As the only store in the town, it needed to stock everything miners and residents might need.
When I visited the Mormon Handcart Museum a few years ago, I discovered one answer: an ingenious invention that several members of Brigham Young's company developed to make the process easier.
He did, which is why the Carbon County museum in Rawlins has a room dedicated to him.
Isn't this phonograph beautiful?
Although it's a relatively small museum, the Tate is filled with exhibits of everything from over 3,000 fossils and minerals to the skeleton of Dee the wooly mammoth as well as this recreation of a dinosaur.
If you're in the Casper area and have even the slightest interest in dinosaurs, be sure to visit the Tate.
As you probably guessed, this picture came from the Historic Trails Museum in Casper, which is one of my favorite Wyoming museums.
It's a small but intriguing museum with exhibits ranging from a replica coal mine and a lamb with one head but two bodies to this button attaching machine.
You'll note that it's only a pair of short boots that has buttons. I can't imagine how long it would have taken to put on those women's shoes if they'd had buttons rather than laces.
Definitely a fun place to visit!
A major stop on the Oregon Trail, Fort Laramie was far different from my mental image of a western fort. No stockade. No buildings constructed of logs. Instead, during its later years it resembled a New England village with sidewalks, birdbaths, and ladies carrying parasols. Not quite the Hollywood version of a western fort.
If you're ever in eastern Wyoming, I encourage you to visit Fort Laramie and the surrounding wagon trail sites, including Register Cliff and the wagon ruts. For more information about Fort Laramie, click here.
Do you ever wonder what's involved in creating a book cover? The answer is, it depends. My own experience has varied from having no involvement to being asked to choose costumes for the model, but rarely have I had the pleasure of watching the artist develop the cover and providing feedback each step of the way.
That's what happened with the cover for One Special Christmas. I was extremely fortunate to have gifted artist L.A. Sartor creating my cover.
It started with a brainstorming session in which we decided that rather than have my heroine in an exterior scene like the ones you see on most of my covers, since Greta was the manager of the tearoom in Sweetwater Crossing, we'd feature her in a tearoom.
At that point, all I told L.A. was that Greta was a blonde and that I thought a green gown would be good. After our discussion, I sent her this picture from the Christmas celebration at Fort Laramie, thinking she could incorporate it into her design.
While there's nothing wrong with this picture, it's a bit shall we say bland? L.A. recognized that and took a different approach. To say that I was overwhelmed when I saw her first design is an understatement.
Next came the choice of fonts for the title and my name as well as positioning of both. That took a few iterations, but we finally had a finished front cover.
Next came the back cover. When L.A. asked me what I wanted, I suggested a green background with the back cover copy in a cream colored box. She probably knew that wasn't a good idea, but she let me see the flaws for myself.
There were many things wrong with this. Besides the fact that the teaser line is almost illegible, the back cover itself is too plain. There's nothing on it to make a reader want to buy the book. I'm famous for saying that back covers should be pretty. This one wasn't.
Fortunately, once again L.A. knew how to fix the problem. She created a tapestry for the background, and when we had an interactive meeting to finalize the design, we changed the spine color to rose.
What a difference! We now had a full cover that I loved. The back cover is more than pretty. It's beautiful, just as the front cover is.
I'm thrilled with the way it turned out and hope you agree with me that this is an outstanding cover.
If you'd like more information about One Special Christmas, you can find that as well as an excerpt on my website.
And if you enjoy cozy mysteries, you won't want to miss L.A.'s Tick Tock Dead. Yes, L.A. Sartor is not only a gifted artist, she's also an author. Here's a link to her website.
I was a little surprised that there wasn't a saw. After all, doctors were often referred to as Saw Bones, even though they did much more than that. What else would you have expected to see here?
I soon discovered that not all forts were like that, but some were, including this one. Fort Caspar near the town of Casper -- notice the different spellings -- is a reconstructed 1865 military post.
In addition to the buildings, which include barracks, officers' quarters, a stable, and much more, there's a small museum, all of which make it worth a visit if you're in the area.
If you'd like more information, you might find this link helpful.
Located in the western part of the state, Fort Bridger includes a wide variety of buildings ranging from a reconstruction of trapper Jim Bridger's cabin to the commanding officer's Victorian home to "auto camping" cabins developed during the early years of auto travel.
Their website provides more information. And if you're able to visit, you might even take a tour with a guide like the one pictured above.
Their journey is commemorated at the Mormon Handcart Visitors at Martin's Cove, site of a deadly blizzard in 1856.
For more information, click here.
Were they thinking about the rest of the journey, knowing that it was the most difficult? I imagine they were, but at least for a few hours, they could relax and enjoy being here.
If you'd like more information about Independence Rock, you might enjoy this link.
What courageous people those pioneers were, to leave their homes and everything familiar in search of a better life.
If you noticed, the title says Wednesday NEAR Wyoming, not Wednesday IN Wyoming. That's because this site is in Nebraska.
Did you recognize it as Chimney Rock? It does look like a chimney, doesn't it? This was one of the more recognizable landmarks on the journey west.
They're relatively attractive animals, but -- and this is a huge but -- they're destructive. Badgers dig deep holes for themselves, leaving large piles of dirt around them. Worst of all, they don't stay in those burrows for very long. Instead, they move on to wreak havoc on another part of the yard. They're also ferocious and can run faster than a human, so there's no chasing them away.
I'm convinced that badgers are one of the reasons to own a telephoto lens.
Did you know that both male and female pronghorn have horns? And did you know that they're the fastest land mammal in North America? They can run up to 60 mph. Do you suppose that's why Wyoming's highway speed limits are so high -- so we can outrun the pronghorn?
This one was part of a colony living near Devils Tower.
(And if you're wondering why the picture is smaller than normal, it's because something has changed in Blogger, and the resizing feature doesn't work. Sorry.)
If you're in the mood for a meal, the Senators Steakhouse serves ... yes, you guessed it, bison.
Which do you prefer?
I particularly liked this side of the statue, because it depicts the Native Americans who depended on the bison for food, shelter, and clothing, not wasting any portion of the animal.
Notice the pouches on both ends of the saddle. These held mail and other goods and were padlocked. They were, at least according to legend, considered more valuable than either the rider or the horse.
There were so many interesting exhibits at the Historic Trails Museum in Casper that I decided to feature it again this month.
Although it was only in operation for 18 months, the Pony Express earned a spot in American history, often being romanticized.The advertisement for riders makes the job sound anything but romantic. In case you can't read the fine print, here's what it says:
Wanted young, skinny, wiry fellows not over eighteen. Must be expert riders, willing to risk death daily. Orphans preferred.
That doesn't sound like a good deal to me, but the $25 weekly pay was a definite lure ... if you lived to collect it.
Can you imagine doing that, especially given the hazards along the trail (hint: rattlesnakes)? I can't.
If you wondered where I found this statue, here's the answer:
When I saw this piece of art in January of 2020, it caught my eye because it reminded me of the thousands of miles my husband and I logged on our bikes.
But finally, the work was done.
While that may sound like a relatively simple process, getting Abe properly positioned and secured on the base took a number of hours. Fortunately, it was a beautiful September day, the perfect time to be a sightseer.
As you can see from this picture, which was taken in 2008, time and pollution darkened what had been a bronze-colored sculpture. That changed during the summer of 2015,