Wyoming Fact & Fiction - Neil A. Waring: March 2014

Eastern Wyoming -A Two Hour Vacation

When I tell people I live in Wyoming, I often hear, “Oh, Yellowstone, I love Wyoming.”

Well I love Yellowstone myself, the most beautiful place on earth. But I have to explain that I live on the other side of the state, eastern Wyoming. Specifically, Guernsey Wyoming, south of Casper, north of Cheyenne. If that’s not enough I try, “two hundred miles north of Denver."

Then I sometimes here, “Is there anything out there?”

“Well yes, yes there is.”

My wife and I think eastern Wyoming is the greatest place to live on earth, we have mountains and plains, rivers, trees, wildlife and cows. Not too many places to shop and that makes it just about perfect. Monday afternoon we took a two hour ride out west of town and back—so here it is a quick glimpse of eastern Wyoming, just west of Guernsey.

Eastern Wyoming – A Two Hour Vacation.

A nice Texas cow in Wyoming, still like seeing these old Longhorns around, even if this one is not sure which way to let the horns grow.

A little history lesson – this is the Oregon Trail crossing at the Bitter Cottonwood. Hasn’t changed much since the trail was the best way west. Actually it hasn’t changed at all. It was a long day, at 17 miles, but this could be done from Fort Laramie in one good day. Travelers liked this camp site because there was an abundance of fire wood.

Not the wild herds of trail days, but this is open range, still no fences in site.

And we do have mountains in Eastern Wyoming, this is the Laramie Range

Laramie Peak through the boulders

Mountain pasture buffalo

This is Cottonwood Creek about 20 miles upstream from the crossing at the Bitter Cottonwood. Yes, I know, pretty spectacular.

Why do kids always want to race, I declined, 55 miles per hour seemed a bit too fast for me.

Still seems to be a good number of horses in the area. I know nothing about horses, other than I have fell off, been bucked off and been both bitten and kicked, but still really like them, not sure why. This appears to be some type of draft (work) horse, maybe a Morgan.

Sun is setting I’m ready to go home – ahh, home sweet home.

Maybe I will grill and enjoy the view from the back 40 this evening.

Depending on when you read this post, goodnight or good-day.

Fort Laramie and the Trail West

Fort Laramie changed the trail for many travelers. For years the Oregon Trail passed along on the south side of the North Platte River. Especially after Fort Laramie, the north side was considered too difficult.

Fort Laramie a mile in the past

But in later years, on the trail, the north side was utilized as a good alternative to the south. North of Guernsey, Wyoming is a very big hill, Immigrant Hill, might be a small mountain, that should have deterred even the most fool hardy of travelers, but it did not.

The Trail west between Fort Laramie and Guernsey, WY

Often wagons had to be towed up the hill, but the same was happening a few miles earlier on the south side of the river, as wagons needed to be towed up Mexican Hill. Finding good graze was a constant problem on trails west. Paths on both sides of the river made a chance to find good grass a possibility – as long as you were not the last train west for the year.

Standing on the Oregon Trail one mile west of Fort Laramie, looking west.

The trip to Fort Laramie was pretty flat, just drive I-80 across Nebraska and you will see what I mean. It does rise about 3,000 feet from the Missouri River to Fort Laramie but it takes 500 miles to do it. Once the travelers left Fort Laramie, trail hardships became a reality.

The trail now would rise a thousand feet in a hundred miles which was not too bad. But getting up and down some of the smaller chains of mountains that start to transverse the country at this point was a problem.

Life was good for the travelers, and then they left Fort Laramie. The tough climb up and down all the way to the Continental Divide became, lighten the wagon miles.

Fort Laramie Today

Photos from March 2014

Oh Deer Me - Photo Wednesday

Love the blend of deer and vegetation

Family out on a day trip

Sometime those darn deer don't know if they are coming or going

"Hey, where'd all the Bucks go?"

"Oh, there they are!"

Let's end this Photo Wednesday with a Bunny and a Robin - and because this blog is read in countries other than American how about a nice pair of Canadians?

All photos taken at Guernsey, Wyoming State Park this past weekend

Nonfiction Work Complete

Well, I have another one finished. This one is a nonfiction work on the Civilian Conservation Corps and their building of the state park in Guernsey, Wyoming.

I still have photo work and footnote work left to finish but the text is completed and one proofing also is complete.

This one I will self-publish, because it is for a small local market, but it has been both educational and fun. I wanted to hold it to 140-160 pages (both text and photos) looks like I will be close, still fitting photos to size I need.

Why We love Wyoming

The beginning of warm weather always seems to be a good time to view Wyoming wildlife. The photo at the top of this page is a young big horn sheep. Here is a nice pair of Great Blue Heron in a roadside ditch I snapped yesterday.

Canada Geese seem to be everywhere these days, so many that they are becoming a pest in some areas but I still enjoy seeing them.

A group of Mule Deer Bucks in Guernsey State Park last week

A group of Mule Deer Doe in the park, in January

February turkeys in the park

and of course some super Wyoming Pronghorn west of Wheatland last week

That's why we all love Wyoming.

Wyoming Storm Coming In

The clouds were heavy but blue was still peaking through when I took these photos yesterday. A half foot of snow was soon to follow, but for me it was a beautiful day. All photos are from the area between Laramie and Wheatland.

Love driving through Wyoming where photo opportunities abound. These Pronghorn were facing away, but typical to their behavior, when I stopped they had to take a look at me.

Wish I were a little quicker, we saw a group of seven Bald Eagles including one very close up immature Bald. But they are not crazy about stopping SUVs, so I missed my opportunities. I will settle here for some, newly, snow covered mountains.