Sheridan and the Medicine Wheel

 I had decided that I wanted to go see the Medicine Wheel in the Bighorn Mountains.  Mike and I spent a lot of time riding in the Bighorns, and I don't know why we never went up to the Medicine wheel.

I was telling Sally that I wanted to do it, and she said she'd go with me.  We left for Sheridan Monday after I got off work, had a great day on Tuesday, and came back on Wednesday.

We had dinner at the brewery that I found when I was in Sheridan in April.  We walked around the downtown a bit, and then watched a silly movie at the hotel.

We headed out on Tuesday morning, through Ranchester and then veered off at Burgess Junction toward Lovell.  It's a stunningly beautiful drive in the Bighorns, and everything is still so green.  There was a good bit of smoke from the fires in Montana, so it was a bit hazy.

The Medicine Wheel is a National Historic Landmark, and is estimated to be between a few hundred years to more than 3,000 years.   From the parking area, it was a 1.5 mile walk.  The elevation is 9,640 feet, so I bought us canned oxygen in case we got out of breath.  I was glad I had it.  The weather was perfect, sunny and mid 60's, so a very pleasant hike.

It was a very moving experience, very peaceful.  They have ceremonies 5 to 6 times per week, and it looked like mainly memorials.  There were many prayer flags and trinkets left.  Sally and I left a few coins on one of the posts.

The quote says "Eventually one gets to the Medicine Wheel to fulfill one's life"

There was even some snow still!

After our hike, we drove to Greybull, and then came back by Shell Falls on the way to Burgess Junction and then back to Sheridan.  I sprinkled some of Mike's ashes at the falls.  We would stop there often to look at the falls on our rides.

We stopped at another brewery in Sheridan, and had supper at a great Mexican Restaurant, and then headed home Wednesday morning.

It was a great trip, and I'm so thankful that Sally was there with me.

Angie and Scott Black Hills July 2024

 Oh we had such a great time, but it went WAY too fast!!

They got here on the 8th, and had their Rube Goldberg tent setup so that they could bring the motorcycle. Their tent was the talk of Hart Ranch, and many people stopped to tell me that they should patent it!

Angie got to see Mike's memorial tree, and Tim arranged to get the Mike Gaines Memorial Golf Course sign erected while they were here.  I was so grateful that Angie got to see it.  It was very emotional for both of us.

I took them on Iron Mountain Road and Needles Highway so they could experience the rides Mike and I used to do.  They loved it.  We stopped at Sylvan Lake and sprinkled some of Mike's ashes where we used to picnic.  Sylvan Lake was very crowded, so we had to do it sneakily!

We went to the rodeo on Wednesday night.  They both tried out the mechanical bull!!

Scott Before

Scott on the way down!

Angie Before

Good form Angie!

Angie After!

On Thursday, I took them on Nemo Road. We stopped and had a beer in Nemo. Then they rode through Vanocker Canyon into Sturgis.  Such a great ride - it's the same route we would take when we did the Dakota Thunder ride.  Of course, they had to get a picture in front of Sturgis Harley Davidson - on the Honda!  Then we stopped at the Sturgis Brewery, and then headed home - back the way we came because they enjoyed it so much!

Thursday night we grilled a steak dinner, and Sally and Lyle came out and ate with us.  Nice evening.

They left Friday morning.  I was so sad to see them go, we really had a good time.  I was so glad that they got to meet so many people here who know and love Mike.  We played Tacos and Trivia with Marita and Kevin, they met Anne and Tim, and met Tim Schnable.  I can't wait for them to come back!!💕

Hart Ranch June 2024

 I'm so glad I'm here and working!  It's keeping me very busy, I'm glad to be back into it, and I love seeing members that I haven't seen in such a long time.

I've been spending time with Susan, and Sally, and seeing other friends as I can.

We had a little get together for JoAnn Hart.  We wanted to get a lot of Hugh's friends here who didn't go to his funeral.  Jim Bob came, Toby was there, Elmer, Peggy and Larry, Ed and Val.  It was a nice afternoon.

Anita and I had a girls day to Devil's Tower.  It was a beautiful drive, but it was so crowded we couldn't get all the way up to the parking area.  So, we turned around and took pictures in the parking lot below. On the way back to Hart Ranch, we stopped in Sundance.  She had never seen the statue of the Sundance Kid. She is such a hoot!!