World United States South Dakota Spearfish

Mark and Nadine's Arctic Expedition

Bighorn Medicine Wheel Jul 15, 2008

This morning our destination was the Bighorn Medicine Wheel. It’s a National Monument located near the almost-10,000-foot summit of Medicine Mountain, in the Bighorn Range. We had hoped to visit it on our way through MT in May, but at that time we decided it was too rainy. Just as well - it’s so snowy in the mountains that the roads didn’t open this year until mid-June. The Medicine Wheel is located three miles off US Route 14A, which crosses the Bighorn Mountains. The first mile and a half is a narrow dirt road; beyond a little ranger station, visitors have to walk the last mile and a half to the Medicine Wheel. No one knows who built the Medicine Wheel, which consists of a ring of limestone rocks, with 26 “spokes” radiating outward from a central “altar.” It was apparently built some 500 to 700 years ago, but it’s estimated that Native Americans have been visiting this spot in the mountains for as much as 10,000 years. Today, Native Americans recognize it as a place of great spiritual significance, and some prepare for a year for their visit to the site. They bring offerings of tobacco, prayer flags and handmade items and leave them on the rock cairns or tie them to the ropes that enclose the circle. We talked to the seasonal ranger who was on duty - it turned out that Neil is a junior at St. Lawrence University (Joy’s alma mater), majoring in Environmental Economics. He shares 4-hour shifts at the wheel with two other seasonal rangers. He told us that he often arrives at the wheel to find the local yellow-bellied marmots feasting on the tobacco offerings that people have left. (He says they’re all nicotine addicts.) Despite their name, yellow-bellied marmots seem to be pretty bold creatures. It was a real privilege to be able to visit the Medicine Wheel - like a visit to a cathedral. From the Medicine Wheel, we headed out of the mountains and across the prairies. We ended the day just across the South Dakota border in Spearfish, where we got a campsite at the lovely city park. Our trip is drawing to a close. We plan to see Joy in Minneapolis on Thursday, and then we hope to arrive at our cabin in the Adirondacks by Saturday evening. We’d like to spend the balance of our sabbatical there at the cabin, reflecting on our trip and getting ready to re-enter the world of work. This has been a wonderful adventure!

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