Back on the Road: Devil's Tower National Monument

After more than a year off the road, the RV is rolling once again! Life in Durango has made staying put surprisingly enjoyable—far more than those gray, rainy Austin winters and scorching summers. But spring winds finally nudged us toward adventure, and so the journey begins.

This year’s route winds through North and South Dakota, where three national parks and the rugged beauty of the Black Hills await. First up: a stop at Devil’s Tower in Wyoming, an eerie and magnificent rock formation made famous by the 1977 sci-fi classic Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Spielberg’s film cemented its status as an instantly recognizable landmark, but its true origins are even more fascinating—cooling magma formed towering hexagonal columns, some stretching up to 600 feet tall and 20 feet wide. Once part of an ancient inland sea, Devil’s Tower now stands alone, the surrounding sedimentary rock eroded away to leave behind a monolithic mystery.

While Close Encounters of the Third Kind made Devil’s Tower instantly recognizable, its significance stretches far beyond Hollywood. For countless generations, Indigenous tribes have revered the tower, each with their own origin stories—many tied to mighty bears.

Among the Kiowa and Lakota, a tale speaks of young girls playing in the wilderness when they were spotted by colossal bears. As the creatures charged, the girls scrambled onto a rock, praying for salvation. Answering their cries, the Great Spirit lifted the rock skyward, out of reach of the bears. In their desperate attempt to follow, the bears clawed at the rising tower, leaving deep gouges in its sheer sides. When the girls finally ascended into the heavens, they became the Pleiades, forever shining above the land.

Indigenous names reflect the tower’s deep-rooted spiritual importance—Mato Tipila (Bear Lodge), Home of the Bears, Aloft on a Rock, Tree Rock. To the people who have lived here for eons, it is more than just a geological wonder—it’s a sacred place, a story carved into stone.

Visiting Devil’s Tower opened my eyes to a beautiful Native American tradition I had never encountered before. Having spent little time in the Great Plains, I wasn’t familiar with the deep-rooted spiritual practices of the tribes connected to this land—but here, at Bear Lodge, spirituality is woven into the very landscape.

More than twenty Native American tribes consider the Tower a sacred place, each holding unique beliefs about its significance. One of the most striking expressions of these beliefs is the presence of prayer flags, or prayer bundles, tied to tree limbs surrounding the formation. These bundles serve as physical manifestations of prayers, placed with reverence and intention. For Indigenous peoples, spirituality is deeply tied to place—Devil’s Tower isn’t just a geological marvel, but a living connection to their ancestors and beliefs.

The energy here is palpable. The sense of awe and reverence varies from person to person, but it’s undeniable. People from all walks of life and corners of the world visit not just to witness the beauty of the Tower, but to experience the profound spirituality that lingers in the air. It is a place that commands respect, not just for its towering presence, but for the generations of meaning held within its towering walls.

If you are anywhere near Devil's Tower, stop in, and learn about how it was formed, what it means to different cultures, and take in its majestic beauty.

Prayer bundles tied to a tree in Devil's Tower National Monument