Another Day in Wyoming
📍 Bessemer Bend to Casper, WY
Red Butte / Bessemer Bend
First stop: one of the places where settlers forded the Platte River for the last time. Looking east, we could see the red butte it’s named for.
After this point, the emigrants would never be out of sight of mountains — beautiful landscapes and forbidding. These mountains were higher than any they had seen before.
Bessemer’s founders went on to hold positions of distinction in the petroleum industry, government, and ranching. The town was named after Sir Henry Bessemer — the man who created the process that rendered steel from pig iron.
An Unexpected Encounter: The Pony Express Reenactment
We headed off down County Road 308/Bessemer Bend Road to 319 to Oregon Trail Road, looking for a sign marking the swales where wagon wheels had worn into the earth. What we found was far more interesting.
At the T in the road we encountered two women on horseback. They were walking the horses along the road to get them used to the surface — they were about to take part in a reenactment of the first Pony Express rider. This reenactment travels east to west this year (it alternates directions annually). The date doesn’t match the original run; instead it’s timed around the full moon so riders can travel at night with natural light and less traffic.
The video
IMG_6115.MOVcaptured the riders explaining the relay — check the National Pony Express Association for real-time tracking and the full story.
We also got a tip from the riders: we didn’t have to retrace the 5–7 miles of gravel road we’d just driven. On the shortcut route we spotted some pronghorn (antelope?). Our new acquaintances told us it was calving season — the dense brush was likely hiding the newborns.
Poison Spider School
Driving the back way into Casper, we passed this school. A bit blurry, but the name says it all.
Crude Oil Country
We saw quite a few of these along the drive — crude oil holding tanks. Keith noted they feed into the pipeline and get distributed south to Texas and refineries. Bright yellow poles with red stripes marked the pipeline’s path across the fields.
A Random Historical Marker
We’re getting pretty good at spotting these. Keith saw this one and made the turn.
Casper, Wyoming
The city of Casper has a lot of huge bronze statues.
A little contribution to the local economy was made here — thanks, Sharri!
Down the street we spotted this lovely mural painted on the side of an electrical box.
Lou Taubert Ranch Outfitters
Next stop: a massive western wear store downtown.
We didn’t buy any boots, but you could find the right pair here — men, women, children. No Shelley, I did not buy Sloane a pair. (But I did want to!)
Backwards Distillery
After all that shopping, we were thirsty. We stopped for a non-alcoholic beverage at Backwards Distillery — I was particularly interested in the gin, so I tried a couple. And bought a couple. 😁
Doug and I got the Wagon Band. Very good!
Dinner: Wyoming Ale Works
Keith had a bison burger. I had duck gumbo. When in Wyoming….
“At the end of the day may your boots be dirty, your hair messy, and your eyes sparkly.”
— seen on a card at Lou Taubert’s