Our next stop was Devil's Tower, WY. For many in our generation, this landmark is best known for it's prominence in the movie, 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind'. The location of our campsite was amazing; as you can see, we had a view of the tower from our bedroom window! For me, a primary benefit of camping is location ... location ... location (no motel required). The campground has a nightly screening of 'Close Encounters' in their outdoor theatre with the tower rising just over the screen!
There is a small visitor center at the base of Devil's Tower and an approximately 1 mile paved trail that circles the monument. We took the trail and enjoyed the close-up views and chats with other hikers. The monolith looks slightly different from every angle. While in the gift shop, we learned that thunderstorms were predicted for that afternoon, so we didn't dilly-dally.
There is a prairie dog town en route to Devil's Tower. These little guys used to live throughout the Midwest but now their populations are restricted to protected areas like Devil's Tower. We enjoyed watching them and listening to their chirps and squeals.
Just as we pulled out from Devil's Tower, we got a severe thunderstorm and tornado warning on our phones. Mr. Snootypurse is from the Midwest and decided it would be best to try to stay in front of the storm since our route went away from it and there wasn't anyplace to shelter our motorhome. It was a nail-biter on a couple of occasions and we were grateful to arrive safely in Spearfish, SD. A tornado sighting was reported about 18 miles from Devil's Tower!
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