Wyoming

"Welcome to Wyoming, don't do anything stupid".  I found that comment in my notes of our travels; it was a statement I saw on a road sign after we entered the state.  I did not notice whether that was an official state highway sign or not.  Maybe that rates right up on the top of my list with  the other strange sign which I saw: "celebrate freedom, get a gun".  That one was not in Wyoming

Devil's Tower

One of our goals while driving through Wyoming was to see this large rock formation again.  Maybe it was about the third time we have viewed it.  According to the park brochure it has the longest, largest rock columns in the world.  The columns range from four to seven sided.  Formed 50 to 60 million years ago, it grew by magmatic activity (meaning by molten rock pushing up through rock layers) and erosion.  Over time the Belle Fourche River carved away the older rock layers revealing the hard rock of the tower. The tower rises 867 feet from its base.  It is known as "Bear Lodge" by North Plains Tribes. It is important in their belief systems and sacred narratives,  and has a important place in their spiritual life.  Still today Native Americans make prayer offerings, seek visions and perform the annual Sun Dance.  For that reason, the Towers was eligible for  listing on the National Register of Historic Places as a Traditional Cultural Property. 

The Bel Fourche River also carved away "red beds" which surround the tower.  Those red rocks are part of the Spearfish Formation- which can be seen in the Black Hills of South Dakota, also in North Dakota, Wyoming and Montana.  They are oxide-rich layers of siltstone,shale and sandstone.

On our road trips out west we always look for pronghorn antelope, mule deer, and prairie dogs.  We did not see the pronghorn, saw one mule deer and a colony of prairie dogs.  A pull-out off the highway was provided and I snapped away until I finally got one to sit still!   These are not dogs, but a type of ground squirrel.  The black-tailed prairie dog has the widest range and is found throughout western United States, from Canada to Mexico.