Day 7
Tuesday, July e14th was going to be the coolest day the entire time we were in Gillette. We decided to use that to our advantage and headed out on a day trip to Devil's Tower. It was only about an hour and half outside of Gillette so it wasn't a bad drive. We actually got to drive right through Moorcroft, Wyoming which is where my Mom and Dad graduated highschool and where they were married. It was so fun to see their old school and to see where the church was located...it's now a gas station. :)
When we started getting closer to Devil's Tower I told the kids to keep their eyes out for it. I had explained to them that it looked like someone filled a bucket with sand, turned it over, removed the bucket and scrapped the sides a bit. It's a pretty accurate description really.
This is such a fun picture!
40 years ago my Dad actually climbed Devil's Tower. He made it halfway up when it started to rain and the guide he was will said they couldn't continue. It was fun to come with him since he had all these stories.
Getting closer!
To get into the National Park there was quite a line. A lot of people turned around and left. We just toughed it out.
I loved this cute Trading Post with it's beautiful American Flag!
Dad has his Lifetime National Park pass so we didn't have to pay anything to get in. The drive from the gate to the parking area was only about 15 minutes. We went to the bathroom, filled up everyones water bottles and then were on our way.
Here's the view from the parking lot. The hike around the tower is all paved and not difficult at all. It was only about 1.5 miles too.
Here's the view when you get to the trailhead. They had signs that said you could climb the rocks, but once you reached the tree line you were out of bounds. The only way you could climb past that was if you had a permit.
The kids were so ready to climb the rocks!
We let them climb up a bit, but since we were at the beginning of the trail we really wanted to get a little further down.
Once we walked just bit further over we let the kids climb some more.
There was a break in the trees so you could see out to the valley. It's so gorgeous!!!
This area was where we really let the kiddos go.
Pa was so sweet to hold the kids water bottles for them.
Up, up they went! This is me zoomed in.
This is zoomed out. you can see the bluish color of Jack's tank top way up there.
I wanted them all to sit on that giant rock, but Ella and Zeke were tired or nervous I don't know. They were really far up there though.
I'm so thankful that no one sprained and ankle or anything!
Walking around to the back side you can see how the right side is more of a slope. That's the side that my Dad climbed all those years ago.
Fully around on the back side getting a picture with Pa right where he climbed!
Zeke had a walking stick at the beginning of the hike...he found it in the Big Horns. Ella & Pa found sticks on this walk so they had to pose with their walking sticks!
Jackson though this rock was a good pride rock so he had to be Simba!
Ella said this rock looked like a frog so she got in the frogs mouth.
So did Jack!
Owen cracks me up. I guess the other kids didn't mind being dinner for a frog, but Owen sure did!
Wilderness Zeke!
Getting around to the shaded side.
Love this shot with the kids.
There are so many big rocks that have fallen off from the tower. I'm not sure how long ago, but I never felt scared like anything was going to fall now.
It's so cool looking from all sides!
We were glad to be there on a day that it was only 75. It really was perfect!
The last bit of the trail turned into woods so we couldn't fully see the tower towards the end.
Trekking through the woods!
I had a such great day with my Dad!
And he had such a fun day with me and his Grandkids!
We made great memories all around!
Towards the end of the trail the path broke off and went both ways...one was up and one was down. Of course the kids wanted to go down, but I wanted to see what was up. It ended up being a great photo op point. I asked a lady if she would mind taking our picture. I wasn't sure if she'd want to touch another persons phone, but she was completely fine with it. It was so nice to get a shot with our whole crew together!
After this we walked a short ways to the end of the trail and then headed out of the park. Just prior to the park gate this this big field that is where all the prairie dogs live. It was huge! At first when you're looking you think you only see a few because you see the ones that are moving, but then your eye adjust and you can see there are tons of prairie dogs everywhere!!! They were so cute!
There were other people that were out walking in the field to get a closer look. At first I was okay with going out there, but them I decided we probably shouldn't....it was their home after all.
This is only a fraction of the prairie!
We stopped at the Trading Post and Pa bought everyone ice cream. I stayed outside to save the picnic table for us. Ella got mint chocolate chip not thinking that it would have dye in it. I traded with her, but she didn't like the chocolate. She did eat a little bit more ice cream, but then she was worried it would make her throw up.
Of course while the kids were in the trading post with Pa they found things they couldn't live without so I bought them each something to remember this trip. Owen and Jack each got a multitool with their names on it. Zeke got a stuffed prairie dog. I even got myself something...
I love arrows and when I saw this cute ring I just had to have it!
Ella got a necklace that had her name on it. A crazy fluke thing happened though. She was trying to show it to Pa and she dropped it. It felt through the seat on the picnic table and then it slipped through the cracks in the decking. I couldn't believe it! It was less than 2 minutes after buying it. We went into the shop to talk to the cashier. She told me to talk to a guy with a straw hat on. We explained to him what happened and thankfully we were able to use the flashlight with my phone and find it under the decking. The guy left and got a long piece of wire and together we were able to rescue her necklace. He even said that once he pulled a guys car keys out of the storm drain. He definitely saved the day and made a sweet girl so happy!
Once we left the trading post we drove back to Moorcroft and found my grandparents old trailer. Since we had been walking down memory lane all day I wanted to continue the trip. We drove to the school where I went to Kindergarten at.
Dad welded this flag pole for Heritage Christian School about 38 years ago!
The kids and I had fun on the same swings I did when I was only 5 years old!
After this we had just one last stop and that was driving by the old trailer we lived in for the first 5 years of my life. It's horribly run down so no pictures of it. It was still fun to show the kids all these spots that are apart of my memories. We ended up not getting back until dinner time. It was a full day of fun!
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