The sun was shining on my first full day in Wyoming. Heather had planned a sightseeing drive through the Black Hills to check out the Devils Tower and Spearfish Canyon. We hit the road with the roof down.

We headed east on Interstate 90 to the town of Moorcroft, Wyoming and US Route 14. Heading east on Route 14 took us into the Bear Lodge Mountains in the western side of the Black Hills. After passing through the town of Carlile, (which reminded me of the Pennsylvania town of the same name even though it is spelled differently), we turned left onto State Route 24 and headed toward our first stop for the day - the Devils Tower.

We stopped first at an observation point approaching the monument for pictures.

The Devils Tower National Monument.

The Devils Tower was the nation's first National Monument established in 1906 by President Theodore Roosevelt.

The Devils Tower (5,112 feet) rises 867 feet above the surrounding land.

As expected, this is a popular place for climbers.

The scenic overlook where we stopped provided a perfect view.

I tried zooming in on some of the trees growing from the side of the monument with the results being what I expected. Adding digital zoom makes the picture unstable, but you get the idea.

The rock formation has been known by a number of names. Native Americans referred to it by names such as "Bear's House," "Bear's Lodge," and "Tree Rock." The name "Devils Tower" was coined by Colonel Richard Irving Dodge in 1875 during his expedition of the area when his interpreter misunderstood what he was being told by the native residents.

The Devils Tower is located in the Bear Lodge Mountains region of the Black Hills.

Various peaks near the Devils Tower.

The scenic overlook parking area also offered a good view of the nearby cliffs and rock formations to the east.

The region around the Devils Tower consists of sandstone and siltstone sedimentary rocks.

The red coloring comes from the oxidation of iron minerals.

The white sections are made of gypsum.

I tried zooming in on the surrounding cliffs.

Red and white rock formations near the Devils Tower.

Red and white rock formations near the Devils Tower.

Zooming in on some of the surrounding cliffs.

Looking west from the scenic overlook.

Looking west from the scenic overlook.

We continued onward and arrived at the entrance to the National Monument. Even though the Monument is open year-round, the trading posts at the entrance were closed for the season, (this is winter, after all). Road construction and maintenance crews, however, were taking advantage of the still snow-free weather and trying to complete a project.

We didn't head into the 1,347-acre National Monument, itself only because we had a lot of places to see and a limited amount of daylight available.

Instead, we tried to stay out of the way of the construction trucks and take pics from a distance.

Zooming in on the Devils Tower from the trading post parking lot.

Zooming in on the Devils Tower from the trading post parking lot.

We headed back to the car to continue to our next destination, Spearfish Canyon in South Dakota. Something caught our eyes on the side of Route 24 leaving the Devils Tower area. I made a quick u-turn and pulled over to take a few pics.

I stopped far enough away so as not to scare him and put my 35x optical zoom lens to work.

Turns out we had happened upon a bald eagle enjoying a roadside buffet.

I don't know much about bald eagles. But this guy was quite large and absolutely beautiful !

This vantage point gives the impression that he's almost as big as the deer.

His eye looks different in the photo above due to the presence of a third eyelid called a nictitating membrane. It not only offers protection, it does so while still allowing vision.

A dump truck soon passed by close enough to scare him away. I tried to follow him with the camera and held the button down hoping for the best.

I actually managed to get a couple of good "in flight" shots !

I was extremely lucky to be in the right place at the right time !

Route 24 took us back to the Carlile Junction at US Route 14 and our eastbound journey toward South Dakota. The drive through the Black Hills in eastern Wyoming was beautiful ! So naturally, I had to stop several times for pics.

The first stop wasn't too long after getting back on Route 14 at the Carlile Junction. I actually spotted a great spot for pics and turned around so I was facing west.

The photos above and below look west in the general direction of Gillette, (i.e. where we came from, not where we were headed).

I stitched stitched three pictures together to create a west-facing panorama. I believe the body of water seen in the distance on the left side of the photo above is the Keyhole Reservoir.

I started zooming in on some of the features to the west.

I'm not sure what the snow-capped peaks seen in the photos above and below are.

I tried to zoom in on them with little success.

Looking on a map, the only significant peaks off to the west of where I was standing at that moment are the Bighorn Mountains. But, they would be more than 120 miles away from here. So I'm not sure what peaks I am looking at.

Zooming in on the view to the west.

Zooming in to the west.

Zooming in to the west.

Zooming in to the west.