Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Ranchers, Bandits and the Beginnings of a WY town...

Or "what we learned about Thermopolis, WY."

Now, if I wrote here everything we saw and learned about today while visiting Thermopolis' Historical Museum, it would just take up too much space here....So I'm going to give you the high-lights...The town itself was born out of buying land from the Indians and Ranchers/settlers who homesteaded the area....part of town is still Indian Reservation..(the hot springs)....and it all took place in the late 1800s.....The town is still evolving...mostly ranches, and farming....alot of the residents work the oil fields of WY, ND, SD, and MT.....commuting every 2 weeks or so over, at times, hundreds of miles from home, here, to where the "oil fields" are.....But let's start at the beginning....

To find this interesting info, a trip to the Museum here is a must....







Here are some of the things settlers brought with them or had delivered to their new homes here...










Ranchers and Cowboys....








Wyoming is not only noted for being the 1st state to allow women to vote, but also is noted to have had the only woman hung for Cattle Rustling. 







Sorry, this is blurry, but I think if you can enlarge it you can read it...

Outlaws "hid out" around here, too..






The most "Infamous" ones were Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid...who hung out at the "Hole In The Wall Saloon" which just happened to be in Thermopolis, WY.....The museum has the original bar with alot of memorabilia of them.....Had Ernie "to belly up " to the bar in one of the following photos...











The museum has alot of Indian artifacts and displays....












And mock-ups of stores, and businesses of the town....
















Outside there was a complete 1 room school house...








And a very interesting item about taking care of neighbors during the depression...








A 4-legged visitor in the yard and how Thermopolis was name and summary....








Now I have posted about half of the photos I took there today....There's so much more for you to see and experience in this town of 3009 souls....If you have time, do visit Thermopolis, WY....

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Did You Know?? Dinosaur Museum in Thermopolis,WY

My sister advised us that we needed to take time to visit the museums here in Thermopolis....So Tuesday, we drove to town and found The Dinosaur Museum.  Well, let me tell you, the Natural History Museum in DC has nothing on this "Gem" and we both agree that it maybe even better....Will post a few photos in a little bit, but first, want to add that there is a Geological Dig located close to town that is actively digging up dinosaur bones and other interesting things.....the museum offers a bus tour to the dig for an additional charge, but being that the temp. was in the low 90s, we skipped that and took our time in the A/C museum.....Now I took over 50 photos, but won't bore you with all of them....Hope you enjoy the tour....If you ever get to this part of Wyoming, this is a "must see"....








Now, not all the displays are of items found here in Wyoming, other museums have loaned or donated some, but there are some from the local digs....sorry, but I can't remember which ones...oh, well, enjoy anyway....