The First Stop - Of Many


ig Horn National Forest, WY 
Well, we’ve arrived. It took 18 hours, but we’re here. Where is “here”, you ask. We are currently residing at Sitting Bull Campground in the Big Horn National Forest near Ten Sleep, WY. After nearly melting in the heat that seemed to be amplified by the open road (driving through South Dakota is heinously boring), we found what was to be our first of many campgrounds. Though I had been previously warned that this would not be the type of camping I am used to in Kentucky and the likes (showers and bathrooms), I was not prepared for what I saw. This campground was primitive, to say the least. The area had a total of 10 sites, one pit toilet, and a colony of fire ants that took up residence in the only available site. Fighting back/hiding imminent tears, I agreed to help Brian set up the tent and spent most of my time shooing away swarms of ants. Brian, too, saw that less than desirable location for what it was, and we opted to investigate other options.
We found a much better site at Sitting Bull Campground. For those of you familiar with Hayward, WI, the campground reminds me very much of Traut’s — think pine trees and a cool breeze, oh, and the potential for a run-in with some form of wildlife. So far, I’ve managed without flushing toilets; I’ve even survived missing my first night of reality TV – the previews for “Bethenny Getting Married?” looked good, too.
This stop, stop one, is intended to be climbing-specific. Climbing is a short drive from where we are camping, but that shot drive means a vastly different temperature, and it’s been very warm as of late, so Brian and I decided to take it easy these first few days – we’re at nearly 8,000 feet and the air isn’t quite the same as in ol’ Wisconsin. We’ve done a bit of climbing, but are hoping to do more in the coming days when conditions improve. To pass the remaining time we have, I’ve done some site seeing (more to come on that) and also sneaked in reading by the campfire, when the swarms of mosquitoes are taking a break. We plan to do some more climbing before departing for our rafting tour in the greater Jackson, WY area. I’ll keep ya’ posted
Home Sweet Home
A little bit of bouldering on the hike back to the car

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