Southeastern Wyoming

 

Southeastern Wyoming is the location of the state capitol and my home town, Cheyenne.  How could you be born and raised in Cheyenne, Wyoming and not be a cowboy?  Yes Amanda, I often wear cowboy boots.  The area just west of Cheyenne is where the plains meet the mountains, at least the northern tip of the Colorado Rockies.  The hill between Cheyenne and Laramie is the highest point along the Union Pacific railroad.  There is a monument at what used to be the highest point dedicated the The Ames Brothers of Boston.  They were instrumental in building the railroad.  It's know as Ames Monument.....Duh.  The railroad moved the tracks and left the monument out there all by it's self.  Few people ever see it any more.

Just south and east of the Ames Monument is Remount Ranch.  It was at the ranch that Mary O'Hara wrote "My Friend Flicka", "Thunderhead" and "The Green Grass of Wyoming" in the 1940's.  Bea, I would definitely put this on a "must see" list when you finally visit the west.  If you click on the link to the ranch, you will see the name "Tom Horn" mentioned.  I will cover Tom in another post and my connection to him. 

Laramie sits in a valley,  a high plain located between two mountain ranges. The mountains to the east are conered by Ponderosa Pine.  The mountains to the west and south are covered by Lodgepole Pine (used to make telephone poles).  Northwest of Laramie are the small towns of Bosler, Rock River, Medicine Bow and Hanna.  Medicine Bow is the location of "The Virginian" written by Owen Wister.

A drive to the west of Laramie will take you to Centennial (great skiing) and Woods Landing.  I'll share a secret with you.  Some of the best trout fishing in Wyoming can be found near Woods Landing.  If you go south on highway 230 and cross the Wyoming / Colorado border, there is a dirt road that goes back into Wyoming.  The forest hides the small streams.  If you look hard enough, you will see some streams to the north of the dirt road.  These are the headwaters of the North Platte river that flows into the Missouri River and then into the Mississippi River.  The Brook trout are very tasty and they fit perfectly in the frying pan.  Make sure you purchase a fishing license!

Here fishy, fishy!

OK, my best friend Chris, has reminded me that I forgot to mention Lake Marie, high atop the Snowy Range, west of Laramie.  At over 10,000 feet above sea level, it's cold, very cold.  There are still very deep snow drifts in early June.  Yes, that is snow in the picture and it was taken in July.

Nate and Lake Marie, Wyoming

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