Wyoming is the 10th largest state and is located in the western USA. It is where the Great Plains meet the Rocky Mountains. It has a dry climate, 14.2 inches of rainfall per year.

Population: 493,782

History: Wyoming became a state on March 27, 1890 to become the 44th state. It is often called the "Cowboy State" because of its western heritage.

Cheyenne;(53,011 inhabitants)

Wyoming Trip

June 2005

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK AND GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK

Over 48% of the land in Wyoming is owned by the US Government. The key tourist attractions in Wyoming include: Grand Teton National Park,   Yellowstone National Park, and Devils Tower National Monument. Each year Yellowstone National Park receives three million visitors. Jackson Hole, the Tetons, and other spectacular landscapes surrounding the park are often thought to be part of Yellowstone, and titlehough they are not part of Yellowstone National Park, they are part of the same ecosystem.

The Teton Mountain Range in the northwest extends for 50 miles and represents the most impressive section of mountains in the state. It is home to Grand Teton, the second highest peak in Wyoming, and to Grand Teton National Park, which preserves the most scenic section of the Teton range.

Located in the northwest corner of Wyoming, Yellowstone is an American wilderness; 97 percent of the park remains undeveloped. Yellowstone National Park is actually a volcano with the world’s largest active geyser field (including Old Faithful), boasting more than 10,000 geysers, steam vents, mud pots and hot springs. Hundreds of these geysers erupt yearly, some faithfully and others unexpectedly. While Old Faithful is the most widely recognized geyser, there are more than 10,000 other geothermal features in Yellowstone, including geysers, hot springs, mudpots and fumaroles.

Yellowstone Park is home to more wild animals than almost anywhere else in the U.S. Visitors will see a number of animals in Yellowstone roaming the landscape, from Yellowstone's two types of bears - grizzlies and black bears - to gray wolves, buffalo, elk, wild horses, pronghorn antelope,etc.

Points of Interest in Yellowstone:

  • Mammoth Hot Springs - constantly changing colorful terraces…goes back thousands of years ago
  • Norris Geyser Basin (south of Mammoth Hot Springs)
  • Steamboat geyser -world’s tallest active geyser with unpredictable eruption reaching 400 feet
  • Grand Prismatic Spring -very colorful geysers; orange spectrum
  • Midway Geyser Basin - beautiful sampling of geyser colors
  • Firehole Lake Drive - filled with geyser activity
  • Old Faithful - thousands of gallons of steaming water thunder into the sky at each eruption on an average of every 94 minutes
  • Grand Canyon of Yellowstone - plunge of 1000 feet of hot water acting on volcanic rock creates the canyon colors
  • Artists Point - breathtaking prism of colors
  • Upper and Lower Falls - good look-out points
  • West Thumb Geyser Basin - colorful variety of hot springs, mud pots and geysers

Jackson Hole

Jackson Hole, Wyoming is a valley surrounded by mountain ranges of the Grand Tetons. It is a major gateway for millions of tourists visiting the nearby parks. The Jackson Hole name refers only to the valley in which the town is located, not the town Jackson. The town also plays host to celebrities like Harrison Ford, Sandra Bullock, Vice President Dick Cheney and Tiger Woods who maintain part-time residences in and around the town of Jackson. The town has a strong local economy primarily due to tourism and is high-lighted with upscale shopping and restaurants. While we were there, we stayed at The Alpine House and found it very comfortable and convenient. A very good restaurant nearby is Nani’s for Italian food.

The Jackson Hole Ski Resort is located north of Jackson Hole in a small town called Teton Village. Several lakes lie along the base of the Teton range; among them is large Jackson Lake. The Grand Teton, the tallest mountain in the range is 13,772 feet above sea level and towers over Jenny Lake at its base. At Jenny Lake, we hiked up to Inspiration Point and lunched at Jenny Lake Lodge.

Devils Tower

Devils Tower is a monolithic igneous intrusion or a volcanic neck located near Sundance, Wyoming. Sundance is the gateway to the Devils Tower and home of the Sundance Kid. The Devils Tower rises 1267 feet above the surrounding terrain and the summit is 5,112 feet above sea level. It was declared a US National Monument in 1906 by Theodore Roosevelt. It is also a prime rock climbing site with about 1 % of the 400,000 anuual visitors attempting the climb.

Wyoming Photo Gallery

Click on the photo to view larger