Through Wyoming

Friday, Aug 5  Sibley Lake

The long ride to Sibley Lake, in the Bighorn National Forest, took us over some incredible landscapes. The mountain range rises out of the plains, a peak-crowned plateau with lakes, deep canyons, and twisting highways. We even got our first glimpse of snow-capped peaks (in August!!), which we would drive up in the morning.

In the evening we went out exploring the lake and surrounding area.

Sunrise at the campsite.

Sat., Aug 6  Medicine Wheel

On our journey to Sibley, my thoughts were filled with remembrances of our friend Roger, an Ojibawa medicine man and spiritual leader, who had taught us much about the Native ways. So we planned our days’ adventure with my thought that Roger’s spirit would meet us.

Highway 14A, the Medicine Wheel Scenic Byway, is a summer only road that has extreme gradients and sharp curves, leading to the Medicine Wheel Monument, a mysterious archaeological formation, still used by American Natives for ceremonies.

After trekking up a mile and a half incline to the top of a mountain, for which Senior Morning Mall Walking is not sufficient training, we came to the Medicine Wheel.

To our amazement, as we approached, a groundhog near the “gate” sat up and barked, then went into the circle, sat on one of the stations of rock, and watched while we walked around. I knew Roger was with us. There is a strong, compelling sense of Spirit strength in this place. The ribbons, feathers, leather pouches, stones and such on the fence are prayer tokens left by many visitors. In our private and moving few minutes, we shared the Native American Prayer that we’ve learned from our friends in Lewiston, and many other thoughts, before trekking back down. We were grateful we'd gotten there early enough to have the experience alone, before the crowds of tourists.

From there we drove to Custer’s Last Stand, now Little Big Horn National Memorial Cemetery. Round trip was 300 miles, over the Bighorn Mountain range twice in a day.