In the Middle of No-where in Eastern Montana near the border of North Dakota stands the Medicine Rocks. Since 11,000 years ago Native Americans (at least 7 different First People) have inhabited or past through the rocks collecting medicine plants. They believed the place to be holy with the rock formations looking sometimes to them like spirits. The Crow each year made offerings to the Little People-tiny rather "difficult" dwarfs. (Read James Doss Mysteries, I love his characters, they are humorous and so likable: Charlie Moon the tall rancher -investigatorUte, his elder grandmother, the Shaman and her relationship between the Christian god and the old beliefs and her friendship with the pitukupf-dwarf spirit of the canyon. Doss like Hillerman is no longer with us, but I believe their stories will live on and on.)
Geologically, the rocks are unique in how they formed and for their age. Fossil snakes and others date the formations to 63.3 million years. So here we are along the Belle Fourche River next to the Devil's Tower. Another Holy place which calls to me and to the Native Americans. We were here two years ago but could not camp and I made Pat promise to come back. In fact I think the last blogg I wrote in 2015 was about "close encounters" and how the Native Americans feel about this area. Can you imagine traveling through the Badlands that they called in their way "hell" fire and seeing the tower in the distance and following the river to it?
Geologically, the rocks are unique in how they formed and for their age. Fossil snakes and others date the formations to 63.3 million years. So here we are along the Belle Fourche River next to the Devil's Tower. Another Holy place which calls to me and to the Native Americans. We were here two years ago but could not camp and I made Pat promise to come back. In fact I think the last blogg I wrote in 2015 was about "close encounters" and how the Native Americans feel about this area. Can you imagine traveling through the Badlands that they called in their way "hell" fire and seeing the tower in the distance and following the river to it?
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| The Proud Mary at our campsite with the Tower in the background. |
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Pat not waiting for me in our 2 mile hike around the Red Bed, Valley View and Prairie Dog Town Trails. The prairie dogs here are probably 3x larger than at Theodore Roosevelt. The hike to the tower itself was still .7 miles and straight up. Two young women past us and said they didn't know if they could make it. But the heat was rising (96 here today) and we headed down. In the foreground is Muellin, one of my favorite wildflowers, but it is considered an invasive here. I saw a woodpecker on one last summer at Hobbs Farm and watched it for at least 10 minutes peck away.  |
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