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| Above, Devil's Tower. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
Devil's Tower in eastern Wyoming gained international attention in Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind. But it actually was the nation's first national monument.
Travel Awaits has posted an article on seven interesting things to know about Devil's Tower.
They begin with:
Long before Hollywood aliens visited, Devils Tower stood as both a beautiful and cultural icon in eastern Wyoming. Named the nation’s first national monument by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906, Devils Tower National Monument has been around for thousands of years. Native Americans such as the Lakota (Sioux) once regarded it as a religious and cultural symbol. As Americans made their way westward in 1875, an interpreter for a military expedition misunderstood the Native American name and referred to the landmark as “Devils Tower.”
Standing nearly 900 feet tall from base to summit, Devils Tower -- called Mato Tipila (“Bear Lodge”) by the Lakota -- is a popular tourist destination as well as a major climbing attraction.
A KOA Kampground near the monument's entrance shows Close Encounters of the Third Kind nightly to camping guests.
To read more, go here.
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