The Medicine Wheel

6/19/2018 

Sadly our three nights here at Medicine Lodge are over, we very much enjoyed our stay there at this wonderful campground.  We will have a leisurely breakfast, pack up and head to Porcupine Campground in the Big Horn Mountains. We have about 115 miles to travel and they will be mountain roads with a hill or two to climb. 

We did get on the road a bit after 0800 and headed north, we stopped in Greybull, Wyoming for  diesel fuel, sweat pants for me ( I thought I had packed them) and we found a “down alternative” comforter for 75% off. Lynn had been cold last night and we know it will be colder the next few days. 

Diesel truck took the climb with ease, pulling the trailer up and over a couple 9000 foot plus passes. Our research indicated at Burgess Junction there was a free RV dump station. This dump station has 4 lanes for dumping with rinse and fresh water available. Yes FREE, and there is a donation box should one feel so inclined. 

After 118 miles and at 8827 feet in elevation, we located the USFS Porcupine Campground in the Big Horn National Forrest. This is a well maintained campground with 16 campsites. We have the one pull through and it is very level, with a BBQ grill, table, fire ring, and a lantern holder. While not important to all,  I must say thus far this year camping experiences with the out houses has been rather positive. Really clean with ample order control. 

After we got setup, I made us grilled ham and cheese sandwiches for lunch.  The skies have been partially cloudy and the solar panel has the battery at 100%. As with most mountain areas the predictable afternoon thunderstorm can be expected, thus, as I type this, the thunderheads are building.  Thus far we have seen Rocky Mountain Blue Birds, some Black Tail deer and have learned of some moose sightings. 

We did take a short hike to find a GeoCache along Porcupine Creek.  For you Cachers, it is named Porcupine Troll. This cache had not been visited for a good while, but was in good shape. 

From the cache, we bushwhacked back to the campground and The Boys noticed a doe and fawn Black tail. We then chatted with fellow campers. Given the elevation we will take it easy this afternoon and drink lots, and I mean lots, of water. 

For you flat land RV folks, here is a tip we learned over the years. Your RV refrigerator is usually set for about 5000 ft, in Cheyenne ours is set for 6000-7000 feet. So at high elevation there might not be enough oxygen to keep the propane burning to operate your refrigerator. 

As our pre-pup-feeding walk ended, pea size hail started to fall, we quickly stowed our camp chairs, stove and outdoor cooking gear and retreated into the camper. This changed our evening meal plan from a hash made with the leftover pot roast to pot roast combined with leftover hamburger soup for a innards warming meal. 

6/20/2018 

Good Morning Campers, Temp is 42F outside with a low last night of 40F, the camper is a toasty 51F. It rained a lot last night and the skies are grey this morn. We used 10% of our battery power last night. The Boys have been walked and the coffee is on. We will wait a bit to put cakes on the griddle.  So much for cakes on the griddle as a light rain started to fall, so oatmeal it is. 

The skies failed to clear as bands of mist or rain were to come and go. Not wanting to either hike in the rain nor be caught out at 10,000 feet elevation in rain and wind, we opted for a day of reading in the camper.  We did make several trips around the campground loop in-between the rain showers. The skies did clear up and we cooked brauts out on the grill and later had a campfire for Smores.  

I must say our GoPower solar system works great and even when there were just little breaks in the clouds we had easily topped off our batteries to 100%. 

6/21/2018

Kenai - The blanket hog had deprived me of covers at 0500 so I got up and took them for a walk. The Temp was 37F and inside was 47F so I turned on the furnace.  We will wait till 0600 to turn on the generator and perk some coffee. 

The skies are not totally clear as there were clouds off to the east blocking the sunrise at 0525, so we will wait for breakfast and the Sun to warm things up a bit before we head to the Medicine Wheel.  

We loaded up The Boys and made our way to the Medicine Wheel Parking area. There was one car in the lot when we arrived. Soon four USFS interpreters arrived and we chatted a bit before we started the 1.5 mile hike to the Medicine Wheel. The trail is really a road so handicapped folks can actually drive to the site. As we are early in the year, there is a significant snowbank covering the road for about 150 feet or more. The road is a down and up both ways over the  one way distance of 1.5 mies. 

The Interpreters are mostly there as unpaid interns and are a wealth of knowledge. They are there to inform visitors about the trail and make sure the visitor is aware of the altitude and the need for water and sunscreen and cooler temperatures. We were well prepared with warm clothing and plenty pf water, The Boys carried their own water. 

We were the only hikers on the trail in and had the Medicine Wheel to ourselves for a good bit of time before two other hikers arrived. The Boys enjoyed seeing a few of the marmots and later enjoyed a roll in one of the snow drifts.  

In the Big Horn Range at 10,000 feet in elevation one finds a circular pattern of stones atop Medicine Mountain in Northern Wyoming. The stones are arranged in the shape of a wheel about 80 feet across and it has 28 spokes. There is a circular cairn in the center large enough for one to sit in, there are also six other cairns around the wheel’s circumference. This configuration is not unique to Wyoming as similar stone wheels can be found in other parts of North America.  

The Medicine Wheel is also known as Sacred Hoops, it was used for spiritual as well as astronomical purposes. 

The Wyoming Medicine Wheel is the most studied and best preserved wheel in all of North America. It is believed to have been built 300-800 years ago serving to predict positions of the sun and other bright stars.  One can line up the cairns to correspond to the rising and setting of the sun on the Summer Solstice. This wheel can also be used to pinpoint the rising of various other stars, Aldebaran, Rigel and Sirius. 

The number 28 was sacred among the Native American Tribes, mainly because of it’s association with the lunar cycle and a buffalo has 28 ribs as well as it is a significant number in the Sun Dance. Many ceremonial lodges have incorporated the number 28 into their construction.  

We did take a short drive to find some tail heads for possible future trips. The Boys were funny as they did not want to get into the truck and had to be lifted up.  

As the skies darkened on the western horizon bolts of lightening appeared as we finished cooking fajitas. We scrambled to make all preparations  for our early morning departure. Cook tase, stove, cook box, chairs, camp rug, and more were stashed away. We also lifted the stabilizers and hooked the camper up to the truck. All this was done in about 30 minutes.    

Tomorrow morn will be walk The Boys, instant coffee, sweet rolls, check the lights, lock the compartments and hit the road.