Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Go West Old Man – A Drive West Of Cheyenne, WY – 2012

The owner of the campground suggested some places to visit, one of which was Veedauwoo – an area of unusual rock formations for viewing and climbing – it’s in a National Forest about 15 miles east of Laramie and about 1.4 billion years old.  I don’t know about the climbing but they were pretty and I can’t see how some of them stay put.

 They look a lot bigger when Bev stands under one that has fallen - the dogs enjoyed the exercise.
The highlight of the trip was discovering these three guys as we were ready to leave – I’d just seen the antler tops down over the hill and since they were not moving I assumed it was a statue or something.  But I decided I’d better get out of the car and have a look and sure glad I did.

They were within 30 feet of a campsite and when Bev went to look at them, the guy had gotten out of the tent and we got to see one of the moose charge him – fortunately he could duck behind a nearby tree.  I thought moose only lived in boggy areas.

This is the first time I’ve had to cross a cattle grate on an interstate ramp.

Since we were so close, we decided to drive over to Laramie which was at the bottom of a five mile grade with an elevation drop from 8650’ to 7200’ and a temperature rise of 9*.  We drove around town a little and thru the University of Wyoming - it was overcast and dreary so our shots aren’t too great. 

This is the Ivinson Mansion  and it is one off Laramie’s major historic gems, completed in 1893, at a cost of approximately $40,000, it was the finest home in Laramie.

The university buildings are built predominately from two types of sandstone mimicking the original building from 1886.

Finally on the way back, we were in the right place to get some shots of these guys heading east into Cheyenne (I’m a railfan) – it’s a double track and they were both going in the same direction.  The second one had one lead and one pusher locomotive.  Sorry about the lens smudge.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry


9/11/12 event date

11 comments:

  1. I would die of fright if I was charged by a moose. Don't let anything happen to your girls Larry.

    Those are some rock formations. Hard to imagine something being a billion years old. Makes you wonder how they know.
    Sam

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  2. I've been to Veedauwoo.. it definitely is a sight!

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  3. Isn't it just fabulous to see moose! And they're ornery. They'll charge at the drop of a hat. The Moose in Rocky Mountain National Park are all on the west side. They claim to have 7 on the east side so when we're in Estes Park, I'm always looking for them.

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  4. Awesome moose and part of the country too!

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  5. I cannot imagine the shock of exiting my tent to find a moose headed my direction! Yikes!

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  6. Wow, I would totally love this trip!

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  7. I took the kids to Veedauwoo last year; it was fun. (That was the place with the sign banning overnight stays nailed up on the outhouse.) The cattle grates are there because people can pay the NPS to graze their cattle there for the season, although I doubt that many do. Did you find any snow there, or was it all gone by then? It was pretty freaky walking through 6" deep snow in mid-May, but then, the University does say that it's a tradition that it snows on graduation day.

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  8. Larry, some nifty country you've been cruising through. Love those rock formations. I'm surprised to see Moose that far 'south'. I've seen them in similar areas in Montana and in Yellowstone. They do prefer marshy areas... Travel Safely and Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

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  9. Glad you got see some wild life such as the buffalo in the other post and the elk in this post. They are stunning! I love all of this so much!

    On to your next destination post!

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  10. Nope, these look more like moose than elk . . . but they're related somehow! LOL!

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  11. Bev "rocks" ;) :) :p

    I've never seen a moose in real life, that must have been so cool!

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