My brother and sister-in-law have lived in Sheridan, Wyoming for two years. Pre-COVID, Taylor and I planned a trip to visit them in June. Other than my dad, no one in our family had been out there. We hadn’t seen Kevin and Stefanie since our wedding and weren’t sure when we’d get another chance. After debating almost up to the last minute, we finally decided to proceed with the trip because Sheridan is very isolated. They had about 15 COVID cases in March, and none since. Taylor and I have been very cautious throughout the pandemic and Kevin wasn’t worried about us being there. We saw far more animals than people during our visit, and wore masks when around people. Disclaimer over; on to the story!
The town and its Main Street are pretty charming. There are bronze statues on almost every corner of the downtown area, commissioned by a wealthy resident. Sheridan is considered one of the artsiest towns in Wyoming.
My SIL Stefanie co-owns a boutique downtown, The Union. I’m so impressed with her great taste and business savvy. She even partnered with a local brewery to get their own store brand kombucha! #hipsterpoints
Animals are EVERYWHERE in town. Deer, rabbits, and even antelope wander freely on residential streets (the deer reminded me of Big Pine Key). One section of the main park is a bison and cattle range.
At my request, we took a short drive to the state line. I’d never been to Montana before. We hope to go to Glacier National Park next summer, if travel is safer by then.
We didn’t go in with an itinerary and were happy to do whatever Kevin and Stef suggested. We discussed a day trip to Yellowstone, but ultimately decided to save that for another time. Instead, we spent a couple of days wandering in the beautiful Bighorn Mountains. Not having much experience with mountain ranges, I was only moderately impressed by the hills I saw in the distance until we actually went up them. It’s another world up there!
Their Australian shepherd loves the mountains too. Obviously I’m more of a cat person, but he’s the best dog!
Before our visit to Shell Canyon and Falls, I had only ever seen anything like it in pictures!
On the way back from the falls, we noticed a few areas of snow hanging on to some of the higher peaks. I couldn’t resist getting a picture with snow on the summer solstice. Talk about something I’d never done before!
One afternoon we drove to the neighboring town of Story specifically for the purpose of hanging out next to a mountain stream in a park. (My sister laughed when I told her that, but it was extremely on brand for all of us.) We also stopped by their fish hatchery.
There was also plenty of relaxing downtime at the house with the dog and cat!
It did all of us good to be together and spend time in nature, and the change of scenery was great for Taylor and me. The West is really something and I’m excited to see more of it in the future! I’ve never been big on going to Shelby Forest or the Wolf River trails, but seeing a culture so connected to the wilderness has made me more interested in the wilderness available to us here. There’s no better time to start.
[…] We had an “isolation vacation” visiting my brother and SIL in the mountains of northern Wyoming. I wrote about it here! […]