Sheridan, WY

Before we move on to other places, I would like to tell you a bit more about Sheridan, Wyoming. Among other things, we enjoyed its numerous hike/bike trails, and John found a local meat market, Legerski’s, that makes terrific sausage.  

If you’re overnighting in an RV, we highly recommend Peter D’s RV Park.  It is located just off IH 90 at exit 23.  It’s a small, family-owned park…nothing fancy, but the bathhouse and laundry are spotless and the power is good.  The owners, Peter and Barbara, are very helpful and friendly.  Barbara has a lovely vegetable garden in the middle of the park and she invites park guests to share the veggies she has picked.  

The park is dog-friendly, with a nice fenced dog park and a couple of large areas beyond where dogs can run and play ball.  And, Peter came by almost every day with dog biscuits for all his four-legged guests, so he was very popular with the Bagley Pack!

Sheridan is only a half-hour or so from the Bighorn Mountains.  We took a day trip north and west of town and enjoyed the rugged beauty of the peaks and valleys.

There had been recent fire activity south and west of town, and several roads leading into the mountains were closed.  We decided to explore that area another time.

Downtown Sheridan has a number of nice shops and restaurants.  We especially liked King’s Saddlery and Don King’s Western Museum.  The saddlery carries almost every kind of tack imaginable.  The walls are hung with bits, spurs, bridles and other horse paraphernalia, and there are plenty of gift items, as well.

Out back across the alleyway is the museum.  Don King, who died several years ago, was a renowned saddle maker and leather worker.  He was also a master collector of all things western.  The museum is filled with saddles, including this one made by Mr. King. 

There are also scores of beautiful saddle and bridle sets heavily decorated with intricate silver work.

And then, there are the mounted “critters,” including bears and other predators, as well as heads and horns of all kinds.  One of the most unusual is this “unicorn” cow skull.

The walls are also filled with photographs of cowboys, famous rodeo bucking stock, dignitaries, and other items Mr. King collected.  Not an inch of space is wasted!

The tradition of fine leatherwork started by Mr. King continues.  We saw at least half a dozen leather workers busy on different projects.  This one, James F. Jackson, said he had been doing leatherwork for 43 years.  He said he had enough items on order to keep him busy for the next 8 months.

If you’re in the area, take a look around Sheridan.  For a town of 17,000 it has a lot to offer.