Astronomical Excursion~ September 9 & 10 ~Wyoming High Country Lodge & Medicine Wheel
Look close, My finger marks the mountain road Medicine Wheel
Why Wyoming? Why Medicine Wheel? Why the High Country Lodge? The answer begins early in my career as an educator. These questions have come up recently in astroQuora, our public forum for society members and volunteers. Members have requested I post some notes as I do this for our 5th year at one of the furthest locations you can reach away from light pollution.
Follow along with me as I attempt to assist other members on future excursions by tracking what is involved from my perspective.
An educator has a unique gift, summer vacation. A time to reinvent yourself. It was on one such summer vacation, after my first year of teaching, I found myself laid off (a Philadelphia practice early on to reduce salary expense, laying off the last hired almost yearly, to be rehired in the fall.) I decided since it may be my last summer as an educator to explore the country's sights by driving to California. My first cross country road trip, one of many that would follow the rest of my life.
Crossing Wyoming with a fraternity brother from college, we passed through the Bighorn Mountain Range. It was absolutely beautiful. The size of everything was so massive, it seemed daunting. A new perspective of how tiny one is in the world astounded me.
Before descending the North Western mountain pass, we passed a sign, pointed to the ground, that had tarnished paint which spelled out “Wheel.” We were looking for a campsite and this post was next to a fairly well traveled mountain road that went to a nearby peak. Seeing no wheel on the ground, nobody around for what looked to be miles, and hungry for some backcountry driving, it looked to be a good adventure for the evening.
At the top of the first crest, the road forked with the right turn leading to what looked to be a mountain pass. The road dropped so severely to the right side (200 foot embankment) that we realized we were trapped going forward on this passage, with no way to turn around.
I drove on white knuckled, fearing no way back. It thankfully lead to a flat clearing on the next peak. A most beautiful view 9,500 feet up with great rock cliffs on the western edge of this mountain, and the sunset transfixed us.
Stumbling around in early twilight we found a large stone circle with what appeared to be campfire circles. Some had trash (we cleaned those up) and we walked on some of the stones that radiated out from the center to cut across the rock circle. What we did not know is that we were on what would be declared an ancient historical site. This rock circle already was what would eventually be declared a national treasure today know as “Medicine Wheel".
We found some scrubby trees at the east edge of the clearing, backed in our vehicle, pitched a tent and now light headed from altitude sickness, tried to sleep, which was restless at best. Just turning over seemed to take too much breath. I walked the circle a few times that night, unable to sleep for more than short segments. The sky was nothing short of astounding. An east coast boy finally sees his first glimpse of the true grandeur of the Milky Way. A night never to forget.
Sunrise was also spectacular. The site was so beautiful that we were motivated to clean out another circle of littered soda cans. We organized another of the stone circles (soda cans stuffed between the stones removed) attempting to leave the site better than we found it (an old scouting motto.) As we packed and left the site, I did not know the reckless desecration I had been a part of, trying to ‘make it better.’
I did know the site was quite special to me, the location, the cliffs, and I knew I would eventually come back. The number of visits eludes me now (20+) and the litany of friends and family I have returned with are all great memories, sharing a slice of paradise.