Day Three was entirely dedicated to Devils Tower National Monument, our country's first national monument. My dad and I went on a similar road trip when I was a kid and I was absolutely fascinated by Devils Tower. I still am. But this time I had the opportunity to hike its many trails and see it at first light, midday and into the dark of night.
The trail system is wonderful - the Tower Trail that circles the monument the closest is completely paved and an easy mile hike. The Red Beds Trail goes out a bit farther (3-4 miles) on the property and it really gives you more perspective of the tower and lets you see more of the wildlife than just what's in the parking lot. I highly suggest both hikes.
At night - there is zero light pollution. The moon hadn't even crested the horizon and everything was pitch black for as far as the eye could see. And with no extra light - the naked eye can see thousands of stars and the complete span of the Milky Way. Before we grabbed camera equipment out of the car, we just stood in awe gazing at the night's sky. It was incredible and I hope that sentiment shows through in the photographs. But you really should go see it for yourselves! Day Three:
An aerial drone photo of Devils Tower as you approach from the south. You can see the monument from quite a distance and as you can see - it's place is unusual in it's surroundings, making it ... monumental! Sorry for the #DadJoke.
What a view! Nothing like waking up in the morning, opening the tent and seeing this!!
Jackalope run wild near Devils Tower.
The ominous black tower is quite the contrast against a beautiful Wyoming sunset.
The colors at sunset were what cowboys sing about and more.
Another drone shot, this time right as the sun was setting on the horizon and leaving just a splash of light across the river.
Blue hour at Devils Tower. After the Badlands shot - I wanted to capture more of this time of day and boy is it worth the extra time and effort!
With zero light pollution, you can see the Milky Way with the naked eye and Devils Tower makes a great foreground to the sky full of stars.
This may be my favorite photo of the entire trip. It's a 30-minute exposure at ISO50 with a f/stop of 2.8. The moon rose behind us right in time to light up Devils Tower and create this warm, amber glow that punched up the color on the foreground as the blue night's sky swirled above.