How did the tower come to be? About 50 million years ago molten magma was forced into sedimentary rocks above it and cooled underground. As it cooled it contracted and fractured into columns. Over millions of years, erosion of the sedimentary rock exposed Devils Tower. The tower rises 867 feet from its base and stands 1,267 feet above the river and 5,112 feet above sea level.
I hiked a total of 6.16 miles in the park for a total so far today of 17,784 steps per my Fitbit. I hiked the Joyner Ridge loop and the Red Beds trail skipping the way too busy and noisy paved Tower Trail. It was mostly sunny and warm with some cloudy periods. Overall a great day for a hike.
Here are some pictures of the hike:
From a distance.
Can you see the face?
The red beds.
Lots of forest fire debris.
Looking away from the tower.
Steep hillside. Good thing I had my hiking poles.
The balancing rock.
Sent an email from here while on my lunch break.
Beautiful. The tower looks so different from various places along the trail.
Needle and thread grass.
Reminds me a little of the trail at Devils Lake in Wisconsin. Gets the old heart pumping.
Another beautiful day. I am grateful every day that I am able to travel and hike trails like this. I will remember always the beautiful views as well as the areas that had ticks and mosquitoes! Fortunately the bad stuff was in a very small area.
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