Posts Tagged ‘Potatoes’

Devils Tower Wyoming – 15

Monday, April 20th, 2009

Many people first saw Devils Tower Wyoming in the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind. With a flat top and ridges down the sides, it has a unique look. One movie character built models of it in mashed potatoes and dirt. It became a landing site for an alien craft. While truth may not be stranger than fiction in this case, it’s still an interesting place.

First there will be an explanation. Devils Tower Wyoming doesn’t refer to a town or city, it refers to a mountain. You can check out maps of it at the University of Wisconsin website. They describe the elevation of this location and give a very complete view of how this natural structure looms above the surrounding countryside. That’s incredible, as the saying goes.

Now for a second Devils Tower Wyoming point. Notice that when it’s written the apostrophe is missing. In other words, one would expect an apostrophe”s” at the end of devil in the name. But this name is always written without the “’s” so it’s nothing to cause concern.

Devils Tower Wyoming became a national monument on September 24, 1906. It was an act of President Theodore Roosevelt, known popularly as Teddy. He was never called that by his close friends. He got America involved in the Panama Canal. Back to this monument, it covers nearly 5 ½ square kilometers of Wyoming.

The Devils Tower Wyoming stands 1267 feet above the surrounding land. It’s almost a full mile above sea level. The tower is very high. That hasn’t stopped people from climbing it. In fact, of the 400,000 people who visit each year, about 4000 make the climb. Mount Everest is a much more challenging climb. Of course, the most dangerous part of climbing Mount Everest is getting down the mountain. Enough people climb that mountain that a queue forms at the top to make the descent. Most of those who are hurt are hurt because of exposure to the elements while waiting to get down the mountain. There’s no such danger at the tower.

Devils Tower Wyoming first began to form about 200 million years ago during the Triassic Period. It includes various types of rocks from sandstone, to silt stone, and shale. The different types of rock make it a beautiful sight.

Visit the local library to learn more about Devils Tower Wyoming.

Devils Tower Wyoming – 13

Friday, March 20th, 2009

Close Encounters of the Third Kind, a science fiction movie, brought the Devils Tower Wyoming to many people’s attention. With a flat top and ridges down the sides, it has a unique look. In fact in the movie, it was replicated in mashed potatoes and in dirt from someone’s backyard. Eventually some aliens landed there. While truth may not be stranger than fiction in this case, it’s still an interesting place.

First there will be an explanation. When it’s written “Devils Tower Wyoming” that doesn’t refer to a town or city in Wyoming, it refers to this mountain. Speaking of which, the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point has some amazing topographical maps on its website. Understanding the elevation of the tower is important. That’s incredible, as the saying goes.

One more thing has to be said about Devils Tower Wyoming. It is written without the apostrophe. Most people would write it “devil’s”. But the name has never been written that way. So don’t be alarmed, or think it’s a mistake when it’s seen without the apostrophe before the “s.”

Devils Tower Wyoming became a national monument on September 24, 1906. It was an act of Theodore Roosevelt, who the people called Teddy. He was never called that by his close friends. He was also responsible for the US involvement in the Panama Canal. Back to this monument, it covers nearly 5 ½ square kilometers of Wyoming.

Devils Tower Wyoming stands 1267 feet above everything around it. It’s almost a full mile above sea level. It’s tall. Even so, the size and sheer height have not stopped people from climbing it. 4000 people a year, 1% of the 400,000 who travel there, climb the tower. It’s not as challenging as Mt. Everest. It’s harder to get down Mt. Everest than to get up. That’s because so many people climb that there is a line, an actual queue, to make the descent. People often die of exposure to the elements while waiting. That doesn’t happen at the Devils Tower.

Devils Tower Wyoming first began to form about 200 million years ago during the Triassic Period. It includes various types of rocks from sandstone, to silt stone, and shale. The different types of rock make it a beautiful sight.

Visit the local library to learn more about Devils Tower Wyoming.

Devils Tower Wyoming – 25

Thursday, March 5th, 2009

The Devils Tower Wyoming is a mountain originally made famous in the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind. With a flat top and ridges down the sides, it has a unique look. One movie character built models of it in mashed potatoes and dirt. Eventually some aliens landed there. Even though aliens haven’t landed on it, people still enjoy it.

First there will be an explanation. When it’s written “Devils Tower Wyoming” that doesn’t refer to a town or city in Wyoming, it refers to this mountain. The University of Wisconsin has topographical maps of the site on their web site. They have an excellent view of the way the tower looms above the land around it. It really is an awesome site.

Yet one more clarification about Devils Tower Wyoming. There’s no apostrophe in the name. Proper English writing would place an ’s at the end of devil. But this name is always written without the “’s” so it’s nothing to cause concern.

In 1906 Devils Tower Wyoming was named the first ever national monument. It was an act of Theodore Roosevelt, who the people called Teddy. His close friends never used Teddy. He was also responsible for the US involvement in the Panama Canal. Back to this monument, it covers nearly 5 ½ square kilometers of Wyoming.

Look up some 1267 feet to see the top of Devils Tower Wyoming. It’s nearly a mile above sea level. That’s big. That hasn’t stopped people from climbing it. 1% of the 400,000 yearly visitors make the climb. It’s not as challenging as Mt. Everest. It’s harder to get down Mt. Everest than to get up. Enough people climb that mountain that a queue forms at the top to make the descent. Most of those who are hurt are hurt because of exposure to the elements while waiting to get down the mountain. There’s no such danger at the tower.

It was 200 million years ago when Devils Tower Wyoming began to form. Many types of rocks are found there. The different types of rock make it a beautiful sight.

Learn more about Devils Tower Wyoming by searching on Google.

Devils Tower Wyoming

Tuesday, January 6th, 2009

The Devils Tower Wyoming is a mountain originally made famous in the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind.  It has a very distinctive look with a flat top and deep ridges all along its size sides.  In fact in the movie, it was replicated in mashed potatoes and in dirt from someone’s backyard.  Eventually some aliens landed there.  While truth may not be stranger than fiction in this case, it’s still an interesting place.

Lets clear something up from the start.  When it’s written “Devils Tower Wyoming” that doesn’t refer to a town or city in Wyoming, it refers to this mountain.  Speaking of which, the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point has some amazing topographical maps on its website.  They describe the elevation of this location and give a very complete view of how this natural structure looms above the surrounding countryside.  It really is an awesome site.

Yet one more clarification about Devils Tower Wyoming.  Notice that when it’s written the apostrophe  is missing.  In other words, one would expect an apostrophe”s” at the end of devil in the name.  But the name has never been written that way.  So don’t be alarmed, or think it’s a mistake when it’s seen without the apostrophe before the “s.”

Devils Tower Wyoming became a national monument on September 24, 1906.  It was an act of President Theodore Roosevelt, known popularly as Teddy.  He was never called that by his close friends.  He was also responsible for the US involvement in the Panama Canal.  The national monument encompasses 5.45 square kilometers.  That’s 1374 acres.

The Devils Tower Wyoming stands 1267 feet above the surrounding land.  It’s nearly a mile above sea level.  That’s big.  Even so, the size and sheer height have not stopped people from climbing it.  In fact, of the 400,000 people who visit each year, about 4000 make the climb.  It’s certainly not as dangerous as a place like Mount Everest.  Of course, the most dangerous part of climbing Mount Everest is getting down the mountain.  That’s because so many people climb that there is a line, an actual queue, to make the descent.  People often die of exposure to the elements while waiting.  That doesn’t happen at the Devils Tower.

Devils Tower Wyoming first began to form about 200 million years ago during the Triassic Period.   It includes various types of rocks from sandstone, to silt stone, and shale.  This combination makes for quite a colorful disposition.

Learn more about Devils Tower Wyoming by searching on Google.

Devil’s Tower

Sunday, January 4th, 2009

If you ever seen the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind then you’ve seen the Devils Tower. This distinctive mountain landmark is hard to miss.

It became famous when Richard Dreyfuss began having visions of the Devils Tower with its flat top and ridged sides. Soon after having the visions he constructs a crew sculpture in his mashed potatoes. Needless to say his family is alarmed. He becomes more and more obsessed with the mountain. First he makes paintings of it, then he goes off the deep end. When he brings in piles of dirt from the yard to create a scale replica in his living room, his wife and kids leave him. It’s a very famous scene in the movie.

Eventually Richard’s character travels to Wyoming to see the real Devils Tower. Despite warnings from the military to stay away, he sneaks up to the mountain. There he sees an amazing spectacle. Aliens land after communicating with humans using a giant organ. Many people, abducted long ago, come off the ship. Richard’s character is amongst those who choose to travel with the aliens back to their home planet. Given the way Hollywood makes sequels, it’s surprising this open ending didn’t spawn a second movie. It still might. Later versions shown on television and released on DVD included scenes inside the ship. But these weren’t very well done.

Back to the real Devils Tower. It’s located in Wyoming. It’s a monolithic igneous intrusion, otherwise known as a volcanic neck. This is also known as a lava neck. It forms when magma flows out of a volcanic vent. It’s generally the sign of an active volcano. It’s not certain that this formation is such a plug. But many geologists believe it is.

The Indians have a legend about how Devils Tower was formed. Some Indian sisters were walking in the wilderness, picking flowers, when they came upon some bears. The bears chased them. The Great Spirit helped the girls by raising up the land upon which they stood. The Bears would not give up. They tried to climb up to the girls but as they neared the top slid back down. Their claws left the indentations in the side of the structure.

Another legend, this one told by the Sioux Indians, was of two boys wandering far from their village. A giant bear called Mato came upon them. It had claws the size of tepees, and it wanted to eat the boys for breakfast. The boys prayed to the creator to help them. He did, raising the ground beneath them. Just as with the stories involving the girls, and this one the giant bear tried to get at them from all sides but could not. Its huge claw marks remain.

Whether fantastic tales of giant bears or friendly aliens the Devils Tower is a great place to visit.