Off to See Casper... Not the Ghost

Looks like winter is gently rapping at the door around here. The weather started getting cooler in the evenings and early morning. Wellllll... one day it was cold enough in the upper altitudes for our rain, to turn into snow up there. The mountain range is farther than 2 blocks away, it's more like 50 miles.

Anyway, we packed up our trunks and headed farther south to a little town called Bar Nunn, outside of Casper.

As we flew down WY Hwy 120 at 65mph we stopped at a dam, and a hole in the ground. HWY 120 was a nice road to travel, with minimal traffic, and lots of places to pull off.

 

We passed through these three tunnels, and wa la... a dam.

This dam is called Boysen Dam. The dam was designed by a gentleman named Asmus Boysen in the early 1900s. The dam completed in 1951 is 1100 feet long and 230 feet high. There is a powerplant near the spillway that provides power to northwest Wyoming, and is tied into federal power lines. The original dam was built and located about 1 1/2 miles downstream. The reservoir provides great opportunities for camping, fishing, and boating. Besides vacation opportunities, the dam supplies irrigation to the farmer's crops. It was an enjoyable break, now off we speed down the road again.

Our next pull off break was a big hole in the ground called "Hell's Half Acre". Unfortunately thing are different now... the public is not allowed at the bottom, the restaurant and motel have been demolished, but there is access to a gravel parking lot that allows tourists the opportunity to get a glimpse of this fascinating scarf in the land.

 

I had to take pictures from behind a fence, and the part we could see was only part of the 320 acres. If we had walked out to the picnic table area we possibly could have seen more.

For those folks that are Sci-Fi movie buffs, this is the place for you. Part of "Starship Troopers" was filmed here as the backdrop for the alien planet Klendathu. The residents of the planet were huge fighting bugs.

Anyway, for those who are not Sci-Fi buffs, there are other stories about Hell's Half Acre. This area was used by the Indians during hunting, they forced buffalo over the cliffs. The story is that tens of thousands of buffalo that perished are roaming the deserted range below.

There is a tale of the ghost of a beautiful Indian woman who moves through the area protecting it by warding off evil spirits.

There is rumor that a mysterious unsociable person is haunting the many dark caves... so beware weary travelers. Off we go down the road again.

We're not sure this is the place we want to be at:

This might not be so good, but we will investigate.

We arrived at our destination in Bar Nunn, population 2,716.

From first impressions, this is a nice campground. The campground is under new ownership, and the new owners are making very good strides to make this place awesome. These photos are from our site, and the Prong Horn Antelope are across the street. This place has all the good stuff, including a 9 hole miniature golf course. The day we arrived the wind kicked up so much we couldn't cook outside, the next day was a different story, and I fired up the grill and cooked hamburgers.

The seasons a changin' cuz a lot of the attractions are closing down for the season. We're thinking about going out to celebrate our anniversary and retirement before we leave here. 

Carol visited a chiropractor for her continuing nagging hip problem. She is good to go again. When she got home we took a drive to the National Historic Trails Center (NHTC), and Casper Planetarium. 

NHTC is a fairly new, it opened in 2002. There was a lot of interaction opportunities, from phones to stagecoach rides. 

The phone station was a four station setup that presented information about the community cultures of four Indian tribes, and were short enough to keep the visitor interested. 

Moving along, there was a section with a light board that tracked the different expeditions and groups that traveled on the trail from Missouri to Oregon... push a button, lights lights. This trail had many white man names: Oregon Trail, California Trail, and Mormon Trial... it just depended on which way the traveler was going.

Visitors have the opportunity to ride in the back of a Conestoga wagon fording a stream. We might have tried it except for the fact that we have been on rough roads across America already. We did settle for a stagecoach ride though.  As with the wagon trip, there is an interactive video that plays along helping the visitor to better understand what it was like back then. Image yourself riding in a Volkswagen Beetle with eight other people, the windows don't roll up, and the shocks are shot... you are now enjoying your stagecoach ride across America in the late 1800s.

How many of you folks out there don't like the cost of a postage stamp now days? well try sending a letter during the Pony Express days. 

For those that cannot read the little placard, it cost $5.00 per 1/2 ounce in the mid 1800s to send a letter. Possibly there was less of a problem back then with junk mail.

They also have a small theatre presentation about how settlers moved from the east, either heading to Oregon, or down to "The Great Salt Lake" with the Mormons. A lot of people did not make it to their desired destinations because of death from disease, or malnutrition. One group started out with almost 800 settlers, by the time they got to their destination they numbered a little over 600.

This is a small center which can be toured in a couple of hours. For more information go to: nhtcf.org.

Our next stop was even shorter than the Interpretive Center, it's called Casper Planetarium. Apparently we were not the only ones interested in the show, which meant there would be at least four for the show:

These are wild turkeys just relaxing on the lawn waiting for us.

The sole purpose for this visit was to watch a presentation called: "Halloween: Celestial Origins", about 40 minutes long. It talked about how Halloween, first known as Samhain by the Celtics. It was actually a celebration of the changing of the season. Before the video one of their volunteers talked about the constellations and how they change during the seasons. For information go to: casperplanetarium.com.

We popped back home and walked all the way across the street to a bar and grill for dinner and a drink. I kept it simple with a country fried steak, Carol had a personal taco pizza.

This place was like a country bar... without the peanut shells on the floor, and most of the people knew each other. Something Carol and I are dumbfounded about is the ability of the bar to sell alcohol through a drive up window, and over the bar for take out. All the time Carol and I lived in California we did not see anything like this. We finished our dinner and drinks, and went home.

One thing Carol and I appreciate everyday is seeing wildlife alongside the road. In a field less than 100 yards from the campground, vehicles passing by can see a herd of Prong Horn Antelope.

These guys have been out there every time we drive by. Two of them seem to be at war with each other because we have seen one chasing the other, until the chaser proves their point.

Headed off to visit the Wyoming Veterans' Museum. In a lot next to the museum was the next wind turbine farm, only they were still in pieces.

Just our luck, we arrived at the museum to find it closed... they were preparing for floor resurfacing next week, and we looked at their website to make sure they were open. Oh well. Their website is: wyomilitary.wyo.gov

Outside the museum they had a tank to look at.

This is an M114 Full-Tracked Armored Personnel Carrier, Command and Reconnaissance. 

Weight: 15,000 lbs.

Length: 14 feet

Width: 7 1/2 feet

Crew: 3

Max Armor (front): 1 3/4 inch

Engine: V6 Diesel (160 HP)

Main Armament: M-2 .50 Heavy Machine Gun

It was from the Vietnam era, and did not stand up well to enemy artillery, had a poor reliability, and could only carry three soldiers. Because of it's low profile it was good for reconnaissance. In 1973 they were being phased out, and in 1979 they were totally removed from service.

Before entering the museum:

It reads:

I stood up

I showed up

I stepped forward

I raised my right hand

I stood in the gap

I walked in the fire

I did not run

I did not hide

I did not dodge

I did not evade

Consequently...

I have nothing to prove

No one to convince

Those who matter, already know

Those who don't, never will

Semper Fidelis

So many lived and died by those words, and there are many today living those words. It is important to understand a veteran, and show the respect that is due, whether one agrees or not. These men fought for the freedoms we have today.

Let's move on to a park called "Rotary Park", located on Casper Mountain, to see the waterfall. The park was extraordinary, with over five miles of trails. Part of the trail winds it's way up to the top of the waterfall, and back down to the parking lots. Now this waterfall isn't anything like Yosemite, but it does drop 105 feet. The climb is steep, some parts as much as 13%. At the bottom the trail follows along the creek, then crosses over the creek via a bridge. On the way to the top of the waterfall there are several lookout points. Carol and I are not yet in shape for climbing/walking the whole trail, we stopped just below the first lookout.

Once we got back to the truck to head back down the mountain, we changed our minds and made a right turn instead, and headed further up the mountain. What a drive. It was the kind of drive Carol isn't too fond of, lots of hair pin curves. 

We stopped at a turn out on the way up, and WOW, what a view of Casper (I know it is hard to see, this is a panoramic photo). As we continued up the mountain God's beauty continued to find us... along the road we had deer grazing, not concerned about us one bit.

We didn't drive the whole loop over the mountain, we turned around at one of the summer camps and came back down and headed to lunch. 

I like the way some of the towns around here let passer-bys know that it's their town. One of those is the town of Mill. Depending which side of town you are traveling from you can see an eagle soaring.

Yes, it is me in the first photo taking a picture of this beautiful sculpture. This day still had a surprise for us.

Tooling down the highway we came across a spectacular sight that neither Carol nor I have ever seen:

You guessed it... a train load of propeller blades for wind turbines, probably 30 or 40 sets of train cars. I know what yard they are going to, remember that lot next to the Veterans' Museum... that's the place.

After we got home and rested, we walked over to a restaurant called "The Hanger" to celebrate our 34th anniversary.

 The restaurant was actually a hanger from the airport that is no longer used. The airport was rededicated Wardwell Field after the unfortunate plane crash of Major Doyen Wardwell in 1929. He was a pioneer of aviation development in Wyoming. After the the airport was relocated the land was purchased by a private party, and was named Bar Nunn Ranch, a town where the streets were runways long ago. If your curiosity is peeked, go to: wyominghanger.com (not secured site)

Inside the building it is divided into two sections, restaurant, and event area. The event area is most of the hanger space and is used for concerts as well as other large corporate functions, and private parties. 

The restaurant is decorated with vintage memorabilia. How many out there remember gas prices of .27 cents per gallon?

Who remembers sitting down to a meal at Bob's Big Boy? 

I remember stuck in a gas line, and pushing my monster of a car into the station because I ran out of gas. At that time, 1973, the gas price was .34 cents per gallon. During the gas shortages the folks in that gas line, went around me to ensure they could get gas.

As a child I remember going to Bob's for hamburgers and fantastic fries, Mc Donald's has nothing on them. Over time the restaurants have diminished from our sight.

If you look real close at the front of the gas pump you will notice that there was no space for a number to the left of a decimal point. No one back then thought gas was ever get over .99 cents per gallon.

Our dinners were very good, we didn't go out on a limb for dinner, Carol had a ribeye steak, and I had brisket and ribs. After dinner we walked all the way back across the street to relax for the night (the circled RV).

Had to be at least 200 yards back home.

Well it's time to get ready to move on... next stop is Rock Springs Wyoming. See ya there.