in all of its minutiae — from original hand crank vacuums to cast-iron and china dishes, dolls and beautifully preserved wedding dresses. Elsewhere, there are Native American artifacts, a collection of antique rifles, rodeo memorabilia, an original bar from a local saloon, an original telegraph pole from the transcontinental telegraph line and even a bugle found after the Battle of Little Big Horn.

The museum hosts an impressive array of contemporary Western art, including a permanent art collection gathered for more than 20 years and a new monumental bronze featuring a pair of antelope, created by Saratoga artist Jerry Palin.

The Wyoming Pioneer Association, which serves on the museum’s advisory board, hails back to 1884. It began meeting in Douglas annually beginning in 1905, and its roster of cowboys, stockmen, freighters and soldiers played an important role in achieving statehood for Wyoming, as well as preserving the history on full display at the museum.

Douglas itself is a great stop for those visiting the Laramie Mountains, Glendo State Park or Thunder Basin National Grassland. Ask around for the convenient, free shower facility/rest stop near the river in town and a great hole-in-the-wall barbecue restaurant, Big D’s.

Visitor information for the Wyoming Pioneer Museum in Douglas:

Address: Wyoming State Fairgrounds, 400 West Center, Douglas, WY

Hours: Open Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–5 p.m.; open Saturday from 1–5 p.m. June–September.

Phone: (307) 358-9288