Gazing up at Devil’s Tower
In the Black Hills, we drove to Wyoming for one night to see one specific place.
July 25, 2025
Sundance, Wyoming
“The name of the Lord is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.” Proverbs 18:10
The day we left North Dakota and drove to see Devil’s Tower, I honestly had no idea what to expect. All I knew about the attraction is that it was a “must see” in the Black Hills area. We dropped the trailer off at a campground and drove the half hour toward Devil’s Tower.
When we got about 10 miles away, we had our first sighting of what was definitely the tower. I remember saying, “Whoa.”
Devil’s Tower, it turns out, is a giant rock tower that plunges 867 feet up above the earth. We started at the visitor’s center, where the kids completed their Junior Ranger packets and we learned about the tower. Then we hiked the Tower Trail circling its base.
The area at the top of the tower is is 1.5 acres, about the size of a football field.
Rock climbing is permitted on the tower. There are four Climbing Rangers—park rangers whose job is to assist rock climbers. The youngest person to climb the tower was 5. The oldest person to climb to the top was 87. (It’s not too late, Mom!).
We didn’t rock climb here, but we did climb rocks.
We also learned that climbing the tower is very controversial. Dozens of Native American tribes consider the tower to be sacred. In this context, the tower is referred to as Bear Lodge and remains a site of prayer rituals. Many people want climbing to be banned, but for now, it’s still permitted.
The view from the base of the tower looking out was also stunning. Having driven through other parts of Wyoming previously, we were surprised to see how gorgeously green the hillsides were in this part of the state.
That morning on our way to Devil’s Tower, Sadie picked out our family’s memory verse, which couldn’t have been more fitting: “The name of the Lord is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.” Proverbs 18:10
These two. Having the world’s best summer.
And just to give you a glimpse of what it’s like blogging this trip while on this trip, it’s now three weeks later and I’m sitting in another part of Wyoming at Grand Teton National Park, and Nick texted me this sunset picture from his after-dinner fishing attempt at Jenny Lake.
The face of someone who will be officially retired in 10 days
Safe to say, there’s much more of Wyoming to come! Devil’s Tower was well worth the one-night stopover in the state before next destinations in the beautiful Black Hills.
Roberts on the Road
For those just finding us, hello! Inspired by the Year of Jubilee in Leviticus 25, our family is on a yearlong RV road trip in 2025-2026 to celebrate my husband’s retirement after 20 years in Naval Special Warfare, as well as our 24 years together during the ups and downs of it all.
With our 12-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son in tow, this trip to explore America’s national parks and beautiful places is intended to help our family reflect and reset as civilian life begins.
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For background info on who we are and where we’re traveling, we’d love for you to read the intro post. The full list of road trip blog posts can be found here. Thanks for stopping by!
