Wyoming

Mt. Moran

Seen from Moose, Wyoming, Mt. Moran is a lonely pillar, covered with an early coat of snow on this late fall day. The aspen still hold their fall colors, but it is clear that they cannot hold on much longer - winter will have it's way. Drifting snow has already started to bury the fences, a process that will continue until they disappear altogether until the following spring.

Winter Hillside

Winter in Bondurant, Wyoming means an average snowfall of 240 inches, which slowly settles into a dense, hard-packed sheet, four feet thick, that will support a wagon and team by late spring. In the early days ranchers drove their teams across the snow to an occasional party to relieve the boredom of the long winter months. The only caveat - return home in the early hours, before the morning sun began to soften the snow pack.

1936 Chevrolet

Four feet of snow bury this antique car, which sits parked in front of a turn-of-the-century board shed in Bondurant, Wyoming. Despite thirty-below weather, this sturdy vehicle was still operable, with a few minutes of shoveling to clear the hood and driver's side door, by inserting a fully-charged battery, pulling out the choke on the dashboard, and then inserting the hand crank through the front grill, turning the crank through a dozen turns, and waiting for that muffled, spasmodic choking sound that signaled the engine firing up again. I used this car, which, custom-made for the United States Forest Service, had a one yard square pickup bed and tailgate mounted where the trunk should be, to carry trash to the back of the property for disposal.

Railroad Crossing

Driving west from Laramie, Wyoming, toward the town of Centennial which lies nestled in the foothills of the Snowy Range, the traveler passes rail crossing signs like this one, the only visible "trees" to break the flat monotony of miles of grassland and sagebrush prairies. One of many railroad crossings along the Union Pacific tracks that stretch from Omaha all the way to the west coast, this automated crossing sign warns the occasional vehicle with blinking lights and a loud bell whenever a train approaches.

Orin Robinson Ranch II

When winter arrives in the basin of Bondurant, Wyoming sometime in November, it settles in for a long time. Not until the following April or May will the deep snow finally disappear. Four feet on the level is the norm, and "cabin fever" is to be expected.

Ranch, South Park, Jackson, Wyoming

Leaving Jackson, Wyoming toward the Hoback Junction a few miles away, you drive past scenic South Park, once the home of cattle ranches nestled in groves of cottonwood trees along the Snake River. On a cold winter's day, the bare branches are coated with ice, which reflects the early hues of a winter's dawn.

Veedauwoo

The landscape near Veedauwoo campground east of Laramie, Wyoming, contains unusual rock formations and repeating ridges that make for magical images. This near-sunset view focuses on a lone tree struggling to survive in its rocky surroundings

Orin Robinson Ranch, Bondurant, Wyoming

Buried deep in winter snows, this old cattle ranch weathers another day of thirty-below bone-chilling cold and waits for the warmth of Spring to bring life back into this high mountain valley.

Wyoming: Kirk Ramsey Watercolors
Copyright © 2010 Kirk S. Ramsey
Last modified: March 11, 2016