Movie road trip: A cinematic site per state for all 50 states

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Wyoming: Close Encounters of the Third Kind

No one can definitely answer the following question – is there life on other planets? NASA, the Mars Rover, and other scientific findings can show that life could be supported. Still, no little green, blue or multi-colored alien creatures have landed on Earth, yet.

The 1977 movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind questions the existence of alien life and its ability to come to Earth. In the movie, several UFOs descend on Earth. People become obsessed with alien life and it overtakes their lives. The film plays to the debate whether aliens exist and if they have traveled to Earth.

Since this science fiction movie was filmed prior to current technology, Steven Spielberg used actual, physical locations for the movie (not computer generated scenes). The landing site from Close Encounters of the Third Kind is real and has become a tourist attraction.

Located in the Wyoming’s Black Hills National Forest is Devils Tower National Monument. Also known as Bear Lodge Butte, this natural feature was the first United States National Monument. President Teddy Roosevelt made this declaration in 1906.

After being featured in Close Encounters of a Third Kind, Devil’s Tower became popular with tourists. While no UFOs have been reported in the area, some Native American tribes do consider the area sacred. Some tribes perform annual ceremonies at the landmark. In recent years, some organizations did try to change the landmark’s name back to the Native American nomenclature, Bear Butte Lodge.

Devils Tower is popular with climbers and a large majority of park visitors come specifically for climbing. The sheer rock walls offer both easy and difficult climbs. Anyone who wants to climb this rock formation must register with park rangers. No one is allowed to camp overnight in the park. The visitor center is open from April to October annually.