Cross-Country Road Trip: Forest Fire in Lame Deer, Montana

Wildfire in Lame Deer, Montana
Photo by Brad Sylvester. Copyright 2011.

One of the notable events of our cross country road trip in 2011, was our passage through the small town of Lame Deer, Montana. Lame Deer is a Cheyenne Tribe community and the tribal headquarters of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation. it is located in what I would call the high country of Montana.

The approach from the east is uphill for a long way. It is around this area where the climb into the foothills of the Rocky Mountains begins. We took Route 212 which passes through cattle land, scrub and forests that are much more predominantly pine and other evergreen than anything I'm used to in New England. The landscape was interesting all by itself.

The sky grew overcast and grey as we drove. We hadn't seen a weather report, so we didn't think anything of it.

Flames crest the ridge.
Photo by Brad Sylvester, copyright 2011.

As we continued to drive up the long incline, I began to smell something odd, as if, perhaps the car were overheating. I pulled over to the side of the road to check it out and give the engine a rest. As I opened the car door and stepped out, however, I noticed that the air was noticeably hazy, as if we were passing through a light fog. The familiar smell of woodsmoke, however, revealed the source of the "fog."

It was clear that somewhere in the area was a very large forest fire. We had seen no other evidence of it on our way thus far, so it must be ahead of us. The question was, was it off to the side or would it be close to the road and present a danger to us.

The area where we had stopped was well-forested on either side. If flames were to sweep through the pine here, it would be quite unpleasant and potentially quite dangerous for us. The car seemed fine so we decided to push ahead and try to put the fire behind us if we could.

Flames racing downhill at Lame Deer, Montana

The sky was completely grey with smoke, but we couldn't see any evidence of the smoke's origin until, after some miles, we finally crested the ridge. It seemed to come from ahead and off to our right. Ahead to the left, we could see a bit of blue sky.

As we approached Lame Deer, we could see thick dark smoke rising from over a hill to our right. It was still ahead of us so we kept driving, until it was directly beside us. The hill from which it came was about a half mile to our right and we pulled off the side of the road to snap a few pictures.

Within a minute, we saw not only smoke pouring over the hill, but flames as well. The flames climbed each pine tree and lept from tree to tree. It seemed almost to flow down the hill toward us with a light north wind at its back. Between us and the hill was flat farmland, dry grass and scrub that would burn quickly.

As the flames drew closer, we drove away to safety.

There were scattered houses and horse corrals along the edges of the field as well. I wondered if the fire would wipe out this little community. I didn't see any noticeable exodus of residents fleeing the fire, so they either felt safe or figured they still had plenty of time if they needed to leave the area.

As the flames ran closer to the flat of the valley, we drove out to be out of harm's way. We watched the smoke roll across Route 212 behind us, although I don't know how much of the flame, if any, made it across the open scrub land.

The volume of smoke we had seen earlier might very well have come from another larger fire elsewhere in the mountains of Montana. There were several fires reported across the area that day. We did see the smoke from another of those wildfires in the distance not long after we passed through Lame Deer.

Smoke from a distant fire

While the countryside of Montana has much to recommend it, I'm not sure I'd be comfortable living in a place where there are regular wildfires that might threaten my home or catch me unawares while hiking or camping. We saw the evidence of wildfires from prior years in many places along this stretch of our cross country road trip (as shown in the photo below).

Pines trees killed by a wildfire in Montana

When you fly across the country, you'll never encounter events like this on the way. I really think driving across the country helps add a greater depth to one's understanding of the different regions of the country. On the outskirts of Lame Deer, for instance, many of the homes were very modest and seemed as if the owners lacked the funds to undertake basic maintenance and repairs. Almost every home, though, had one or more horses in the yard. I think, perhaps, this hints at how the Cheyenne community here values its cultural heritage.

One day, I'd like to spend more time exploring this region of Montana, getting to know the land, the history and the people who live here. So much to see, so little time...

Devils Tower, Wyoming

Devils Tower, Wyoming
Photo by Brad Sylvester, copyright 2012

OK, I have to admit that my impression of Devils Tower is a bit colored by watching the movie A Close Encounter of the Third Kind in which Richard Dreyfuss sculpted the iconic monument from mashed potatoes in an alien-inspired OCD trance. Well... I guess you had to be there in the theater for the original release or, perhaps 11 years old as I was when I saw the film back in 1977, but I do have to say that I half expected military roadblocks and dead cattle to be lining the road during the approach. Of course, there was none of that though the roads and fields were quite recognizable  from Spielberg's movie.
 
Seeing Devils Tower in person in September of 2011, however, was actually more impressive than I expected. It was especially breath-taking, up close. It's easy to see why the Lakota Indians and a number of other tribes of the region consider it to be a sacred site. Among the Native American names for Devils Tower are Bear's Tipi (Arapaho & Cheyenne); Bear's Lodge, Bear's House, and Bear Peak (Cheyenne); Bear's Lair (Crow); Tree Rock and Aloft on a Rock (Kiowa); and perhaps the most imaginative come from the Lakota Sioux - Bear Lodge, Bear Lodge Butte, Ghost Mountain, Grey Horn Butte, Mythic Owl Mountain, Penis Mountain, and Grizzly Bear's Lodge.

As a side note, as we traveled through the great plains and the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, I was very aware that once this land belonged to other peoples, and that our ancestors made it a part of the United States through bloodshed and government sanctioned genocide. The guilty are long dead, and we cannot hold ourselves forever accountable for the sins of our fathers, but we can recognize those sins and make sure we never allow ourselves to again walk the path that they walked.

My mother, my wife, and myself posing for
a picture at a large turn-off on the approach to
Devils Tower.
Photo by Brad Sylvester, copyright 2012.

Devils Tower is a columnar basaltic formation rising out of the ground about fifty miles southwest of Belle Fourche, South Dakota off Route 24 in Wyoming. There are a number of photo opportunities along Routes 24 and 110 as you get close where you can take photos with Devils Tower in the background.

There's a small information center at the parking area and loop trail entrance. Inside are, souvenirs as one would expect, but also a number of exhibits detailing the cultural importance and legends of the origin of Devils Tower from the Plains Indian tribes, as well as its history as the first of our country's National Monuments, designated as such in 1906 by President Theodore Roosevelt.

This fawn and its mother grazed quite near
the path as we circled Devils Tower.
Photo by Brad Sylvester, copyright 2012

The loop trail is paved and though it is worn and uneven in spots, it is a, short, easy, fairly level walk that circles Devils Tower. As the trail loops around it offers a view of the river valley and then passes into forest. Surprisingly to me, the forest and the foot of the Lakota's sacred rock offered us not only views of the literally monolithic structure, but also of wildlife, including the fawn pictured above, its mother, a couple species of squirrels, and a rabbit, in addition to the Turkey Vultures and pigeons that circled around the summit.

Vultures and pigeons, just discernible with
a zoom lens, circle the summit of Devils Tower.
Photo by Brad Sylvester, copyright 2012.

Devils Tower, itself, though, was certainly the star performer of the day. It was formed as an underground magma vault that cooled and hardened in place, to be revealed as the softer ground around it melted away over the millenia. As the basalt cooled, it formed naturally hexagonal columns. Over the centuries, some of those on the outside have fallen away and lay piled around the base of the tower where they offer themselves for closer inspection.

Devils Tower is comprised of hexagonal
columns of basalt.
Photo by Brad Sylvester, copyright 2012

The nature of the columnar basalt, at once geometrically precise and yet flowing along the paths of least resistance gives it an truly artistic presence that could not have been sculpted any more perfectly than nature has made it (even in mashed potatoes). If you are traveling through the plains anywhere near Devils Tower or Yellowstone Park, I highly recommend detouring to visit the tower. It is truly remarkable.

Unless you're planning to climb the tower, which is permitted once you register your intent inside the visitor center, expect to spend a relatively short time here. The walk and tour of the visitor center takes perhaps 90 minutes. Bear Country USA is nearby, though, and between the two of them, you can make a good day trip of it from the vicinity of Yellowstone.

The back side of Devils Tower shows the
frozen movement of flowing lava.
Photo by Brad Sylvester, copyright 2012