Geezers, Wyoming and South Dakota - Geezer VIII Day 4

Day 11

The big news this morning was that Jack and Steph are now grandparents.  Steph's daughter Michelle and her husband had a baby boy last night; welcome Donal.

We had nothing planned for the morning so after everyone had gotten up, it was time for our group photo session.  Because of the influence the English royalty had on the ranch, Val brought crowns for everyone to wear, and since we were in Wyoming, Jack and Steph brought cowboy hats for everyone.  Those props made for some interesting (silly?) pictures.

Jack, Steph and John decide whether they really want to do this.

This is what happens when you become geezers.

After the photo session, Jack and I set out on another hike.  We got back around noon and it was time for lunch. 

By mid-afternoon we had eaten all we could eat and were looking for something to do so we decided to go into Sheridan to check out the town and visit the farmer’s market they have on Thursday nights.  Val has a friend who grew up in Sheridan and had told her before we left that if you visit Sheridan you have to go to King’s Saddlery and The Mint Bar.

Our first stop was King’s Saddlery, which is a well-known saddle and western supply shop.  The shop was started by Don King who was famous for his intricate leather work and ropes, and the tradition continues today even after his death a few years ago.  They sell everything a working rancher needs from saddles, gloves, ropes and hats.  There was a museum there with many of the saddles that King has made, saddles used by famous cowboys, and all sorts of western memorabilia.  Although Don King died in 2007,  James F. Jackson, a skilled craftsman who continues to turn out beautiful leather work carries on the tradition.  All and all, it was a really interesting place to visit.

The museum was in the back of King's Saddlery

You can see the intricate leather work in this saddle.

Greg and I talk with James Jackson, the current leather craftsman in the shop.

Part of an amazing collection of leather working tools in the shop.

King's Saddlery also is known as King Ropes and has an extensive selection.
They have 17,000 ropes in stock and sell 30,000 ropes a year.

The ropes are finished right there in the shop.

 

Our next stop was the Mint Bar, a saloon started in 1907 and is very famous.  Once again a lot of western flavor with the walls adorned with all sorts of animal heads, snakes and pictures from the past. 

After we had a drink we walked down the street to check out the farmer’s market, which was just down the street.  It wasn’t very big, but we had a good time looking at the various booths and listening to the night’s entertainment, which was a local zydeco band.  Mariann, the lady from the alpaca farm had a booth so we reconnected with her again.

After we had enough of the farmer’s market, we walked back down the street to a place Greg had picked out for dinner.  The restaurant was called Frackelton’s and we had a very good dinner.  Some of us thought it was better than the Big Horn Smokehouse, but other’s disagreed so we’ll leave it at that.

Dinner at Frackelton's

 

After dinner it was back to the house for some dessert.  It was a bit of a perilous drive back as the area is thick with antelope and deer and we saw several close calls between wildlife and cars, and had a bit of a scare ourselves.  We wondered why everyone was driving so slowly and we soon found out.  After dessert we talked for a while and soon people started wandering off to bed.  Greg and John are leaving tomorrows as Greg has to be back by Saturday so the evening had a bit of sadness to it.  For the rest of us, tomorrow is our last day at the Canyon Ranch.