Casper, WY

Note to self: The "State Bird" of Wyoming is the RATTLESNAKE. (juxtaposition ROCKS).

"If you come into contact with one while hiking the trails...DO NOT spook it!"...(great advice from the lady in the State of Wyoming Department of Land Management Booth at the fair.) :)

Walking through the hills and canyons here has been my favorite thing to do in Casper, WY.

This is truly a sportsman's paradise...hunting, fishing, hiking, biking...all right out your front door.

The folks here in Casper have been wonderful ambassadors of their state. Friendly, "Salt of the Earth" people who just want to do their own thing without any outside interference...my kind of folks.

Casper is the second largest city in Wyoming...at 50,000 in population.

Again, my kind of place...They LOVE people here...they just don't like NEIGHBORS. :)

The majesty of nature never, ever, ceases to amaze me. I can sit on top of a bluff here and just stare for a half hour at the scenery. Sort of ilke Nebraska, only they have mountains, lakes, rivers and streams. (Sarcasm intended). No disrespect intended to my home state, we have just never been known for our topography.


Which reminds me of a family trip to Colorado.

We were in Breckenridge in the summer and we took the chair lift to the top of the mountain.

My son Brett (who was 5 or 6 at the time) and I were sitting there at the top of that mountain looking out at the breathtaking view of the Continental Divide, when he said:

"Dad, how can anybody look at something like this...and say there isn't a God?"

I just hugged him so he wouldn't see me crying.

Out of mouths of babes....

Photograph by Robert Swetz 2011

Vegas Bob has come across some very strange things in his day, from ghosts to UFOs & Aliens. But when I first saw the silhouette of this Dinosaur I grabbed my camera as fast as I could.

From a distance I thought maybe it was a cow or a buffalo but is wasn't, just a Dino walking along the fence in Wyoming.

Post & photo by Robert (Vegas Bob) Swetz 6-30-2011