America’s Best Kept Secret?

Regular readers of my blog will know that the GPS / Sat Nav I have been using to help me across the US fell off my bike and didn’t bounce. Luckily, with the help of my family, a replacement was bought and sent to me by overnight delivery. Late yesterday afternoon, a brand new shiny unit arrived....

I downloaded my planned routes from my laptop to the unit and prayed they work transfer properly and they did.

Day 56 therefore saw me leaving the Bear Lodge Resort (basic and cheap, but good fun)....

After a few days rest, it was good to be back on the road again, today heading for Cody in Wyoming. On the way I went to see a wheel. Not just any wheel, but a very old one – Bighorn Medicine Wheel on the top of the Big Horn Mountain. Medicine wheel is located off US Highway 14A about 3 miles up a very good quality dirt road that is easy to ride along. Once you arrive at the parking area, there is then a 1.5 mile walk to the wheel and back. Here is part of the track you walk along. The wheel is at the top on the ridge....

The view from near the top is pretty good. Ok, I was having a rest to get my breath back....

This is the wheel. It is constructed of rocks laid on the ground in the shape of a wheel. There are 28 spokes that radiate from the centre and seven cairns at the wheel edge. You can see one of the cairns in the picture below. The cairns are smaller circles at the edge of the wheel . No-one is sure why it was built. Recent investigations have shown that some of the cairns point towards important positions in the solar cycle, such as the summer solstice. The wheel was used as a ceremony site by Native Indians and continues to be used in this way today.

Many people have left trinkets on the rope fence surrounding the wheel....

Is it worth going to see Medicine Wheel? Yes, if you are not in a hurry and don’t mind walking 3 miles! Also, you need to bear in mind that Medicine Wheel is at an elevation of almost 10,000 feet (2936m), so walking the 1.5 miles there and back at that altitude takes your breath away a little, especially on the up-hill parts.

Soon I was warmer again as the road descended down the mountain and I reached the town of Lovell. I liked the cinema in this town, the Hyart. Very retro....

I also liked the mural on the side of the firehouse....

Next I was in for quite a shock. I had heard of the Bighorn Canyon, so I went to check it out. I nearly didn’t as I wasn’t sure whether it would be any good. Just somewhere on the Wyoming / Montana border that had pretences to be something grand, right?

I soon saw that it was a National Park. Hmmm. That normally means something good, but no I am sure it wouldn’t be. I rode on.

Well the scenery started to get better....

The roads were nice and twisty....

There was a very nice mountain backdrop....

When I rode into the car park, my hopes were dashed again. I was the only person there.....

I walked over to the fence to see what was there.

Holy smoke! What is this???? It was breathtaking.... scroll down and enlarge the next picture.....

I was flabbergasted! Is this America’s best kept secret?? It is stunning!

The view from the car park area was spoilt by the fence that stopped people from plunging to their certain death. I climbed over the fence and took more pictures.....

I scrambled over the rocks to get this next picture through an arch....

And then of course I had to get a picture of me on the arch. Gulp, there was one heck of a drop behind me!....

The canyon continues north into Montana and gets lower to a point where boats can be launched.



I left Bighorn Canyon, very pleased I had decided to go there. Wow, what a place. I wish more people went there!

On the way to the canyon, I missed this sign. I like it – the most understated state line marker I have seen.....

Any biker would love the roads going to and from the canyon.....

HOLY CRAP, BATMAN....

I don’t know what type of animal did this, but I wouldn’t like to meet it on a dark night....

Getting into Cody from the east had its challenges. The road construction didn’t pose too many problems but the wind did! It is quite worrying, having to ride at an angle just to go in a straight line. The wind was mainly constant which helped, but the occasional stronger gusts played havoc with my nerves in the single-lane-in-each-direction road construction. The cars travelling in the opposite direction were just feet away as I leaned over to go in a straight line.... scary!

I have seen nodding donkey’s before, but there was no fence, so I went and had a closer look....

Just before getting to Cody, I saw a couple of bikes that I know a couple of my readers would consider nothing less than Ural porn....

Finally, yesterday was my eldest son’s birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHARLES!