Thermopolis, Wyoming

Arminto, WY and beyond

2010-06-25T13:01:00.013-06:00

Halfway between Shoshoni and Casper is the rest stop, and maybe a mile east of that is a place called Waltman. Here is where we turned north on Arminto Road or Natrona Country Road 104. The railroad crossing is on the south side of Arminto. There are no signs, but nothing else is around there.

The above modular home appears to be the only lived-in dwelling place. The old gas pump below is at the other end of this home's property.

After our tour of Arminto, we continued our drive north.

Just after the pavement turns to gravel, we found the information kiosk below which indicates that this is the geographical center of Wyoming. This may be the case, but my trusty Wyoming Road and Recreational Atlas (with 80 big pages of maps) states that it is around 25 miles southwest of here and less than five miles northwest of Castle Gardens in Fremont County.

What causes me to doubt the map on this kiosk is that it places the "you are here" north of Arminto rather than south. Here is the satellite image of Arminto being at the junction of CR-104 and the railroad.

Our new profile picture was taken in front of this kiosk.

Just north of Arminto, the road name changes to Buffalo Creek Road or County Road 105.

Below is the junction of CR-105 (which heads northeast) and CR-109 or Bighorn Mountain Road (which heads northwest). We took CR-109 into the foothills.

At the South Fork of Buffalo Creek (which runs over the road), we stopped to have our picnic lunch.

After eating, we headed home. This is one of the views of the valley where we had been earlier in the day:

With time to kill before our respite from Grandma was over, we stopped in Wind River Canyon and took these shots.

There are two butterflies in this shot. The one on the left has its wings closed.

link: index to photographs

Kirby Creek Rd to Buffalo Creek Rd

2010-06-18T07:27:00.010-06:00

After experiencing Kirby Creek Road yesterday evening, we returned this morning but without Grandma, due to our respite.

After exploring the creek, we continued south on Kirby Creek Road, as we had done yesterday, and took these shots of flowers:

This photograph shows the descent to Bridger Creek Road:

This is what it looks like from Bridger Creek Road:

We then turned west onto Dry Bridger Road. Here is a satellite view of that junction.

Dry Bridger Road eventually becomes Buffalo Creek Road, and this eventually leads back to Thermopolis.

link: index to photographs

Kirby Creek Road

2010-06-17T13:13:00.010-06:00

Late in the afternoon, my wife was going stir-crazy, so we packed up Grandma and a picnic supper and went exploring. We drove north on US-20, then east on Black Mountain Road (WY-172) and then south on Kirby Creek Road (Hot Springs County Road 7). Here are some sights along the way.

Note the little stream below.

Finally we arrived at the junction of Kirby Creek Road and Bridger Creek Road, and this is where we pulled out our camping chairs and had our picnic. Here is the satellite view.

This was our view, but the mother cow failed to appreciate our company, and so she left.

This prairie dog, however, stayed around hoping for a snack from our picnic basket.

This was the view behind us:

Here are the photographs I took on the way home:
Note the meandering stream in the photograph above, and don't overlook the road on which we drove in the shot below.

Click here for some interesting information on the Mishurda Mountain Ranches.

These are utility poles with the sun reflecting off of the glass insulators:

Back on Black Mountain Road, I took the following two shots but with different aperture settings. My wife likes them both, and that's why there are two shot of the same view. It was about 8:30 p.m., so I had to use an umbrella to shade the lens from the sun.

link: index to photographs

Worland, Greybull, and Shell Canyon

2010-06-14T12:48:00.023-06:00

For the last two days it has rained quite hard. That, combined with the snowmelt from the mountains, has caused some flooding.

As we passed over the bridge entering Worland, we were amazed at the overflowing Big Horn River. So we pulled into this riverside park to take these shots.

For a close-up of the bridge in the distance, click here and scroll half way down.

On the north side of Worland is the Black Hills Bentonite Company.

What caught my attention is this sign. My guess is that BP in the Gulf of Mexico had this attitude as well at one time.

When we got to Greybull, we stopped to see if the flower-bed display was completed. It is based on the Wyoming state flag (the gray plants depict a buffalo).

On this same street, we found the town newspaper office, the Greybull Standard:

It's also a mini-museum.

Half a block down the street is the Historic Hotel Greybull and Coffee Shop.

The Coffee Shop is a converted bank.

The sitting room below used to be the vault:

The hotel is upstairs from the Coffee Shop.

The owner gave us a tour and showed us one of his signed, Grant Wood lithographs. Click here for more details on the lithograph below.

Leaving Greybull, we took Highway US-14 east toward Shell Canyon. We stopped at this historic school house.

The sign next to the building reads:

The Lower Shell Schoolhouse was one of the first non-log community buildings built in the big horn basin. Using a classic one room schoolhouse design, it was constructed on this site in 1903 on land which had been donated to the Odessa School District. The school district was named for the nearby Odessa Post Office which had operated from 1891 to 1895. Local homesteaders quarried sandstone from the surrounding hills and assisted in the construction of the 24' by 46' building. During the 1905-1906 school year forty students were enrolled here demonstrating the early settlers' high regard for education.

Although the building was mainly used as a school, it also functioned as a church for traveling preachers and as a community dance hall. A wide variety of organizations, from cemetery boards to the farm bureau, held meetings here as well. Use as a school ended in the early 1950's, but the building continued to be used as a meeting hall until the early 1970's.

In 1980 the foundation received new footings and the roof was reshingled as an effort was made to stabilize the building after nearly a decade of neglect. The addition to the rear of the building was completed in 1988, using the same architectural design as the original construction. The historical appearance was thus retained, while at the same time the building could serve as an art gallery, bookstore and information center.

The simple form of the school house epitomizes the austere life of the region's early pioneers. Shell Valley's lush irrigated farm fields contrast with the arid topography of the basin demonstrating the current results of their earlier endeavors. As one of a few remaining one room schoolhouses in Wyoming the "Old Stone School", as it was often called, has received recognition by enrollment in the National Register of Historic Places.

Traveling farther east, we found a sign for Devil's Kitchen Geological Site. Here are some of the shots we took along the way.

Unfortunately, because of all the rain, the little dirt road which leads to the geological site was muddy. Wyoming mud requires a 4 wheel drive vehicle. So we'll have to return to this site when it's dryer (sorry).

Back on US-14 we had to stop along the roadside to take these shots:

This is on the opposite side of the highway:

Just before getting to Shell Canyon is Chimney Rock:

Soon after entering Shell Canyon, there is a turn-out where you can get off the narrow highway and see Shell Creek up close (the next nine shots).

Signs like the one below are all over Wyoming, identifying the geological nature of the area.

The highway climbs up into the canyon with a number of turn-outs where you can get out of your vehicle and enjoy the Big Horn Mountains.

Finally we arrived at the Shell Falls Visitor Center which is a part of the Big Horn National Forest.

There are numerous visitor lookouts. The one above is the same as the one below.

And this is what you see from that vantage point:

The close-up below is of the plants covering the rocks above.

Because of time constraints, we had to leave Shell Falls and return home to Thermop. We stopped in the canyon on the way home to take these final shots.

This is a lupine:

This is a primrose:

link: index to photographs

Shoshoni, WY, part 5

2010-06-10T09:17:00.010-06:00

When the railroad quit running from Shoshoni to Riverton and beyond, the tracks were removed and were replaced with a paved path (for more photographs of this walking trail, see Shoshoni, WY, part 3). This is where we were today, with Grandma and her wheelchair, and here are the shots we took along the way. Isn't springtime beautiful in Wyoming?!

the entrance to one of the many big anthills found in this state (click on photo to enlarge):

Below is the only banking institution I can find in this once thriving community (Atlantic City Federal Credit Union). In the 2000 census Shoshoni had a population of 635.

This is the U.S. Post Office:
downtown Shoshoni, looking northwest (all closed businesses except for the Silver Sage Saloon):

looking northeast (everything stands empty on this side of the street):

I've counted four bars within the city limits and one on the other side of Boysen Reservoir. Below is the drive-up window to another bar which went out of business.

In Michigan, where I'm from, drive-ups were outlawed years ago in an attempt to control alcohol abuse. Unfortunately, Wyoming has one of the highest rates of alcohol dependence or abuse in the nation.

See also Shoshoni, WY, part 4, part 3, part 2, part 1.

link: index to photographs

Castle Gardens Petroglyphs

2010-06-04T16:13:00.020-06:00

Castle Gardens in Fremont County is 15 miles south of Moneta. But we decided to go through Riverton and then go east on WY-136 (Gas Hills Road) until we reached Castle Garden Road and then north. By the way, don't confuse this location with Castle Gardens near Ten Sleep.

Here is what it looks like just east of Riverton on Gas Hills Road:

Take your time driving because there are some great flowers along the way during springtime.

To see this field full of wild yellow flowers, you need to click on the photograph to enlarge it.

This shot is looking east, and it is near the turn off for Castle Gardens (just look for the green sign).

The slanted wood fence on the top of the hill below (click to enlarge) is used to prevent snow drifts on the highway.

When you turn north onto Castle Garden Road, this is the view:

Castle Garden Road runs north to US-20/26, just a half mile east of Moneta. So along the way, just look for the sign indicating another turn east toward Castle Gardens Petroglyphs. Here are some shots after turning east.

Finally we arrived:

The sign below reads:

CASTLE GARDENS
PETROGLYPHYS on the cliff walls were made by indians hundreds of years ago while hunting and camping in the area. Pictured are people, animals and symbols telling us about ancient ways of life.
SHIELD MOTIFS found here are among the finest in the west. The shield art form is found from Mexico to Canada, revealing a widespread diffusion of ideas.
EACH ART WORK tells a story--
Wander at your leisure through the gardens and see how many figures you can locate and interpret.
REMEMBER--Petroglyphs are irreplaceable. Enjoy but do not destroy your American Heritage.

Note the fence to protect the petroglyphs:

For more petroglyphs, see Medicine Lodge Archeological Site near Hyattville and Legend Rock between Thermopolis and Meeteetse.

There are a couple of picnic tables at Castle Gardens, but no outhouses. This is a remote location and not on the way to any other tourist sight. But it is a great place to take pictures!

On the way home, we took Castle Garden Road north to Moneta, then west to Shoshoni and north back home to Thermop.

On the way to Moneta we stopped to see this sight. The location below is seen in the distance above (looking south), off to the right in the photograph.

link: index to photographs

Big Horn Mountains, part 4

2010-05-28T13:54:00.020-06:00

After passing through Ten Sleep, we took US-16 east to WY-436 and climbed up the hill for maybe a mile. We were so surprised to find this beautiful canyon! Here is the satellite perspective of the area.

After enjoying the view and getting the above shots, we continued.
We like exploring, so we took a side road into BLM land and found this view. We got out of the car and hiked.

Back on WY-436, we drove for a few more miles, and then we decided to leave this area for another time. Below is where we turned around and headed to our original goal of spending the afternoon in a campground next to a mountain stream.

On US-16, I stopped at this beautiful home (the next three shots).

We then turned off onto Old Highway 16. Here is what we found along the roadside.

Click on the picture below to better see the cool bugs.

For what this area looks like in the fall, go to Big Horn Mountains, part 3.

We stopped for the afternoon at the above campground for a picnic. Neva, the camp host, was kind enough to let us stay without charging us. Thanks Neva! I took the following shots from this area.

Our picnic table was next to this creek:

This squirrel was quite upset at our presence.

It was time to go back home to Grandma. On the way, near Winchester, next to the Marathon oil tanks, I stopped to take this photograph. It is so Wyoming-ish ... and we're vegetarians!

link: index to photographs

flowers, etc., part 13

2010-05-26T17:13:00.008-06:00

Today we went to Anchor Dam. These are some of the shots we took.

See also flowers, etc., part 12, part 11, part 10, part 9, part 8, part 7, part 6, part 5, part 4, part 3, part 2, part 1.

link: index to photographs

Sand Draw Road

2010-05-25T18:46:00.009-06:00

After supper, Grandma, my wife, and I went out to enjoy the nice weather. Instead of turning right toward Kirby (off of US-20), we turned left onto Sand Draw Road. We drove past the turnoff to Gebo and headed toward WY-120. These are the photographs we took along the way.

link: index to photographs

Worland, WY, part 2

2010-05-16T22:03:00.024-06:00

A mile or so north of the Worland cemetery on WY-433 is the interpretive natural area pictured below. And that is where we took Grandma for a picnic and to get away from TV's Animal Planet which she so enjoys.

This is the bridge across the irrigation canal:

The historical marker below, found at the above location, reads:

JIM BRIDGER
HISTORIC TRAIL
In 1864 an alternate route to the goldfields of western Montana was needed due to frequent hostile actions along the Bozeman Trail. Though the Civil War raged on, the Nation continued its westward expansion through the efforts of men like Jim Bridger. A trapper, explorer, trader, hunter, scout and guide, Jim Bridger led miners north from the area we now call Fort Caspar. From there the trail led northwesterly through the southern Big Horn Mountains, across the Big Horn Basin, crossing the Shoshone River, into Montana through what was known as Pryor Gap, and finally rejoining the Bozeman Trail. The Bridger Trail reduced the threat of hostile actions against emigrants heading north and proved an important route in the settlement of the Northwest.

The Bridger Trail crossed the Big Horn River approximately 12 miles southwest of here, near where the community of Neiber stands today. The original Bridger Trail passed very close to this location as it paralleled the Big Horn River on its way north.

close-ups of the sign above:

Click on the map to enlarge it:

roadkill on the highway just as we turned out of the parking lot:

Just before getting to the cemetery, I stopped to admire the folk art above. On the other side of the road is this typical front yard scene:

In the photograph below, I am standing on US-20 which crosses over the Big Horn River and enters into Worland from the west (driving north from Thermop). The bridge in the background used to be the main entrance.

Looking south from the old bridge is this scene:

Here is another perspective on the above, but looking north (photographed on April 28, 2010).

Just after crossing the bridge and coming into the residential area of Worland, is this house. Its brilliant green in the evening sun made it unique and stunning.

We drove into downtown Worland to see how the trees were progressing in this beautiful spring weather. Here is a shot of City Hall from the park:

The City Hall, above, used to be the Post Office as the marker below indicates.

Here is the current United States Post Office:

Because of the evening sun, I took the shot below of the Post Office. Note the ubiquitous white pickup driven by so many men here in Wyoming.

Across from the alley of the City Park (above), in the rear of a motel, I found this 1955? Packard Clipper. It is in need of help, but it could be a real gem.

Note the "clipper" sailing motif in the next two shots:

For more shots like these, see vehicle ornamentation, etc.

the Valley Coop:

Earlier in the day, we stopped to see these historical markers on the outskirts of Worland:

The above reads:

WORLAND SUGAR FACTORY
The Hanover Canal System, an irrigation project funded by J.W. Pulliam and his family, was completed in the Big Horn Basin in 1905, bringing settlers to Worland. Soon after the close of the project, which included the Big Horn Canal, Pulliam planted 600 acres of sugar beets and grain as a pilot project. His venture marked the first time sugar beets were planted in the Big Horn Basin. By 1909, growers in the area were under contract to cultivate sugar beets, which were then sent by rail to Billings, Montana.

The Wyoming Sugar Company of Ogden, Utah, announced its plan to construct a beet sugar factory in Worland in 1916. 150 men finished the $1 million factory in just one year. Despite concerns about delays in beet shipments caused by slow railroad construction and a shortage of cars, the factory was completed on schedule. The Wyoming Sugar Company's president, J.M. Eccles, opened its doors on October 17, 1917. The first day of operations the factory sliced 260 tons of beets. Workers lived in row houses built by the company. Known as "sugar tramps," they were mostly young Mormons, along with families from Japan, Russia, Germany and Mexico.

Holly Sugar Corporation acquired the Worland factory in 1925. By 1939, the beet receiving station was equipped to handle more than 70,000 tons of beets, making it the largest in the world at the time. In the early years, sugar beets were topped by hand, but by the 1950s and 1960s machine harvesting took over in the beet fields. When Holly Sugar Corporation announced in 2001 that the factory would close its doors, local growers, landowners, and business people in the Big Horn Basin and Fremont County formed a cooperative to purchase the factory. Under management by the newly formed cooperative, the factory was renamed the Wyoming Sugar Company in 2002.

The sign below reads:

WORLAND: ORIGINAL TOWN SITE
The frontier settlement of Worland was originally located near the mouth of Fifteen Mile Creek on the west bank of the Big Horn River. It grew around a stage coach station established in 1900 by Charles H. "Dad" Worland on the old Bridger Trail, an 1864 wagon road connecting the Oregon Trail with new gold fields in southwestern Montana.

By the time "Dad" Worland opened his station, the Bridger Trail had evolved into a dusty country road serving the newly established farming and ranching communities in the Big Horn Basin. In 1903, survey work began on major irrigation projects in the region. Ditches were dug and Big Horn River water was diverted to irrigate the dry desert landscape. Sugar beets were the crop of choice. Much of this activity centered from Worland's sister community of Hanover on the east bank of the river.

With the construction of these irrigation projects, Worland quickly grew into a small town with a bright agricultural future. In 1905 regional promoters convinced the Burlington Railroad and Lincoln Land Company to build south into the Big Horn Basin from Montana. Construction began early fall with tracks being laid on the east bank of the Big Horn River. To accommodate the location of the incoming railroad, Worland's citizens hoisted their homes, offices, business buildings, church, and school onto log skids and "slid" them across the frozen river during the winter of 1905-1906. These buildings were then placed along the newly surveyed, named and numbered streets.

Pitchfork Ranch, Meeteetse, WY

2010-05-14T17:57:00.012-06:00

At the Belden Museum in Meeteetse we learned of the Pitchfork Ranch. This is where the Marlboro cigarette television commercials were filmed (see the fourth and fifth photos of this link). This post is our short excursion into Marlboro Country.

The bridge above leads to the residential buildings (and barns) of the ranch. We spoke with Darcy, the manager's friendly wife, who gave us permission to take pictures.

The work of art on the right in the shot above is seen better in the following photo.

As a dude ranch, this place became famous in the 1930s, hosting people like Amelia Earhart and Will Rogers. Charles J. Belden, the owner, was also a photographer (click here to learn more about him). This beautiful home was his residence.

About ten years ago, Darcy informed us, the Belden family sold the ranch to two wealthy professionals on the east coast.

Under the house eave are numerous swallow nests:

This used to be the Post Office:

From Pitchfork Ranch, we drove up into the foothills.

Here are some elk:

When the road became muddy due to the melting snow, we turned around.

Back toward Meeteetse, we took this bridge across Greybull River. The old cars, used to prevent erosion, caught our eye.

We continued on that road and took these shots:

This pronghorn and his female companion looked at us for a couple of minutes before continuing on up the hill.

Driving through Meeteetse and then north toward Cody for about a mile, we came to the historical marker below which describes the old town of Arland.

Here is what the sign says:

ARLAND
1884 -- 1897
A few miles up Meeteetse Creek from here, stood one of the toughest settlements of Wyoming's frontier history. The town was founded in the spring of 1884 by Victor Arland, a French businessman, and John Corbett, a buffalo hunter. From 1880 to 1884, the men were partners in a trading post on Trail Creek and another on Cottonwoood Creek, just north of Cody, Wyoming. They moved to Meeteetse Creek to be in the center of cattle country and the developing ranches.

"Arland" soon had a store, saloon, restaurant, U.S. Post Office, a two story hotel, blacksmith shop, red light district, coal mine, livery stables, residential cabins, and corrals. A mail and passenger stage ran weekly through Arland, helping the town to become a trade center for the area ranches and a mecca for the cowboys and other rough characters of the region. The nearest law was 150 miles away in Lander, Wyoming.

On February 22, 1888, Vic Arland shot and killed Broken Nose Jackson in self defense at a dance in Arland. Jackson's friend, Bill Landon, shot and killed Vic Arland in revenge, at Dunivan's Saloon in Red Lodge, Montana, on April 24, 1890. After vic's death Arland degenerated into a hang-out for the outlaw element. There were names such as Black Jack Miller, John Bill, Al Durant, Butch Cassidy, W.A. Gallagher, Blind Bill Hoolihan, Ed Nye, Rose Williams, Sage Brush Nancy, and Belle Drewry, known as the "Woman in Blue". Most of the above, and others, died entangled in a web of lawlessness, romance, intrigue, and murder.

By 1896, the nearby town of Meeteetse had sprung up and by 1897 Arland had died. Today, nothing remains of old Arland but the stories and ghosts of days gone by.

Here are two close-ups of the sign above:

Before leaving the area, we went down a side road and found these two fox kits.

link: index to photographs

Manderson, WY and Medicine Lodge near Hyattville

2010-05-04T13:59:00.021-06:00

A little over 50 miles north of Thermopolis on US-20 is the little town of Manderson. It is easy to miss because the bridge over the railway causes you to overlook it. According to the 2000 census, there were 104 people in the town and its outlying areas.

Across from the above photo is the "town office":

The town is named after Charles F. Manderson. For old pictures of Manderson, click here and then scroll halfway down.

Here is the Post Office:

Cloud Peak School (below) is comprised of 5th through 8th grades and is part of the school system for Big Horn County.

It has been extremely rare that I have been treated unkindly here in Wyoming. I include the following anecdote because of its unusual character.

Unbeknownst to me, when I took this shot, I must have alarmed the school staff. The vice principle called the deputy sheriff and then marched out to confront me. He said he was worried about the safety of the children under his care.

As a picture taking tourist, I am never prepared for this. I find it disconcerting, to say the least. Fortunately, the deputy's body language was enough to communicate to the vice principle that the action was premature.

Maybe the alarm is in some way a result of the 9-11 terrorist attack. Maybe it was simply due to my longer than normal grey hair and my beard. C'est la vie.

This is the fire department:

Some scenes along WY-31 on the way to Medicine Lodge:

Instead of taking a right into Hyattville, turn left onto Alkalai Road at the T-junction, and then take the first right onto Cold Springs Road. Follow that until you come to the sign below and turn left onto County Road 52. That will take you directly to Medicine Lodge State Archaeological Site.

Across from the sign above is the scene below. Beautiful, isn't it?

This is a very nicely kept state park. There are clean and well-maintained picnic tables, camp spots, and bathrooms, and great parking. Here is a wading pool (next to the picnic tables) for the children to play in while you prepare a picnic meal for the family.

Then take a walk to the petroglyphs.

The following shots are of the remarkable beauty of the stone walls.

Because it was early in the season, we were the only ones there. So the information cabins were closed.

The sign below reads:

PETROGLYPHS and PICTOGRAPHS

Rock art at Medicine Lodge and throughout the Big Horn Basin falls into two categories—PETROGLYPHS which were pecked into the sandstone surfaces and PICTOGRAPHS that were painted onto the survaces. Human-like figures and animals were common motifs. The meaning of rock art is difficult to decipher, but most archaeologists agree that the drawings are symbolic and represent the complex mythological and religious concepts of the artists. The figure illustrated here is located above you on the cliffs and has probably been chalked at some point in time and appears bluish in color. This type of figure is known as a shield figure and appears to be carrying a lance. Such petroglyphs appear throughout Wyoming and may symbolize the importance of hunting to the prehistoric economy. Rock art is extremely difficult to date, but art at this particular site is probably no more than 1000 years old.

Petroglyphs and pictographs are a priceless legacy from the Indian people who inhabited this area in years gone by. The elements are gradually dimming these fragile drawings and vandalism such as the carving of initials, painting over the figures and even chalking to make the art more visible are leading to their destruction. PLEASE LET YOUR FOOTPRINTS BE THE ONLY SIGN OF YOUR VISIT!

Here is some of the vandalism mentioned above:

Click on the next four photographs to enlarge them and better see the details.

The sign below reads:

Medicine Lodge

Timeline

This timeline tries to indicate how ancient this site is.

Aging 1,000 years every ten feet,

The line starts here at present day,

Then stretches 120 feet.

Leading you back in time 12,000 years.

The photograph below illustrates how soft the above cliff wall is.

Before we left, we had our picnic between the creek and the sidewalk.

For more petroglyphs, see Legend Rock, part 3, part 2, part 1.

link: index to photographs

Basin, WY, part 2, and Greybull, WY

2010-04-28T15:10:00.025-06:00

On the way to Greybull this morning, we stopped in Basin to look inside the Post Office and the Courthouse since the last time we went here was on a Sunday. The inside of the Post Office didn't merit any photographs, so I took these three additional shots. (For more shots of the Post Office and Courthouse, see Basin, WY, part 1.)

Here is a link to William Gibbs McAdoo (see below). Here is a link to James Alphonso Wetmore.

This is the main entrance to the Big Horn County Courthouse:

As you can see, the driver's license department proudly displays the licence plates donated by George H. Hoffman who had the honor of being #1. The county code for Big Horn County is 9.

After taking the above pictures of the Courthouse, we went outside to walk around the building to see what else might be of interest. We were chased down by Annette from the Clerks Office who gave us a four page excerpt of A Survey of Wyoming County Courthouses: Their history, architecture, documents, proceedings, and personnel (1972). Thank you, Annette! You can find some real nice people in Wyoming.

Here is a quote which begins the chapter on Big Horn County:

The Commissioners of Big Horn County, Wyoming, made the following Resolution at their meeting of January 4, 1910:

"Wheras, the present County Courthouse is falling to pieces and is liable to collapse at any time, and is a menace to the lives of the public and the county officers therein and all the county records are liable to be destroyed because of the unsafe conditions of said building..., Be it resolved that the Chairman of the Board be directed, authorized and empowered to make any and all contracts and leases necessary to induce and secure some person to erect a building for county purposes upon the Courthouse square and to lease said building."

So by 1918 Big Horn County had a new Courthouse for $60,000.

This is downtown Greybull, just eight miles north of Basin:

We stopped in at Probst Western Store.

We also spent some time admiring Big Horn Quilts and talking to the clerks about its fame as one of the biggest on-line quilting fabric stores in the world (see the Montana Billings Gazette Newspaper, July 17, 2005). Julie Owens is the owner, and here is her blog (this is her biography).

Farther east on Greybull Avenue is this map on the side of a building. The Girl Scout National Center West, at the bottom of the map, is no longer in operation.

The building on the right used to be a lodge for IOOF, it was built in 1919.

This is the United States Post Office in Greybull:

Here are links which describe the photograph below: Henry Morgenthau, Jr. and James A Farley.

The next four shots I took at the Greybull Library (click on the link for a good shot of the library itself).

This photograph is of the west end of Greybull Avenue (on the other side is the railroad). Below the mural, the town plants blooming flowers, and often the flowers are in the shape of the Wyoming flag.

North of the above mural, along 7th and Railroad Street, are these buildings:

This is the old Masonic lodge on 6th Street or US-14/16/20:

Next door to the above, I found this old gasoline station sign:

This is Greybull's Town Hall and Police Department:

The day began with rain and hail (between Thermop and Worland), then to a partly cloudy sky, and finally such strong winds that it took the fun out of taking photographs. So we went home.

4 April 2010

Often, before I take a series of photographs of a place, I drive through it and get a feel for what I want to do. On the 4th of April, that's what I did with Basin and Greybull. Because of the evening sun, I decided to take a few photographs. Here are four of them:

Because of flooding, Greybull built a levee to protect itself from the Big Horn River. For some old photographs of the flooding (and other old shots of Greybull), click here.

link: index to photographs

Riverton, WY

2010-04-15T17:06:00.028-06:00

Thermopolis has some excellent medical personnel, but sometimes we have to travel to bigger towns for a specialist. Today we took Grandma to Riverton. This is a picture of their hospital.

Down the road from the medical complex is this structure which, I think, was used for coal mining.

It is adjacent to this office building.

The sculpture above is better seen in the next two photographs.

Just before getting to Central Wyoming College, I had to stop to take the above shot of Wyoming's logo.

Note the snowy mountains in the distant background.

The above sculpture is explained below. The plaque reads,

Just as freedom liberates the human spirit, so too, education liberates the mind. "Rising Promise" captures the emerging human intellect. The bronze figures portray three humans struggling to rise from the rigid confines of ignorance. The timeless universality of the human figure serves to link the past, present and future.

I think this sculpture is of Sacagewea who some believe is buried near Fort Washakie.

Click on the picture below to better see the baby.

As you can see, there are a variety of sculptures on the small campus, which made our experience there more interesting.

The Arts Center is worth visiting because of the art on display.

The Central Wyoming College mascot is the Rustler.

Above and below are two of the dormitories.

Below is another one of the sculptures at CWC.

Just a few more miles down the road and up on a plateau is the Riverton Regional Airport which was built in 1998. Here is a satellite view of the airport.

The interior is nicely decorated, if you like hunting trophies.

If you click on the picture below, you can enlarge it to better see different aspects of life here in Riverton.

For my Michigan friends, note the logo for Great Lakes Airlines in the shot below.

On the way back into Riverton, I had to stop at this used car lot. Where I come from, these are not called used cars.

We then stopped at the Visitor Center for brochures to help me locate the sights of Riverton. The gentleman there informed me that the name "Wyoming" is a Native American word roughly translated as "a wide prairie place." This interesting fact is taken from the book, Wyoming Trivia.

Across the street from the Visitor Center is this mural.

Even though it is a boring shot, I like taking note of places like this (below). Click here for more on the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. It's near the Visitor Center.

Grandma needed a break, so we went to the city park.

On the left, above, is the bandshell and on the right is the Ten Commandments.

What follows are mostly shots of buildings I found along Main Street, the old business center of Riverton.

After visiting the Post Office, I stopped at the local newspaper, The Ranger (note the logo). Given the fact that today is the 15th of April, the front page story was to be expected.

The design of the sidewalks along Main Street have a river theme (it goes along with their name).

This is one of the biggest Masonic Temples I have seen in a long time. Most of it, however, is for businesses. The Masons meet on the top floor.

Click here for a picture of this building decades ago.

This is one of the businesses. Just $11 gets you a haircut.

The shot below is of the second floor:

The original movie theater:

I found the theater's light fixtures interesting.

The building below has a bank on the first floor and senior apartments above.

Statues of horses in connection with shops like these are common here in Wyoming.

The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks has a lodge here.

It was pointed out to me that the bar is one long tree trunk—impressive. The logo is a part of it.

Aleix and Erin were friendly enough to be included in this blog. :)

A block away from Main Street, this Motel 6 caught my attention. They don't make them like this anymore.

The railroad no longer goes through Riverton, so the tracks were torn up and made into a walking trail. This is the old depot which was made into a restaurant (The Depot: Historical Mexican Dining).

Next to The Depot are these giraffe sculptures...

... and this cast iron commemoration of a bridge built for a location "out east," according to Kent, an owner of The Depot. The bridge was then dismantled and brought to the Riverton area to be used here until the railroad discontinued its need for it. I think this is a link to the bridge.

link: index to photographs

Basin, WY, part 1

2010-04-11T16:26:00.030-06:00

We spent the afternoon in Basin today. It is just over an hour's drive north of Thermop on US-16/20. Instead of coming into town via the main road, we took a back entrance to take a few shots from that perspective.

Remember to click on any picture if you wish to enlarge it.

The tree trunk below had these thorns growing all over it.

This is St. Andrew's Episcopal Church:

Basin is the county seat for Big Horn County. This is the county courthouse which is flanked by lilac bushes. To learn more about the town and its Lilac Days festival, click here.

Below is the U.S. Post Office (part of the National Register of Historic Places).

This is the Big Horn County Library:

Here is the United Methodist Church:

We were fortunate to meet Dee Hilton (below) who created the stained glass for the doors to the church sanctuary. She has numerous works in several towns here in Wyoming. You can reach her at DeeHilton@tritel.net.

Across the street from the church is the parsonage. The stained glass in the front window is also Dee Hilton's creation.

Abundant Life Baptist Church (if you wish to read the sign below, just click on the photograph to enlarge it):

This is the Laura Irwin Elementary School:

As you can see by the sign, they refer to themselves as the Lil' Rebels, Rebels being the town mascot for the high school.

Riverside High School is in an adjacent building, and this is the depiction of their mascot.

Here it is at one of the entrances to the community:

Just like Thermopolis has a T-Hill, so Basin has something similar:

On the other side of the road from the "Entering Rebel Country" sign (above) is the welcome sign below. On the right of the photograph is the First Baptist Church.

On the northwest side of town is this lovely park.

This log home can be found there, next to the old Pioneer Cemetery.

The next three shots are more of downtown Basin.

The buildings on the right, below, are of the elementary and high schools.

See also Basin, WY, part 2.

link: index to photographs

snow and garbage removal, etc.

2010-04-01T15:22:00.018-06:00

Since it is snowing today, I thought this would be an appropriate post. The shots which follow were taken at a variety of times during the past two years.

We raised our family in Holland, Michigan where the downtown streets and sidewalks are heated so that snow removal is not an issue. It comes in handy when there is over nine feet of snow in one winter, as was the case before we came to Thermopolis.

Instead of heating the pavement, Thermopolis has a creative alternative. They send a tanker truck to the Hot Springs State Park to suck out some of their hot mineral water, and then they use it on Broadway, downtown.

Warren Street, between 8th and 10th Street, is the sledding hill for the winter. There are less than a handful of driveways at the bottom of the hill, so there is limited access to cars. I took the next three shots on February 21 of this year.

This is one of the homes at the bottom of the hill. They do one of the best jobs in decorating for Christmas and beyond.

Another interesting bit of trivia about living here is how snow is removed from the streets. I assumed that snow plows would push it off to the sides, but here it is piled into the center of the streets. Since there isn't that much snow here (if we compare this to Michigan), and since the snow doesn't stay for that long, it is generally not a big deal.

Part of the reason snow is not plowed off to the side of the streets is because the sidewalk is, in most cases, next to the curb. In other words, there is no parkway between the curb and the sidewalk. By eliminating the parkway, the streets are very wide. In fact, the street in front of my mother-in-law's house is 46 feet wide, and the street is only two blocks long—not a main artery.

With streets this wide, it allows residents the freedom to park their vehicles on the street, night and day, year around. Consequently, sometimes weeds start growing around them.

For those residents who don't want to park overnight on the street, most neighborhoods have alleys. Here is where the garbage dumpsters are kept.

Unfortunately, some neighborhoods don't have alleys. In those cases, the dumpsters are placed next to the street on the sidewalk. A few houses share a dumpster, but if yours gets full, you just walk a bit further to the next one.

My children called Hollanders (where they grew up in Michigan) "anal" for their standards of perfection. Thermopolites aren't anal; most people don't even notice that they have a dumpster sitting permanently in front of their house obstructing the sidewalk.

The shot below I took just one block from the middle school. Fortunately, the opposite side of the street does not have dumpsters on the sidewalk, so that is where the children walk.

This is the sign found on all dumpsters, but Thermopolis and many other communities in this state don't have a recycling program, so there is no alternative. Everything is disposed of in these containers. Maybe it's the wide open spaces, maybe its the laissez-faire attitude, but long-time residents have informed me that everything is disposed of in this way.

By following the signs on West Sunnyside Lane (just north of Thermop off of US-20), you eventually get to the town landfill.

Speaking of dumpsters, here is where they come to in order to get rejuvenated:

And here is where the new ones are kept—just after 8th Street turns into Sorensen Street on the south side of town.

I'm used to seeing a man in an automated sidewalk sweeper surrounded by a cloud of dust. But here in Thermop three men are sent out to do a far more thorough job.

Since I have been speaking of the cultural differences between here and other parts of the country, I thought I would present one more example of this difference.

I mentioned earlier that my children were sometimes annoyed by the standards of perfection, the anxiety about appearances, in Holland, Michigan, where they grew up. Here are two photographs that illustrate how Thermopolites are not afflicted by this need to have everything just right.

The above shot is of the Post Office, and the one below is of the Hot Springs County Public Library, across the street from the County Court House and the Police and Sheriff's offices.

Of course, if you grew up here in Thermopolis, maybe you don't see what I'm talking about. It's the fire hydrants that caught my eye when I moved here.

Post Script: My comments about Holland, Michigan need to be balanced. I was informed that it was judged as the second happiest place in the United States.

link: index to photographs

Badwater Road to Dry Bridger Road

2010-03-28T14:02:00.013-06:00

The paved road from US-20 turns toward Bonneville at the junction below and switches from being Badwater Road to Bonneville Road. To stay on Badwater Road, you must turn left onto the gravel road.

We returned to the spot we had left at the end of my last blog post.

There are a few side roads which lead off of Badwater Road but are not named. What follows are six shots from one of those dead-end roads.

For the sake of perspective, I asked my wife to be a part of this photograph. It is a wall of columns, and this shot shows all of them.

What follows is along the main road.

Below is a close-up of above.

Badwater Road continues southeast to Lysite at the junction above. The Lysite, Lost Cabin area has many of these natural gas drilling sites as seen below. Because of this, there are a few warning signs along the way.

What follows are shots taken from Point of Mountain Road.

Pronghorns gallop away as soon as they see you, but this loner came trotting by us and passed within about 20 feet. It was so unusual that we weren't prepared to take any better shots than the one below.

At this junction, we turned onto Bridger Creek Road.

Then we turned onto Dry Bridger Road, or Hot Springs County Road Five which leads back to Thermopolis. The other roads we were on had been graded recently, but not so with this one.

About a half mile past this cabin we encountered too much mud because of the melting snow, and so we turned around and decided to have our picnic lunch below. By the way, I didn't understand the nature of mud until I came to Wyoming.

What follows are the shots I took on the way home, taking the same route.

Below is the snow on the other side of the dam which holds back this small reservoir.

This is a part of the dam:

The next four photographs are a part of the ditch below, next to Badwater Road.

The stones below are from the location pictured above. I found them all within a six foot radius.

link: index to photographs

Badwater and Quien Sabe Roads

2010-03-20T10:57:00.004-06:00

A few miles before the turnoff to Bonneville from US-20 are some abandoned buildings on the east side of the highway. We stopped to look around and see if anything was worth photographing.

This is a spring full of fetid water.

The next three shots are the view from the "backyard."

Most of the shots above were taken by my wife. I was feeling so distressed by the trashiness of us humans that my mood thwarted my ability to see what would be good to photograph.

Below is a view from Badwater Road, with Bonneville in the distance, to the right of Badwater Creek which is only partially seen on the right of the shot. For a view of the entrance to Badwater Road from US-20, click here (this link also includes shots from our first trip along Badwater Road).

Quien Sabe Road (see sign below) is Spanish for Who Knows. Here is a link to Google Maps for the location of the junction of Badwater and Quien Sabe.

These are pronghorns (often referred to as antelopes, but really they are a different species):

Along the roads in this area, there are rocks which line both sides of the road. Maybe this is just the result of grading the roads or maybe this was done decades ago to help travelers know the path of the road.

After following Quien Sabe Road until it became what looked like a minor private road up the side of one of the foothills, we turned around and explored more of Badwater Road.

As you can tell by the photograph below, Badwater Road isn't filled with interesting sights. But what enhances the experience is getting out and seeing close-up what is suitable to be photographed. This is why we like this hobby.

These little hills or mounds are grayish green in color and so soft that the effects of rain are quite obvious.

Since we only had six hours of respite from taking care of my wife's mother, we had to cut short our return visit to Badwater Road. Maybe we will get another chance to visit this area.
link: index to photographs