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Day 39: Devil’s Tower and Little Bighorn Battlefield- The trek towards Yellowstone

Today we had a long drive ahead of us to Yellowstone National Park, but that wouldn’t stop us from sightseeing along the way. There were two main things to see on the trek Westward: Devil’s Tower and the site of Custer’s Last Stand, Little Bighorn Battlefield. I jumped into my Jeep, and my two friends into their truck, and we began our journey into the wild west.

Devil’s Tower is one of the geologic sites of importance that we are required to learn the location of as geology students. Today I would actually get to see this place in person, and among reading the theories of the development of Devil’s Tower, also the native stories (and there are many) that accompany it.

Devil's Tower National Monument in Wyoming. June 16, 2011

There are numerous versions of the story, and I read at least 4 different versions within a couple hours. All of them have this in common: some natives (whether they be children, villagers, sisters, etc) were trying to get away from a bear (that may or may not have been a young girl shortly before attack on the village) and the gods raised them up, the bear scratching the rock as it rose into the sky. They became a constellation in the sky.

The geologic theories are also vary, and come in three main flavors.While all theories include that it is an igneous intrusion, how it came to be as it is today has several different possibilities. Some geologists believe it to be a laccolith, an igneous intrusion that was beneath the surface of sedimentary rocks which were later eroded to expose what we see today. Others believe it was a plug of long-gone volcano that used to be in the area, and others still believe it to be other forms of igneous intrusions, the original surroundings long gone due to erosion. I guess you can take your pick as to which you believe…maybe you’ll even go with the bear story.

 

The Devil’s Tower was the first National Monument in 1906, and thus made Wyoming the state to host both the first National Monument and Park (Yellowstone). It is surrounded in history, an important landmark for the Plains indians. In more recent history (and to my amusement) George Hopkins decided to parachutes from an airplane in 1941 and land atop the Devil’s Tower just to show it could be done. Nevermind the fact that he was trapped there for 6 days until climbers could make their way up to rescue him.

Who can pass up drinking water from a fountain with claims like these? Devil's Tower, June 16, 2011

After climbing up the boulder field to get the closest view of Devil’s Tower you can get without a permit, and drinking the water that was ostentatiously claiming to be pure and of excellent drinking quality, we headed a little northwards so we could swing by Little Bighorn Battlefield before making our arrival, fashionably late, in Yellowstone.

The site of Custer's Last Stand. Little Bighorn Battlefield National Memorial, June 16, 2011

Little Bighorn Battlefield National Memorial is located in Montana, and it is the site of the famous Custer’s Last Stand, where the U.S. troops were defeated by the natives. It is full of historical information about the battle, and the fields are flagged with white markers indicating where soldiers met their fate. It was a pretty interesting place, and if we didn’t have somewhere to be and the weather wasn’t misting upon us we may have stayed longer to learn a bit more.

Little Bighorn Battlefield Memorial. The marker colored in black is Custer's memorial (Although he isn't actually buried here anymore, his body was moved in 1877 to another graveyard)

The last long haul to get to Yellowstone was a long, scenic drive. Montana is full of open space, where you can literally see as far as the eye can see. The mountains eventually begin to jut out of the ground as you near the western half of the state, breaking the golden sunset with snow-capped mountains. The view was beautiful, and with how honey-golden the sun was shining, I imagine it wasn’t difficult for the pioneers to be dreaming of gold in the western frontier.

A Western Montana Sunset. June 16, 2011

When we arrrived at the campsite deep within Yellowstone, the Canyon Campground, we were more than fashionably late. It was near midnight, and the near 2 feet of snow and lack of open space to set up a tent weren’t exactly encouraging. It was the middle of June and there was still an significant amount of snowpack on the ground- who knew!?

Our Canyon Campground site we "slept in" (our vehicles) on June 16, 2011 Yellowstone National Park

Well, we decided to sleep in our vehicles and see what the next day brought.

-Nicole

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The Wintry Trek from Central Missouri to Carlsbad, NM

Wow, what a day!!! A drive that should have taken 15 hours took 20 hours due to snow and ice throughout much of the Midwest. The drive was certainly an adrenaline inducing affair, with a couple of mishaps that were almost of a vacation-canceling quality.

I left Missouri after 5am and the roads were pretty decent considering the amount of snow and ice the area had received. I had packed my car with my things, and my companion for the trip (a 7 week old puppy I was transporting for a friend) and took off with confidence and an adventurous spirit. Driving was easy, and the view of the snow covered farmland was nice to see.I watched as the sun rose above the snow-blanketed landscape, sending a pillar of light straight up into the sky.

Even though the roads seemed to be OK I decided to play it safe and head straight south on 13 hwy to Springfield and cut across from there on 44 hwy. The GPS I had borrowed from my father complained at every intersection until I was in Clinton, announcing it was “Recalculating” my route. It wanted me to drive through Kansas. Why on earth would I want to drive through Kansas? Aside from the blizzard they had rolled through the area a day prior, Kansas was boring. Oklahoma sounded like a better idea. They had toll roads, surely if you paid to drive on the road they took care to maintain it.

My theory proved to be wrong: I think there was an invisible barrier that runs along the MO-OK line, because as soon as I crossed it the roads were horrible. Snow and ice still covered the roadway, vehicles littered the ditches along the road, and cars slid along the highway in a cautious tone. Interesting that the “free” roads had been rightfully cleared by the highway department, and the instant I hit the state that seems to love their toll roads it looked as if the men in the plowing trade had gone on strike. Either they don’t have enough funding for their road maintenance or they just aren’t as efficient as Missouri. While some areas of Oklahoma might have been hit harder than MO, most of it was much the same as what I drove through in the show-me-state.

I was trekking across this frigid tundra, thankful I had chosen to take my car instead of my Jeep because of the warm air that poured out the vents and the defrost that kept the windshield from icing over when I decided to find a place to pull over and let Ellie run around and do her business. Unfortunately the big wall of snow prohibited me from entering the rest stops so, but seeing as how I was nearing a quarter of a tank I decided to get some gas. I pulled off the highway onto roads that were even worse and pulled up to the nearest gas station. After walking Ellie I went to pull the lever on my floorboard that opens my gas door. Nothing happened. Either it was frozen shut or the wire had been damaged. I had to get out my multi-tool and pry open my gas door while some hunters with a boat (yes, they were towing a boat in this weather!) chatted nearby about the weather.

After that affair I got back on the highway and continued my way across Oklahoma via the snowy interstate 44. I decided to stop for lunch at a “Whataburger” since we don’t have those locally, but after exiting where a sign said there would be one and not seeing it I stopped at a McDonalds. I ate my lunch while Ellie ate hers, and I let her wander their strip of grass-covered snow on the leash. After that we headed back to the interstate, and I made an almost crippling mistake: I turned on the wrong road. I tried to turn around and got stuck on the ice. I was trapped there for about 5 minutes, rocking back and forth, when luckily a few guys pulled over and got out to push . Oh wonderful, good Samaritans! They pushed and my car was going forward along the road once again. I gave them a thumbs up and waved a thank you and they smiled, waved and got back in their car heading the opposite direction.

The roads gradually got better as I headed west, but I credit this to the shining sun rather than the road crew laboring away. I think I may have seen a total of 4 ice trucks across the entire state. I had a new found appreciation for MO-DOT’s hard work and prompt clearing of the roads. I was relieved, for once, when I hit Texas just as the sun set. Funny that as I reach the “Lone Star” state, the only star that will sit in the sky alone, the sun, had just set.

The sunset was gorgeous, and much like the sunrise I had seen traveling through Missouri it sent up a pillar of light straight up into the sky from the sun. I casually wondered if there had been a volcanic eruption somewhere in the world that was creating these beautiful effects. I dismissed the thought, thinking I was just letting the book I had just read a month ago, Krakatoa, influence my imagination.
I stopped at one of Texas’ rest stops, which I have always known to be uniquely decorated and more and amenable. This one was no different. The outside was lit up in the night with red, white, and blue lights in the pattern of the Texan flag. Inside they had an interactive display about life in the plains and the development of barbed wire, outside amongst the snow were picnic shelters with Texas-shaped grills, and a beautiful view of a canyon that I could barely make out the silhouette of in the dark.


The roads through Texas were pretty clear, or so I thought. I was heading along a seemingly clear highway that was under construction around 10 pm. The traffic was light and I only had one or two vehicles accompanying me on the road at any given time. As I took the detour and was traveling along at what I thought was a safe speed I came across a narrowing of the one-lane road with concrete barriers on each side, each with snow packed along it and ice covering the whole roadway, rocky and bumpy. I slowed down as much as I could before I hit the ice, but jumped off the brake when I hit it knowing that would be detrimental. My car swung diagonal one way, and I corrected and then it flew diagonal the opposite direction. I was nervous, but kept my focus as I knew I just could NOT crash here. I saw the car in front of me slow down on a clear roadway and I breathed in as I hit the clear road. I discovered that the vehicle just ahead of me was a police car, and he drove at a slow, carefully speed. Knowing he probably knew the road conditions I used him as a pace car until he exited a few miles down.

I was nowhere near tired, the adrenaline fresh and running through me. I made the push for that last few hours and arrive in Carlsbad at 1:28 CST. I checked into the hotel and tried to get as much sleep as I could with a puppy that kept waking up every few hours and needing to go out and use the restroom. In the morning I turned on the news to see the weather and saw a short story on a volcano that was erupting in the Philippines.
LINK:(http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i7EZq2rDaf4kQY0wO47q7pZBGt4A)
My imagination had proven to be an educated theory that was true!

It’s now time to continue to let my imagination act as a fortune teller as I wander deep into a place that I have wanted to explore for years: Carlsbad Caverns!