Biking the National Forests
Southeastern Wyoming seems to be little more than a vast sweep of high plains. But look closer and you'll discover sprawling national forests that nurture mile after mile after mile of mountain bike trails that will thrill any level of cyclist. more...
Mother Nature's Oddities
Deep in the Teton Wilderness, I have one foot in the Atlantic Ocean. The other is in the Pacific. I turn 180 degrees. The foot that had been in the Atlantic is now in the Pacific and the Pacific one in the Atlantic. I lift my one foot out of the Pacific and, springing off the one in the Atlantic, land with both in the Pacific. Another standing broad jump has both feet in the Atlantic. more...
Laying Tracks
The largest active dune field in North America (yup, right here in Wyoming), the Killpecker Dunes total nearly 109,000 acres (three times the size of our nation's capital) in the Red Desert and stretch 150 miles each from the Green River Basin across the Continental Divide and into the Great Divide Basin. For those unfamiliar with the intricacies of Wyoming geography, they're generally in the southwestern part of the state. more...
A Look at Cheyenne Frontier Days
There is no event in all the land more Western than Cheyenne Frontier Days. This 10-day celebration of Western traditions has been going strong since 1897. more...
Following Pioneer Trails
Fort Laramie is a great place to begin any journey on Wyoming's trails. As one of the earliest permanent frontier posts, Fort Laramie served the Oregon, Mormon, California, Pony Express and Bozeman trails; was a stop on the Cheyenne-Deadwood Stage Route; and was near the north-south Texas cattle trail. Now a national historic site, Fort Laramie's recreated and restored buildings depict the site's colorful history. more...
Tetons
Tetons for Two
While national parks have been a favorite family vacation for years - my family made sure to hit at least a few every summer - they can be surprisingly couple-compatible too. If you know where to go. more...
Ride With Buffalo Bill
Inside the newest museum at Cody's Buffalo Bill Historical Center, it's not difficult to ignore the few dozen other people there. My full attention is devoted to the wildfire raging in front of me... not to mention the two wolves that are in danger of getting caught in it. Lights simulate the fire and sound effects create a realistic crackling and crashing of falling trees. An elk bugling drowns out the snufflings of bears. It even smells like fire. more...
Storming the Fort
The first fort in Wyoming was started as a fur trade post in 1834, known as Fort John. Located near the Laramie River, it had become Fort Laramie by 1849 when the military took control. The fort's grounds just west of the town of Fort Laramie in southeast Wyoming have an open parade ground surrounded by military-era buildings. One structure, Old Bedlam, is the oldest standing building in the State of Wyoming. At or near Fort Laramie, fur traders, overland emigrants, the frontier army and Indians gathered as they came to trade, work and meet. more...
The Story Behind Story
Wyoming has many evocative place names. Ten Sleep. Freedom. Chugwater. Then’s there’s Story, where visitors usually want to ask: So, what’s the story behind Story? more...
Interstate 80: Ride with the Legends
Give or take a few, it is 400 miles across Wyoming on Interstate 80. By anybody’s standard that is a solid day’s travel. But hey, don’t just buzz through the state. There is a lot to see and do along the way. So much, in fact, that it’s best done in sections. So instead of hitting Wyoming at Pine Bluffs, putting the cruise control on 75 mph, and blowing out of the state around eight hours later at Evanston, set your sights on just some of the towns.
Begin your trip in Laramie, about 1/4 of the way across. This is cowboy country. more...
Mountain Peaks and Flowing Creeks
Known to the Arapaho Indians as "Land of the Earthborn Spirit," the rock formations of Vedauwoo (pronounced vee-da-voo) attract experienced climbers, campers and hikers. more...
Interstate Adventures
Take the RV and hit the open road in Wyoming knowing you can stop for the night and need not worry about a place to sleep. The shortest of Wyoming's Interstate Highways, I-90 cutting across the northeast corner of the state from Sundance to Sheridan, is also one of the most scenic routes. This highway rolls over the western edge of the Black Hills, passes near Sundance Mountain and then traverse the northern edge of the Powder River Basin before flanking the east face of the Bighorn Mountains. more...
Discover Wyoming
Birding in Wyoming
With some-400 species overhead, the word's out about birdwatching in Wyoming. Local birders are happy to share their knowledge of the sport and the state's avian attractions – pick up one of their books or scan our primer; then take to the self-guided nature trail at the Audubon Center in Casper. Too, the National Wildlife Refuge and national park systems host several sites across the state for birding expeditions. more...
Jackson's Other Mountain
Jackson's Town Square is in the heart of one Wyoming's best-known towns. Snow King, with a 1,571-foot vertical, is just a few blocks from the center of town. When I ski at Snow King, I am sharing trails with locals. Little wonder. Instead of hanging out at a non-existent mall, kids grow up skiing there after school. Supporting “the King” doesn't cost much. Because residents can buy a $99 adult season pass, even big-mountain riders often also purchase a Snow King pass for mid-day ski breaks. more...
DT
Devils Tower Centennial
Writer M. Scott Momaday once waxed poetic about Devils Tower, proclaiming "There are things in nature that engender an awful quiet in the heart of man." President Theodore Roosevelt showed his love of preservation (and an economy of words) when he declared this "lofty and isolated rock" a national monument 100 years ago. Thirty years ago, Steven Spielberg celebrated the monument's otherworldly appeal by choosing Devils Tower as the UFO landing site in his movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind.more...
Things to See & Do
Dude, Where's My Horse?
I am expecting a beast ready for the glue factory. Let me restate: I am hoping for a beast ready for the glue factory. Saber, a fit and feisty seven-year old gelding, is most definitely not that however. He is most definitely a good teacher. At least that’s what the head wrangler tells me when matching me with him the day of my arrival at a dude ranch tucked into the foothills of the Big Horn Mountains. more...
Dining in the Parks
It wasn't too awfully long ago that dining in national parks left much to be desired, with entrees built primarily, and unceremoniously, around chicken, beef and trout. That's not to say a good meal can't be built around these base ingredients. But after a long, sun-filled day hiking Yellowstone National Park's geyser basins or trekking into Garnet Canyon in Grand Teton National Park, a meal that's as stunning as the landscape. more...
Wild Horses Loop Tour
Galloping across the prairie with manes and tails flying and hooves kicking up dust, there is nothing more iconic in the West than a wild horse. Whether you spot them racing like the wind, clustered around a waterhole or grazing contentedly, wild horses evoke a bit of the Old West, erasing the 21st and 20th centuries and shuttling you back to the 1800s. more...
2007 snowmobiling
Snowmobiling Adventures on the Continental Divide Trail
Of Wyoming's roughly 2,000 marked (and often groomed) snowmobile trails, the 675-mile Continental Divide Snowmobile Trail has been called the top snowmobile route in the West by SnoWest magazine. Arguably the best part is between Lander and Dubois, threading through the scenic Wind River Range and flirting with the Continental Divide itself. more...
Yellowstone National Park 2
Secret Yellowstone
Yellowstone entertains nearly three million guests annually, but some 99-percent of them never venture more than 200 feet away from a road. Much less deep into the backcountry. more...
Winter Sports
Backcountry Snow Sports
In snowriders' parlance, "backcountry" means a place beyond ski area boundaries, and any on-the-edge skier or snowboarder will tell you that the snow is best and adrenalin quotient highest there. Beyond the thrill of the ride, there is the sense of pride in earning your turns by hiking up before skiing or riding down. more...
Places to Stay
Dreaming of a Wyoming Christmas
While I love Wyoming's mountains, wide open spaces, wild animals and infinite skies, most of all I love the state's pretty much guaranteed white Christmases. more...
