It's Time to Go

The leaves are turning in Mosier Gulch and on the slopes of the Bighorns.  

Geese and sandhill cranes are feeling the tug of the migration.  The dogs and I have had our last working session with Wendy Auzqui.  

Bo has been practicing his shed.

Wendy and Quirt did set-out.

Cody is ready for anything, but shedding is one of his favorite tasks.

What a good boy!

Quirt was a good girl, too.  She works sheep and cattle, and is a very special girl.

Deer Park RV Campground has closed for the season, and John and I spent our last several days in Buffalo at the Johnson County Fairgrounds.  

It was time to go and we are working our way south.  After an overnight at AB RV in Cheyenne, we moved on to the county fairgrounds in Lexington, Nebraska, 

and then on to the Kansas State Fairgrounds in Hutchinson, Kansas, to join 150 or so other RVers who pull their coaches with heavy duty trucks. We will miss our friends in Buffalo and the activities and places that are so special to us.  More of that later.  For now, the adventure continues.  

Buffalo Week Six

But we were not done with Buffalo and the surrounding area.  We spent an afternoon visiting Mountain Meadow Wool, a local family-operated wool mill that prides itself on processing wool from a number of different breeds of sheep.  

On their self-guided tour, you can learn about the different types of wool and wool sheep, and see the scouring (washing), spinning and dyeing process.  

The mill produces not only skeins of beautiful yarn, they also knit sweaters, caps, blankets and other garments.  

We also got to meet “Yarnold, a young male of the Valais Black Nose breed.  He is the mascot at MMW.

Who knew there are breeds of sheep for each letter of the alphabet.

Another high point of our stay here was a visit to The Brinton Museum in nearby Bighorn, WY.  

The Brinton, housed partly in the beautiful Forrest E. Mars, Jr. Building (remember Mars Candies?) it features not only contemporary Native American art, but an outstanding collection of historic and expanding Western and American Indian art.  The views from the upper patio are magnificent as well.

A special surprise was a visit to the Brinton’s leather workshop.  We had expected to spend a few minutes touring the workshop before lunch.  We not only did that, we returned after lunch for another hour or so visiting with Jim Jackson, the resident leatherworker.  Jim is not only skilled in leatherwork, he is also an artist who has taught art courses at several colleges and universities.  His  style of combining tooled leather and painting is unique.  Here is one of his pieces I particularly like.  It is on display in The Brinton, and is entitled "Insubstantial Things"

After seeing samples of h is work, we were not surprised to learn he has led workshops all over the world in the “Sheridan Style” of leatherwork   

I was disappointed to learn that Jim no longer does commission, because I want a special belt to wear with the buckle Cody and I won at the Dick Grabo Memorial Sheep Dog Trial.  I have found another leatherworker to make the belt, though, and look forward to showing it to you.  

Jim worked for many years at King's Saddlery in Sheridan.  After he retired, The Brinton approached him to do on-site education into the art of leatherwork.  He currently is on site Friday through Sunday to conduct tours of the leather workshop.  We were fascinated by the hundreds of tools, many he has made himself from nails, and many that were made and given to him by Mr. King. 

Jim demonstrated the techniques he uses in his leatherwork, and gave Linda and me each a small hand-tooled flower as a memento of our visit.

It was a special day.  

And we followed it on October 1 with a visit downtown,

where the community-wide pumpkin-carving and decorating was in full swing.

And meantime, back at the ranch, we learned that we have four new baby calves.  They are shown here with Beauty, mother of one of them and the designated baby-sitter when Gage took this photo for us.  

And speaking Gage, he, Gabby and their dogs spent a weekend at the farm and rid the place of one more unwelcome visitor.  This two-foot rattlesnake was sheltering under the dog swimming pool.  We are glad he will no longer be a threat to us or our four-legged friends.  

And speaking of critters, when Gage and Gabby arrived, they saw a passel of porcine intruders near our house.  They said there was at least one sow and quite a few mid-sized youngsters.  Maybe one of them will wind up on our Thanksgiving table!

Buffalo Continued...

I can’t believe we’re leaving in just a few days.  We have been here six weeks, and the time has flown by.  We love our campground, Deer Park RV, especially the long-term parking area where we have made such good friends.  Where else can you go out in the morning in your jammies to walk dogs, having perfectly normal conversations with a cup of coffee in one hand and a bag of warm dog poop in the other.  It’s our own little world, with good times shared at happy hour almost every day.  

Bill and Sherrie's Sassy enjoys a sip of beer, and is the only dog with her own chair.

Rick tried out his new chaps while spinning yarns with Ross and John.

Linda, Carole and I joined the guys most afternoons.

We also had fun calling for ready-gos and throwing balls for the dogs.  This time Sophia led the border collies.

We have also grown attached to the handsome bay gelding in the adjacent pasture.  He comes running when he hears our whistles, and is happy to collect all the pats, hugs and carrots we supply.

Here he is getting a hug from Carole

Here are some photos of our time we have so enjoyed.

Following Rick and Linda for a day trip to Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, we passed through some beautiful country.  Unfortunately, smoke from fires in California, Idaho and Montana created hazy conditions in some areas.

There was beautiful scenery, but also some hair-raising twists and turns.  Signs warned of steep grades...up to 10% for some 13 miles on the west side!  They didn't have to tell us twice to use a lower gear.  If we bring Falcon and the Royals to this part of Wyoming, we will choose another route!

Established in 1966 following the construction of Yellowtail Dam, the National Recreation Area  straddles the state line and has sections in both Wyoming and Montana.  Bighorn Lake, created by the dam, extends some 71 miles through both Montana and Wyoming.  Spectacular Bighorn Canyon holds some 55 miles of the lake. We didn't see any of the area's wild mustangs, but there were bighorn sheep on the ridge across the lake...sadly, too far away to show in a photo.

Linda and I took a "girls' day" in Sheridan.  In addition to the obligatory Walmart visit, we toured the historic Sheridan Inn.  The Inn was built in 1892 by the Burlington & Missouri Railroad and the Sheridan Land Company at a cost of $25,000.  The formal grand opening was held on June 18, 1893, three years after Wyoming attained statehood.  Originally there were 64 sleeping rooms on the second and third floors.  Copies of the original plans are on display, and it showed rooms as small as 8'x8'.  Famous guests included "Buffalo Bill" Cody, who made it his home when he was in Sheridan.  He is said to have auditioned acts for his wild west show while sitting on the Inn's grand porch.

The hotel was refurbished sometime in the 1960s and in 1964 was designated a National Historic Landmark.  It still welcomes guests, but now there are only 20 or so rooms available.  Much more comfortable, I'm sure.   

It was too early for a beer, but we did stop in at the Mint Bar downtown.  Established in 1907, it was a gathering place for cowboys and ranchers.  Prohibition put a stop to alcohol sales in 1919, but a "speakeasy" in the back room continued to serve patrons. 

Mounts of elk, deer, pronghorn, moose and other critters line the walls, along with photos of cowboys and early settlers taken over the years.  Above the bar are a couple of wolf mounts, along with an almost- too-big-to-be-believed rattlesnake.  Shingles bearing the brands of hundreds local ranches fill in the gaps.  The Mint is a not-to-be-missed attraction, whether you're in the mood for a beer or not.