Devil's Tower and Termespheres!

Sunday, September 26, 2021

You might recognize these 5 musical notes from the movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." And if you have seen the movie, you would also recognize Devils Tower...our destination for the day. 

One of the main reasons we decided to add on a two-night stay to our trip in the northern part of the Black Hills was to put us closer to Devil's Tower National Monument...something we didn't include in last year's itinerary. It's not like we haven't been there before. Bob estimates that he has climbed Devil's Tower 10 times...or at least that is his guess because he has actually lost count. But it has been some time since he has been here and much longer since I visited.

Bob rappelling down from the top of Devils Tower in 2005.

Bob and two of our sons on top of Devils Tower (2005).

A climber's view.

Devil's Tower was the very first national monument in the U.S., established by Theodore Roosevelt in 1906. The tower is about an hour's drive from Spearfish and lies just over the state line in Wyoming. Our route for the day (sort of a keyhole shape) would begin by taking the southern route from Spearfish. Besides Devils Tower, I had several other stops planned, but they would be part of our afternoon itinerary.

In reading recent Trip Advisor reviews of Devils tower, a common theme was how busy this park has become...just like most national parks and monuments during the pandemic. Parking is very limited and many mentioned that the parking lot was totally full when they arrived. My goal was to NOT have this happen to us.

Our "early to bed, early to rise" plan was put into practice and it was a little after 7 am when we pulled out of the driveway from the Turtle House. When we arrived at Devil's Tower a little after 8 am, we were just the 3rd car to pull into the parking lot.

Devils Tower is visible from quite a distance away.
The distinct mounds to the left of the tower are the Missouri Buttes.

The best way to see Devils Tower up close is to hike the Tower Trail that circles the base. This 1.3 mile long path is paved, but does have some elevation gain. 

Tower Loop Trail map.

To the Native Americans, Devils Tower is a sacred place and many tribes still utilize the park for traditional ceremonies. Along the Tower Trail you can observe many prayer cloths and prayer bundles attached to the trees. 

With binoculars you can also see climbers as they attempt to reach the top of Devils Tower. Observing the process made me glad I hadn't been there when Bob and our boys were climbing! 

Zooming in on the previous photo you can barely see the climber sitting on the Leaning Column. There are many different mapped routes of varying degrees of difficulty that climbers can follow to get to the top of Devils Tower.

A much closer view of the climber as she ascends above the leaning column.

Benches were located at the most scenic points along the trail. As we sat at one enjoying the view we kept hearing something falling from the tall trees. I finally noticed a squirrel in the top of the tree chewing off pine cones and letting them drop! 

See the squirrel at the top of the tree??

We took our time walking the trail, stopping often to enjoy the view so by the time we returned to our car, the parking lot was full and cars were circling through hoping to find an empty place. I'm sure we must have made someone's day when we pulled out from our prime spot right next to the beginning of the Tower Loop trail!

Earlier, when entering the park, the ranger had suggested we check out the view of Devils Tower from the picnic area. It was a little early, but when we got to the picnic area we decided to eat the lunch we had brought along. There was no problem finding a parking spot here...we were the only ones in the lot! And the ranger was correct...it was a great place to view the tower!

Devils Tower picnic area.

The "Circle of Sacred Smoke" was created by Japanese artist, Junkyu Muto in 2008. It is one of three sculptures of Muto's International Peace Project. Other sculptures are located in Vatican City, Rome and Bodh Gaya, India.

The sculpture represents a puff of smoke from a ceremonial pipe used by Native American people. (Honestly I thought it resembled a warped toilet seat.😏)

Our road trip continued on the northern part of our circle route as we headed to our next stop at Hulett, Wyoming. 

One last photo of Devils Tower.

Beautiful fall colors.

The tiny town (population ~300) of Hulett was just a short distance from Devil's Tower. I had read about Rogues Gallery and thought it would be a place of interest to Bob...and I was correct! The owner, Bob Coronato, advertises the place as an art studio, antique shop and old west museum. No one else was around when we arrived (we didn't even see the owner or any staff!) so we took our time browsing through the interesting merchandise and took even longer looking at the unique artifacts on display in the museum. Rogues Gallery is free to visit, but even if there had been an admission fee it would have been worth the price. Bob declared it one of the most interesting museums he had ever visited!

Another 30 minutes down the road should have been our next stop... the Aladdin General Store. With a population of 15, Aladdin, Wyoming made Hulett look like a booming metropolis! Unfortunately the store had closed for the season just a couple of weeks earlier so we headed on to our next destination just outside of town.

Aladdin General Store

The Aladdin Coal Tipple dates back to the late 1800's. The rickety structure was fenced off, but signs told a little of the history surrounding the tipple. It made for an brief, but interesting stop.

A coal mining operation from days gone by.

Our final stop before returning to the Turtle House was at the Geographic Center of the Nation Monument located in Bell Fourche, South Dakota (pronounced bell foosh). The actual center was located in 1959 after Hawaii became the 50th state but it is about 22 miles away on a gravel road behind a road ditch. The monument is surrounded by flags from each state and was placed in Bell Fourche since it was the closest town. 

Our sightseeing was not quite over when we returned to our AirBnB but this time we didn't have far to go. A quick walk across the backyard of the property brought us to the Termesphere Gallery. The well-known artist, Dick Termes, creates unique works of art by painting on spheres which are known as "Termespheres". A gal working in the gallery showed us the works of art on display and explained the process used to paint the spheres. Quite interesting! The gallery is free and open to the public. 

As we were leaving the gallery, Dick's son, Lang, drove up. Lang handles the AirBnb bookings and is in the process of completing a tiny home which will also be available to rent. As we were talking, Dick walked out and joined the conversation and in a few minutes his wife also joined us. She is a puppeteer and Lang is a musician so this is one very talented and creative family! What fun to meet them all!

This tiny home next door to our Turtle House should be available to rent soon on AirBnB!

I was done for the day and ready to relax, but Bob decided he wanted to check out a nearby hiking trail to Community Caves. When he got back he reported that the trail was EXTREMELY steep and almost non-existent but he managed to reach the caves. Hearing his report made me confident that I had made the right choice to not join him.

I fixed dinner in the apartment kitchen and then we had a relaxing evening watching a movie. Tomorrow morning we would check out and drive to our next location in the southern Black Hills, but not before exploring the beautiful Spearfish Canyon.