Ruthie has been asking for a very long time to take a minor detour off of our western travels, to visit Laura Ingalls Wilder's home in DeSmet, South Dakota. Little House on the Prairie, and all of her other books were favorites of Ruthie's; so DeSmet….here we come.
We checked out the Surveyor's House where the Ingalls family spent the first winter, and then visited the house that Pa built in town. Hard to imagine a family coming out to South Dakota in the late 19th century, in the harsh Midwest weather to homestead. Well worth the detour...
Then on to a rest stop for a couple of days at Sibley Lake in the Big Horn mountains. A nice little National Forest campground that even had electricity. Time to acclimate to higher altitudes, so camping at 8,000 feet was perfect.
Next to Bald Mountain NF campground positioning us for a very special visit to the Medicine Wheel.
We got out our E-Bikes and "pedaled" the 3 miles to the entrance, then a hike of another 2 miles to reach this estimated 1,500-6,000 year old native American Ceremonial site at an elevation over 10,000 ft. The Medicine Wheel was constructed with 28 spokes (lunar days), 7 stone formations for the 4 directions, Mother Earth, Father Sky, and the Sacred Center. To be on the peak of the Big Horn mountain range at this very special site was awesom
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After dropping over 5,000 feet with BIW, we m
ade a stop at Big Horn Canyon. Impressive, but not our favorite. We had left behind the pine forests and the cool temperatures.
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ade a stop at Big Horn Canyon. Impressive, but not our favorite. We had left behind the pine forests and the cool temperatures.
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