Devil's Tower
400 miles, 7 hours
We got up this morning, the earliest of our entire 29 day journey, and took a short backtrack from Hulett, WY up to the foot of Devil's Tower National Monument.
We parked at the visitor's center to learn a bit about the gargantuan rock.
There are a few theories, though not much certainty, as to how it was formed. It is definitely igneous rock, meaning a volcano had at least something to do with its formation. One theory is that it is the core of an absolutely colossal volcano that went dormant millions of years ago. I buy it...
The three of us took a morning hike, covering the 1.3 mile perimeter around the base.
Kimmie got dolled up, in the cute way only she can, for a hike.
Cami Mae just loves cruising around on Daddy's back.
We started on the shady side of the rock, and hiked counter-clockwise around to the sunny side.
The natural colors really started to pop, as we found ourselves in the sunlight. It warmed up, quite a bit, too.
We saw a few climbers making their way vertically up the rock too. Devil's Tower is probably the most famous crag summit in the midwestern US.
This land, and the rock itself, is considered sacred to many Native Americans. We saw a number of these tied to the trees around the trail.
Camille is really exploring her sense of touch. She particularly enjoys it when Daddy gives her a little flower to hold. Once the tactile excitement subsides, inevitably Cami likes to explore her gustatory perception as well. Yeah, she has to taste everything.
This is one of Daddy's favorite pictures of the entire trip! Cami and Daddy exploring the world!
And a family portrait. Not the best picture, but look, we were all really there!
After finishing our hike, we had a very long drive (7 hours) ahead of us, making our way through Billings, Montana, and all the way over to Bozeman. Lots and lots of open road through Wyoming and Montana.
Montana really has some of the most beautiful snow capped mountains in the entire country. We're just getting started with this part of our trip. I believe this range is called the Bear Tooth range, between Billings and Bozeman.
Kimmie knows just how much Dustin loves rice crispy treats, and she managed to find him one monster of a rice crispy treat :-) Delicious!
Our friends, Taylor and Wendy, had graciously welcomed us to their home in Bozeman in the early afternoon. In our previous roadtrip, Taylor and Wendy hosted us for an awesome few days in Indianapolis. It was wonderful to catch up with them again.
When we arrived, we let Cami run around for a bit since she'd been cooped up all day. There's nothing she loved more on this trip than a nice soft patch of grass to explore!
What a lovely view they have, of the Bridger Mountains, in their back yard!
Taylor taught Dustin an interesting backyard game, which involved tossing some blocks of wood.
After dinner, while the boys played, Wendy and I enjoyed some tea and she finished making this delicious strawberry shortcake...it was so nice to have a home cooked meal!
Unfortunately we never took a group picture of both families, but they are some of the sweetest people I've ever met and their two boys and little lady are just delightful! We hope to see them again soon!
:-Dustin
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