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.

Geezers, Wyoming and South Dakota - Geezer VIII Day 3

Day 10

Nothing was planned for this morning so everyone got up and got breakfast when they wanted.  Jack decided to go out and fly his quadcopter for a while and later we had a visit from the ranch owner saying he had a call from the neighboring ranch complaining about a drone flying overhead.  That put an end for the drone flying for the trip, but we could understand the uneasiness with them.

There were plenty of deer in our backyard.

 

And lots of antelope.

Jack, Greg and John made a scouting trip into Big Horn to see what was there and found a good place for dinner.  Big Horn has about 500 people so there isn’t much there, but they do have what is supposed to be an excellent steak house so that’s where we’re eating tonight.

After lunch we decided to visit the Brinton Museum which is in Big Horn.  For such a small town it is really a nice museum and they have just opened a brand new building.  It is mostly Sioux artifacts and Indian and western art, but it was pretty interesting and we all enjoyed it.  Before returning to the house we checked out the local equestrian center which is known for its polo field.  Oddly enough, this remote area is known worldwide for its polo field and horses.

The Brinton Museum

Greg, John, Jack and Val

The rest of the afternoon was spent around the house relaxing and hanging out together.  For dinner we decided to go into Big Horn and try the Big Horn Smokehouse and Saloon.  The food was good, but got mixed reviews depending on what you ate, but we had a great time.  The saloon dated back to the 1890’s and retained a lot of its wild west character.  After dinner it was back to the house to view Jack’s last video and then talk until it was for bed.

A group picture at dinner ...

and another out front after dinner.

Geezers, Wyoming and South Dakota - Geezer VIII Day 2

Day 9

Everybody was up by 8:00 today as we were headed north to the Little Big Horn Battlefield and wanted to be on the road by 9:00.  We actually left on time and headed for our first stop of the day.  Steph has been interested in alpacas and she had been in touch with a lady who runs an alpaca ranch, which was located on our way to the Little Big Horn.

We arrived at Big Horn Mountain Alpacas just before 10:00 and met the owner Mariann and her daughter Maria.  If anyone is interested, Mariann took a picture of us all and posted it on her facebook page.  She had about 15 alpacas along with a donkey, angora rabbits, ducks and various other animals.  We had a very interesting tour and really enjoyed hearing about alpacas and the problems and rewards of raising them. It was obvious that Marianne really loved her animals.  It was soon time to press on and we continued our drive north.

Maggie greeted us a we started our tour.

Alpaca faces seem to have some human resemblance.

Jack and Steph with a new friend.

Maggie took a liking to Greg and followed him around.

Maria with a young alpaca.

Mariann with one of the angora rabbits.

Maria with one of their geese.

We crossed over into Montana and arrived at the Little Big Horn National Battlefield Monument by 12:30.  We were all hungry and the only place to eat in the area was a café at a nearby Indian casino which was really just a fast food place.  After lunch we entered the Little Big Horn Battlefield and looked at the exhibits in the visitors center and saw an introductory movie on the area and the events leading up to “Custer’s Last Stand”.  After the movie we took the self-guiding tour through the park and saw the locations of the battles and Indian encampments.  It was all very interesting and we left with a deeper understanding of what really happened during that fateful time.

Markers where cavalrymen had fallen were scattered around the Little Bighorn Battle area.

 

There were also markers identifying where Native American warriors had fallen.

The area inside the fenced area is where Custer made his last stand.

There was also a monument to the Native Americans, which gave their perspective of the battle.

The quote at the top is certainly food for thought and presents a different perspective.

It was getting late in the afternoon and we had a long drive back to Big Horn so we finished our tour and started back just before 5:00.  We had to stop in Sheridan for some supplies and didn’t get back to the house until 7:00 so we just decided to have leftovers or whatever you could find (which was plentiful) for dinner.  Jack and I had several more videos so that was the entertainment for the evening and then we called it a night.

Geezers, Wyoming and South Dakota - Geezer VIII Day 1

Day 8

Our first full day at the ranch and everyone was on their own for breakfast and wandered in at various times in the morning.  Nothing was planned for the day so Jack and I decided to go for a walk and do a little exploring before lunch.  We ended up walking about three and half miles, which was a little longer than expected, but it was a beautiful walk and a beautiful sunny day.  

Jack and I set off on our walk.

The large building on the right is called The Lodge and can also be rented.  Our house is hidden in the trees on the left.

 

Jack

 

After our walk it was time for lunch and we all ate way too much, but we only do this once a year so that was our rationalization.  After lunch I decided to catch up on the blog while Jack took everyone outside to try their hand at flying his quadcopter.

John and Jack prepare to launch.

Jack with copter in hand.

Plenty of wide open spaces to fly in.

We spent the rest of the day hanging out, talking and not doing too much.

The front of the Hay Meadow House.

John decided to do a little gardening.

Looking back at the house from the "hay meadow".

This is the house the Queen of England stayed in 1984.  It doesn't exactly look like a place for royalty, but she must have liked it as she stayed there a week.

Val and Steph relaxing on the patio.

Val and John get in a little puzzle time before dinner.

Tonight Steph prepared dinner and it was delicious; two nights and two great meals, we never go hungry in the geezer house.  For entertainment this evening Jack put together some videos of past gatherings and I showed videos of last year’s travels.  It was a great first day at the Canyon Ranch.