Joe Alves, Production Designer and Location Scout for 1977's 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' takes us back to the days when he first felt the magic of Devil's Tower. (Travel Wyoming).

In the video below he returns to Devil's Tower, decades later.

This is the guy whose job it was to find a memorable location for the UFOs to land in Steven Spielberg's close encounters.

In the video below he speaks of seeing the tower for the first time in the exact same way they presented it in the movie.

You'll see it at a distance and become curious as to what you are looking at.

Once you get close you'll turn a corner and BOOM! there it is.

The size and grandeur of it will take a person's breath away.

In this video, by Travel Wyoming you'll see Alves return to the place that many Americans did not even know about, despite the fact that it was America's first national monument.

But America sure as hell knew about Devil's Tower after the movie.

Joe Alves is a lot older now. There is a bunch of grey hair on that head of his.

Below is a much young photo of Steven Spielberg. Looks like he's waiting for the UFOs to arrive. They are late as usual. It takes a long time to travel across the galaxy.

attachment-Speilberg Devils Tower
loading...

The last time he was at the tower he and Spielberg were both young men.

Joseph Manuel Alves is an American film production designer, perhaps best known for his work on Close Encounters of the Third Kind and the first three films of the Jaws franchise. He directed the third installment of Jaws 3-D.

Devils Tower with a "visitor"
@AntonioParis via Twitter
loading...

There were a lot of locations that had been discussed for the UFO landing scene.

They needed something special.

Spielberg realized, as soon as he saw the tower, that this location would really make his movie something special and something to remember.

If you visit the Devil's Tower KOA you can watch the movie Close Encounters every night, outside, on a big screen TV, with the tower in the background. Complements of the KOA.

attachment-Close Encounters Scouting Photo Youtube
loading...

The Hidden Treasures Of Wyoming's Natural Bridge

Look closely, there are gems you might miss.

The Largest Gun, Saddle & Oddity Museum In Wyoming

The old west is preserved with the largest collection of guns, saddles and rare western oddities at King's Saddlery & Museum in downtown Sheridan, Wyoming.

More From Wake Up Wyoming