Places I Remember with Lea Lane
Places I Remember with Lea Lane
Wyoming: Heart Of The American West
Discover Wyoming's stunning natural landscapes and rich culture with Ryan Houck, Executive Director of Cody Yellowstone. From the eruptions of Old Faithful to the vistas of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. We also journey through the Shoshone Forest, and discuss the diverse wildlife that inhabit these lands, including tips on securing lodging and camping spots.
We delve into the folklore, and climbing opportunities of Devil's Tower, learn of treasures at Fossil Butte National Monument, and explore the authentic Western charm of Cody, Casper and Cheyenne. We also talk about the Wind River Indian Reservation, where you can connect with Native American culture through wild horse tours and more. Join us for a heartfelt exploration this and more, uncovering Wyoming's beauty and heritage.
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Podcast host Lea Lane has traveled to over 100 countries, and has written nine books, including the award-winning Places I Remember (Kirkus Reviews star rating, and 'one of the top 100 Indie books of the year'). She has contributed to many guidebooks and has written thousands of travel articles.
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Our award-winning travel podcast, Places I Remember with Lea Lane, has dropped over 100 travel episodes! New podcast episodes drop on the first Tuesday of the month, on Apple, Spotify, and wherever you listen.
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In the early 1800s, after the United States gained territory through the Louisiana Purchase, traders and trappers began to explore the land that now comprises the state of Wyoming. It first became a territory in 1868, and in 1890, congress declared Wyoming the 44th state. Wyoming's nickname, the Equality State, stems from its early advancement of women's rights, some of which were established before its statehood. Wyoming was the first state to allow women to vote and the first to elect a female governor in 1925. Wyoming is the 10th largest state by land area and the least populated, under a million people. Nearly half of Wyoming's land is owned by the federal government and 10 destinations are managed by the National Park Service. We'll be talking about these Wyoming wonders and more with Ryan Houck, executive Director of Cody Yellowstone. Welcome, Ryan, to Places I Remember.
Ryan Houck:Thank you so much for having me, Lea. I appreciate you letting me join you today.
Lea Lane:We're very excited to have you talk about your beautiful state. We have to start with Yellowstone. More than 95% of Yellowstone Park is in Wyoming, a fraction is in Idaho and about 3% in Montana. Tell us a bit about the history of Yellowstone.
Ryan Houck:Yeah, well, of course Yellowstone's claim to fame is it was the first national park, not just in America but in the world. Teddy Roosevelt really helped bring that to fruition and today it still brings in just millions of people. They just ooh and ah over the geysers, the wildlife, the thermal features. It's just spectacular, and as much as we try to talk about it, you really have to see it in person to really experience what we have here. It's like no other national park anywhere.
Lea Lane:Absolutely Tell us why it's called Old Faithful the geyser.
Ryan Houck:Because it's faithful. It shoots off about every 90 minutes. It has gotten slower over the years.
Lea Lane:It used to shoot off.
Ryan Houck:Oh yeah.
Lea Lane:Yeah, it used to shoot off, like all of us, right.
Ryan Houck:It used to shoot off about every 60 minutes and through the years it's now closer to that 90 minute mark, plus or minus 15 minutes. But yeah, it is faithfully going off every 90 minutes, every single day. It's pretty cool. Some people think that it's on some sort of humanized timer or something like that, but it's not. It's just the way that the water boils up and it shoots off, like I said, about every 90 minutes.
Lea Lane:So I've been there and it's quite something to stand there and see it, because you see it in pictures. But it's not the same unless you stand right in front of it or close to it.
Ryan Houck:I wouldn't say right in front of it, yeah no, it is pretty cool and you know somebody who gets to see it every single day. I get a little bit desensitized to it, but it's always so special to watch somebody witness it for the very first time. Their eyes light up. It's obviously the signature feature for the park.
Lea Lane:It's also the largest hot spring in the United States and the Great Canyon that many people don't know is there. It's like the little Grand Canyon, right.
Ryan Houck:Yeah, it's called the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. It's actually my favorite part of the entire park. So of course, you have the upper falls, which is this gorgeous waterfall, but the signature piece is the lower falls. The lower falls is over a 300 foot waterfall, where you can view that from the brink of the waterfall right where it starts to fall down. Or my favorite part, which is at Artist Point, which lets you see it through these gorgeous painted canyon walls all the way into the waterfall. Usually there's mist flying up, so there's like a rainbow at the bottom of it. It's just a spectacular spot and, honestly, when you take pictures of it it looks fake, like you doctored it. No Photoshop needed, it's just gorgeous by itself.
Lea Lane:It is. What wildlife can you expect to see there?
Ryan Houck:You know, Yellowstone, outside of its thermal features and waterfalls and everything else, is really known for its wildlife, so you can see pretty much anything that you would expect to see. So of course, grizzly bears are always super important. We were just in the park the other day saw 11 grizzly bears just in the Mar Valley. Of course the wolves those are always a hot topic. Of course people love to see the wolves. You can see those early in the morning or late at night. But there's moose, there's elk, of course there's the American mammal bison, tons and tons of bison. There's foxes and coyotes, there's bald eagles, golden eagles, cutthroat fish. I mean, you name it, we kind of have it and it's not if you're going to see it, it's just when you're going to see a lot of those things.
Lea Lane:Right, Of course there are rules to stay away from the grizzly bears and so forth, but I've seen the wildlife. It's amazing. And the Shoshone Forest near there is an area filled with wildlife as well, adjacent to the park, correct?
Ryan Houck:Yeah, yeah. So luckily the wildlife doesn't know where the park starts, starts and ends, and so yeah there's tons and tons of wildlife all throughout the National Forest as well, which really borders mostly the East Gate there, which is our side of the gate.
Lea Lane:Right, tell us about lodging and camping in and around the park. S s it hard to get a reservation? I would imagine.
Ryan Houck:Yeah, yeah. So Yellowstone has done very well, especially post-COVID this summer specifically, they're actually already 90% booked up for the year. Trying to get into Old Faithful or Lake or Canyon can get a little bit tough. They do have a newly renovated campground called Fishing Bridge for a very long time, but now they have some 80-foot spots, even more options than ever. So there is lots of camping available, some lodging available, but really if you want to book something within the next month of you being here, you'll probably have to book outside of the park more than likely, I would say so.
Lea Lane:But if you are going to Yellowstone, please consider all of this, because you want to have a nice lodging when you're there as well. Let's talk about another park that's absolutely beautiful, Grand Teton. It's only 31 miles away from Yellowstone. It's linked by John D Rockefeller Jr Memorial Parkway, so it's possible to enjoy both of these parks in one trip. It's nicer to spend more time.
Ryan Houck:Of course, what makes Grand Teton special? Grand Teton has those views that you see in all the postcards and just pictures of the West. Grand Teton National Park has those beautiful pointy mountains with big peaks on it. That largest peak is actually called the Grand. It's just spectacular. What's also nice about Grand Teton National Park is it also has lots of wildlife. So you're going to see grizzly bears there. Better chance of seeing moose, for sure. And then what Grand Teton National Park is known for as well is just the abundance of incredible, world-renowned hiking trails. Such a fun park to hike around and just see some cool parts of the backcountry there.
Lea Lane:Right, You've got Oxbow Bend, you've got Taggart Lake. You have many areas of exceptional beauty all in this one area. Let's go to something that has been in the movies a lot. It's called Devil's Tower. It's the first national monument in the United States. Tell us what that is.
Ryan Houck:Well yeah, Steven Spielberg really put that on the map with 'Close Encounters of a Third Kind." There's no aliens out there, luckily, but Devil's Tower is spectacular. It looks like a petrified volcano. It was the first national monument in the country, So what's cool about Wyoming? We had the first national park, the first national forest, which is Shoney National Forest, and, of course, the first national monument, which is Devil's Tower, which became the first national monument back in 1906. What Devil's Tower is really known for, especially nowadays with it being so trending, are just the dark skies that are out there. The skies are so dark, the stars shine so brightly and there's even some guided tours to experience some of that out there with the park rangers.
Lea Lane:Very special. Yeah, I know that's very popular right now.
Ryan Houck:Very much so.
Lea Lane:Very precious.
Ryan Houck:It is, yeah, and what's cool about Devil's Tower, too, is there's a lot of ties that are Native Americans out there, too, a lot of folklore going on with how it is, and why it is the way that looks like it does They call it Bear Lodge right?
Lea Lane:Why is that?
Ryan Houck:One of the stories out there is-- and it's a long story so I'm going to kind of shorten it down a little bit--but b essentially some of the Native Americans were trying to escape this giant bear and as they did, they prayed and prayed and all of a sudden Devil's Tower started forming, started rising them up in the air and this giant bear was clawing at Devil's Tower and that's why you see these huge grooves inside of the rock is because it was the bear's claws clawing away, trying to get to these Native Americans as they rose up into the air.
Lea Lane:I love it. There are lots of rock climbers. I know that. Is it available to climb?
Ryan Houck:It is, yeah. Yeah, it's usually a bucket list spot. It looks hard, but it isn't one of the hardest things you can do, hat's easy for you to say. Yeah, it's not easy, but it's not the hardest thing. If you're a local, you always wonder what's at the top of Devil's Tower.
Lea Lane:I always get jealous of those climbers that can go up there.
Ryan Houck:Well, at the top it's just some grass, honestly some grass. I've even heard of some snakes being up there. How they got up there, I have no clue. Yeah, it's just like a grassy plains up there.
Lea Lane:I think I'll stay at the bottom and look at it that doesn't sound like it's worth it to me, but I think for a rock climber it's probably great.
Ryan Houck:It's cool. Yeah, definitely one of those bucket list destinations for climbers.
Lea Lane:Well, I love finding fossil sites and I've been all around the world doing it, and one of the very best in the world is in Wyoming Fossil Butte National Monument. It's 15 miles west of Kemmerer, Wyoming. I know Wyoming even has a state dinosaur, the Triceratops, which was chosen in 1994, lived all around this large freshwater lake in the area, and so it's world renowned. Can anyone dig there, or is it just to look at?
Ryan Houck:Yeah, so Fossil Butte actually does have public digs. You can't keep any of the fossils that you dig up there, but if you do find some, they allow you to take pictures with it and do what you want to do, but you do eventually have to give it back. Wyoming as a whole actually has tons and tons of complete skeleton fossils all over the state. Actually, a lot of the big T-Rexes and Triceratops and complete skeletons that you see in Smithsonian affiliate museums. ypically a lot of those have come from Wyoming or Utah or Colorado. They're all from this area. What makes Fossil Butte so incredible, though? It's actually based on a 50 million year old lake bed, so there's tons and tons of fossils there, and more than likely you will find some.
Lea Lane:Yeah, two million year old fossils.
Ryan Houck:Yes.
Lea Lane:And we're not talking about the tourists. Ok, now, besides the beauty, which is obvious, let's talk about a few of the cities. In Wyoming, Cody, I know, is your home, which is one of the top summer travel destinations in the United States, Tell us what makes it special and tell us about its namesake, Buffalo Bill Cody.
Ryan Houck:Of course. Yeah, you can't talk about Cody without talking about Buffalo Bill Cody. Our town lets you know that by the many statues we have of him everywhere.
Lea Lane:What was he like? He was a character I know.
Ryan Houck:For back in the day he was a taller guy, just a stature, already brought a presence. But yeah, at a certain point in time he was actually the most famous man in the world-- - and he truly, truly was. Yeah, he brought in many famous people right here to Cody to just showcase Yellowstone and his town that he loved so much that he named after himself. But yeah, Buffalo Bill really was a forward-thinking guy. Earlier he talked about B being the equality state. He really fought for women's rights. He also fought to have better relationships with the Native Americans in the area. We're proud even today to call him the namesake of Cody. So beyond Buffalo Bill, what Cody is today, I will say what we're really known for are just our authentic Western experiences and yes, we are a tourist town, but the experiences are not touristy, they are truly immersive Western experiences.
Ryan Houck:Such as we have 14 guests in dude ranches. You can really experience that Western lifestyle. We have the only place in the world that has a rodeo that happens every single night.
Ryan Houck:And this is not (every night? every single night, and we're not talking just a buck a bull or a bronc. This is every event every single night all the way from June 1st through the end of August. When people think of the West, they typically think of firearms as well. So we have a place called the Cody Firearms Experience that lets you actually choose from 70 different period correct guns that you can shoot yourself. So you walk in. It looks just like a museum. The only difference is you can take those guns off the wall and shoot them. So that could be a flintlock rifle, that could be a Colt 45 like John Wayne used to have, and then all the way to a Gatling gun, the one that you get to kind of crank . (Do you have to have a license to do it.
Ryan Houck:Not at all. If you've never even seen a gun all the way to Expert Marksman, you can go in there and you have a great time. Our number one attraction, though, that we have is called the Buffalo Bill Center of the West. That is, five Smithsonian affiliate museums all under one roof, and it truly is five full size museums. So we have the Draper Natural History Museum, which is all about the greater Yellowstone ecology. You have the Whitney Western Art Museum, which features the largest collection of Western art west of the Mississippi. You have the Indian Plains Museums, obviously talking about all the Native Americans that were in our area well before the settlers came over to this area. You have the Buffalo Bill Museum, aptly named after our town founder Buffalo Bill, and then you have the Cody Firearms Museum, which is the largest and most diverse collection of firearms in the world, actually right here in Cody Wyoming.
Lea Lane:So pretty spectacular, pretty spectacular, definitely a place to spend a few days if you're going to Yellowstone, without question Now, Cheyenne is Wyoming's capital. What are a few places travelers should seek out there?
Ryan Houck:You know one of the hot spots over there and it is a little touristy. You have to do it. It's the Terry Bison Ranch. When you're in Cody or you're in Yellowstone, you don't want to 'pet the fluffy cow,' that's what we always say. Right, you don't want to get close to those bison. But when you're at Terry Bison Ranch you actually can feed the bison there. You take a little train and it takes you through their ranch and you can actually give them pellets. They also have a wide array of other animals that you're around. There's some food options over there. But yeah, Terry Bison Ranch is really cool. In late July you have to go to Cheyenne Frontier Days. They call them the daddy of them all. It's one of the greatest outdoor rodeos in the country. Huge names that play music out there. The rodeo happens every single day. It truly is the best of the best.
Lea Lane:Sounds great. There's also a beautiful botanical garden which has a labyrinth in it, which is very peaceful, and of course you can visit the historic governor's mansion and the Capitol building. They're built in the 19th century and well worth looking at, and it's a little bit of a change from the Wild West, You know stately, let's say.
Ryan Houck:It is, yeah, and our Capitol actually just went through a huge renovation and is worth a stop all to its own. It's absolutely gorgeous.
Lea Lane:One thing I like. You have a collection of stagecoaches at the Old West Museum. They're wonderful pieces of Americana from the 19th century.
Ryan Houck:Yeah, exactly.
Lea Lane:Now Casper is in central Wyoming on the North Platte River. It's the second most populous city in the state. What would we want to see there?
Ryan Houck:Yeah, it's funny, you talk about the second most populated city. I think it's about 60,000 now.
Lea Lane:Right, I didn't want to say that. Not very crowded.
Ryan Houck:No, no, it's cool. So Casper is known for two main things. First of all, world-class trout fishing. That North Platte River is absolutely stockpiled full of massive rainbow trout rainbow and browns I guess. But y it's , a fly fisherman's paradise over there and you can really go any way from where the lakes really start, which is a lake called Alcova, all the way through the middle of town in Casper, all the way to the next lake, which is over in Glendale. So we're talking miles and miles of world-class trout fishing. And it's dammed at certain portions all the way through. So you can always count on good water levels, you can always count on just nice easy flows. So you can just put a drift boat in there actually. So no motor or anything like that, you put a drift boat in there and you can count on some amazing trout. Another thing that Casper is really known for on the historical side of things is that's where all the pioneering trails converge, is right there in Casper, Wyoming. So you have the Mormon Trail, you have the California Trail, you have the Pony Express.
Lea Lane:Tell us about the Pony Express. I've heard that that was just a fluke. It wasn't a real thing. Is that true? Was that?
Ryan Houck:a.
Lea Lane:Buffalo Bill thing.
Ryan Houck:No, no, it was real Buffalo. It's funny you mentioned Buffalo Bill. He was actually one of the riders for Pony Express.
Lea Lane:Yeah, I know.
Ryan Houck:Yeah, so no, the Pony Express was a real thing. It was a real thing Talking about Casper. What's cool about all the trails converging there is? There's two ways you can experience that. First is the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center. So it's not just a museum, it's an interpretive center. It's there to touch, feel, see, do. There's some really cool experiences that you can have. The other way is actually with a gentleman by the name of Morris Carter. He runs a company called Historic Trails West where he takes you out on a real Conestoga Wagon pulled by horseback, will take you out on these trails. If you do one of his longer trail experiences, he'll end it with a dutch Dutch oven cookout right there on the North Platte River, and they'll dress in period correct clothing for you and everything else.
Lea Lane:Lots of beans, right.
Ryan Houck:Exactly right, yep. Chuck wagon, yeah. So he does a great job for everybody. Scenery out there is also great Is there any way.
Lea Lane:You can stay overnight, have lodging in any of these wagons or a tour group that provides that.
Ryan Houck:No glamping options over there in Casper or Cheyenne. Here in Cody we do have some glamping options where you can actually stay in. Either teepees or sheep wagons are two different options for you.
Lea Lane:Right, I do want to talk about one upscale town that skiers know about. It's Jackson. Wyoming's Jackson Hole Valley is the gateway to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. It's one of the world's most challenging ski areas. It's very beautiful. I like the town square, which features arches made of shed antlers from the nearby National Elk Refuge. Really different and there's a National Museum of Wildlife Art that has works by Andy Warhol and Georgia O'Keeffe. And even if you don't ski, you can. whitewater raft. Fall is a beautiful time, especially because it isn't so crowded and relatively comfortable. Wyoming has been home to many Native American tribes, including the Cheyenne, the Crow, Sioux and Ute tribes. Today, both the Eastern Shoshone and the Northern Arapaho live on Wyoming's Wind River Indian Reservation with over 2.2 million acres, it's in the central part of the state. Can you visit a reservation and partake in powwows and that sort of thing.
Ryan Houck:Yeah, actually where I'm headed. Even this weekend over down in Lander, you can do some wild horse tours down there on the reservation that is run by the Native American tribe. Absolutely spectacular way to learn about their culture. Also, get around some wildlife. They are truly wild horses. You're not hand feeding them or anything like that. That's one of the reservations that is more public facing and something that you can book yourself.
Lea Lane:Yeah, we always like to promote natural travel and heritage travel. It's a way to learn about your country and to appreciate the heritage. Well, Ryan, the name of the podcast is Places I Remember. Would you please share a special Wyoming memory?
Ryan Houck:You know, when you're born and raised in Wyoming, one of the main things that you're always enjoying is the outdoors, and one of the best things to do outdoors, I always say, is fishing. For a number of years I actually moved away from Wyoming and when I came back, one of the first things I did it was a big family friends trip back in the Bighorns, which is just outside of Cody. So there I am, I'm fly fishing on one of the streams in the Bighorn Mountains and sure enough, I see a big old mama moose pop out of the trees right there, and right next to her is her little baby moose. And then to my left I see a porcupine kind of come out of the bushes. And then to my left I see a porcupine kind of come out of the bushes, and then to my right I see a big old herd of deer right next to me and I'm just thinking as I'm fishing, I'm thinking, holy cow, this is the most Wyoming thing I have ever seen in my life.
Ryan Houck:I couldn't even make this up Surrounded by the natural beauty of the bighorns, tons of wildlife all around me, it was just such a cool thing. I just felt like, you know, I'm back home again, this is where I'm meant to be, and it just was fantastic with my little boy right behind me, fishing too, and it was just such a cool memory that I'll always have once again.
Lea Lane:Yeah, he probably will remember it as well.
Ryan Houck:He will yeah, and moose? Yes. Moose can be mean. They can be meaner than grizzly bears sometimes, but there was a safe distance away and it was just such a cool moment that just felt very Wyoming to me.
Lea Lane:Well, thank you, Ryan Houck, Executive Director of Cody Yellowstone, for sharing many of the natural delights and the fascinating history of your home state, your beautiful home state of Wyoming.
Ryan Houck:Thank you so much for having me.
