Pamela Nowak, Awarded Author, Shares Wyoming’s Rich Variety

Wyoming brings to mind stunning vistas of high prairie grasslands with wild horses, majestic mountain ranges and spouting geysers.

As a child, I spent many family vacations at Yellowstone National Park waiting with the crowds to see Old Faithful erupt and viewing the Morning Glory Pool and the various “mud pots” with their distinctive sulfuric odors. As an adult, I moved to the state and spent seventeen years there. During that time, I learned the state had a tremendous variety of landscapes, a rich and varied history, and more places to visit and things to do than I had ever imagined.

In the northwestern part of Wyoming are Yellowstone Park and the Grand Tetons. Yellowstone is a study onto itself with thermal and water features, wildlife, and history. I’ve long had a story about the area percolating in the back of my mind. Native Americans inhabited the area for hundreds of years before white trappers explored it in the 1820s and 1830s. Their stories of the fantastic features there were confirmed when the Folsum Party explored the area in the summer of 1869; the Washburn Expedition followed in 1870, publishing widely about their discoveries. To get a real sense of the history and variety of the park, today’s visitors should book a night at the Old Faithful Inn, Lake Yellowstone Hotel, or the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel. Though the geyser basins are not to be missed, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and Yellowstone Falls are also a must. Mammoth Hot Springs offers another must-see with its eerie travertine formations. If you have a chance for a trail ride or a tour on a vintage Yellowstone Bus, take it. Be sure to look for bear, moose, elk, bison, antelope, and bighorn sheep.

 

This corner of the state is also home to the Grand Tetons and Jackson Hole. There is nothing that compares to the majestic rise of the Tetons, the peaks seemingly driven straight up from the ground. The drive through the park offers great views of mountains and lakes and the hiking is well worth it. Jackson Hole, near the town of Jackson, is home to herds of elk. The town itself is a fun venture with a western feel and stagecoach rides, great food, and interesting history. In the summer, raft trips are spectacular.

South of the park areas is a beautiful stretch with quiet cabins in Pinedale, famous ice cream at  the Farson Mercantile, and the rocky areas around Rock Springs. See wild horses, the White Mountain Petroglyphs, and the Flaming Gorge in the southwest. Drink in the history of the Chinese railroad laborers and Jim Bridger’s fort.

 

In the center of the state, visit the hot springs at Thermopolis and see the Wyoming Dinosaur Center, travel the gorgeous Wind River Canyon, and experience the culture of the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho nations at powwows and cultural centers. Fish, camp, and hike. See historic pioneer trails, ghost towns, gold mines, and the gravesites of Chief Washakie and Sacajawea.

 In southeastern Wyoming, the high desert merges into the high plains. In you visit in July, experience Cheyenne’s Frontier Days. Near the must-see Fort Laramie National Historic Site, you can find ruts of the Oregon Trail. Visit Independence Rock north of Rawlins and see the carvings left by pioneers. Spend a night at the Virginian Hotel in Medicine Bow or at the hot springs in Saratoga.

To the northeast is Devil’s Tower with its reach to the sky, the Vore Buffalo Jump, and the pretty town of Sundance. Move west again to find the green valleys around Buffalo and Sheridan at the edge of the Big Horn Basin. Cody sits foot of the eastern entrance to Yellowstone and offers western flavor, the memorable Buffalo Bill Center of the West, and outdoor adventures.

Among everything specifically mentioned are stunning rugged lands, hidden valleys, and history too varied to fit into this blog. In seventeen years there, I was unable to see it all. Wyoming is a state of great variety that will lure you in and never let go. See https://www.travelwyoming.com/ for a deeper glimpse.

Though I have still to complete my Wyoming-set stories (I think there are about five or six ideas rattling in my brain), I would like to share a copy of one of my other novels with one of you. Just leave a comment with your contact information to be eligible for a digital copy of CHANCES (WILLA Literary Award finalist, HOLT Medallion winner, and Booklist Top 10 Romance) which was written during my time in Wyoming.

Find me on my website/blog and Facebook at: www.pamelanowak.com or www.facebook.com/pamela.nowak.142.

You can find my books on Amazon.com Author Page- Pamela Nowak  or at your local bookstores.

(all info provided by author)