Day 14: Horseback Riding in the Bighorn Mountains and Devil's Tower

The morning consisted of sleeping in, doing laundry, and cleaning the camper.  We departed the Sheridan, WY KOA at 11:00a.m. en route to South Fork Ranch in the town of Buffalo, WY.  We had to creep up about 8 miles on the eastern side of the Bighorn Mountains.  There we settled in for a two-hour trail ride.  Though we all enjoy horseback riding, it was a request from Greg that prompted this outing.  He just loves horses!  We mounted Harley (Ron), Silver (Kelly), Dandy (Nick), and Geronimo (Greg) and hit the trails with three guides and a "ranch dog" named Charlie.  The dog really cracked us up... He would run ahead of the horses and chase all the squirrels up the trees.  We traveled some scenic trails through the Bighorn National Forest, feeling a true sense of the "wild west."

After the trail ride, we ate lunch at the South Fork Ranch.  Ron & Nick rated their Thunder Burgers among the best burgers EVER, and Greg also gave high praise to his Buffalo Burger.  We were sad to leave this amazing ranch, thinking we would love to spend a whole week there.  After descending the mountain using the same  Rte. 16, we headed eastward for a three-hour ride to Devil's Tower National Monument.  This monument, which was the very first national monument established in 1906 (thanks to our friend, Teddy Roosevelt), sits in the extreme northeastern corner of Wyoming.

This unique "igneous intrusion" was formed underground by molten magma.  Over time, the sedimentary rock around it eroded, leaving the formation of columns exposed.  Devil's Tower rises 867 ft. from its base and offers a nice mile-and-a-half walking path around its perimeter.  Giant boulders are piled around the base of the tower, so the boys enjoyed climbing them as Ron & I took in the glorious sunset that bathed the tower in a golden hue.  We observed some rock climbers coming down from the day's climb.

We camped at the Belle Fourche, a well-kept campground within the monument's property.  Ron and I attempted to play Scrabble while overhearing a couple engaged in a heated argument next door.  The argument was in Spanish, which made it difficult to decipher anything but the swears.