The Indian Medicine Wheel lays on the top of the Big Horn Mountains. It is a sacred place which encompasses what the Native Americans call 4 directions, Father Sky, Mother East, and Spirit Tree. It’s a place for anyone willing to make the climb to experience healing and the cycles of life.
We drove to the medicine wheel talking and thinking about who built such a place and what it was used for. Pop printed the kids an article to better explain what we would see and experience.
Each of us hiked up the mountain with different thoughts and expectations of what we would see and experience. We knew this place was built 10,000 years ago and that it was a place of sacred ceremony for the Indians. Yet, this sacred site is also shrouded in mystery because of its age.
As we walked the road to the top I could not help but imagine this hillside without roads and people. What must it have been like to hike in this magical place without today’s distractions and conveniences? And who came to the top of this mountain? Medicine men? Women and children? We can only hypothesize because there are no definite answers.
As a rain storm threatened us we picked up our speed anxious to make it to the top.
These moments we got to spend together were timeless. We walked with each other toward a purpose anxiously awaiting what we would experience. We held each other’s hands and left the world behind for a little while. We chatted about nothing and let time slip by without noticing.
And then we stopped and screams of laughter filled the air. The hillside happened to be covered in snow. Amaya and Addy weren’t very excited but these Arizona kids thought playing in the snow was like a dream come true. It was an unexpected site on our journey.
That wild, crazy Arizona dog had never seen snow. Everyone was so excited to show her. We played for awhile before we finished our hike to the top.
As Pop and the kids started circling the medicine wheel I noticed everyone became very quiet. Mocha and I stayed back and watched everyone circle around the wheel. Everyone seemed to experience the peacefulness of this place.... even Mocha slowed herself down.
Some of the kids had theories of why the Indians created this place and as they each shared, I noticed how thoughtful and observant they were. Owen is sure the medicine wheel is some sort of burial ground. Addy thought each spoke of the wheel pointed to a different star. All the kids loved looking at the offerings that were recently left. There was tobacco offerings, flowers, notes, feathers, among other small tokens.
This majestic beautiful place is not one we will soon forget and to be able to experience it together was the best part of the journey.
Thank you Pop for bringing us to the Medicine Wheel.
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