For release: August 10, 2009
Contacts: Chuck Coon, 307-777-2831, chuck.coon@visitwyo.gov
Lori Hogan, 307-777-2889, lori.hogan@visitwyo.gov

Touring Wyoming from August sun to October moon can bring many pleasant surprises and some for little or no cost. When you find an open weekend or a couple of weekdays free up, here are seven options to consider.

1. Hot Springs State Park, Thermopolis – Central Wyoming
Terraces colored by hot water from mineral hot springs.  More than six miles of fully-accessible trails. A free, therapeutic, bathhouse with water maintained at 104 degrees. Open year-round. Fishing, picnicking and home locale of the state bison herd.  Beginning in late fall the park bison are given a daily supplement (8:30 a.m.) - great opportunity for visitors to get close-up views. No entrance fee and day-use only.  Contact: PH: (307) 864-2176. http://wyoparks.state.wy.us/

2. Creature Features – Statewide
Wild horse herds range near Rock Springs (southwest); near Baggs (south-central); between Cody and Greybull (northwest). The Pryor Mountain herd near Lovell, WY at the border with Montana uniquely ties to the bloodlines of Colonial Spanish/American mustangs. There is a new visitor center open for a complete look at the heritage of this herd. Contact: www.pryormustangs.org. For information on a well-marked, and interpreted, route north of Rock Springs/Green River (Pilot Butte Wild Horse Scenic Loop Tour) go here: www.tourwyoming.com  - click on the horse & rider. 

As we near the fall season elk bugles can be heard echoing across the hills and valleys of the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem. Wildlife viewing tours based out of Yellowstone and nearby Grand Teton National Park provide insight and add volumes to the experience. Some choices include:  wildlife expeditions via Teton Science School: www.tetonscience.org; and the lodging and learning programs of Yellowstone Association Institute/Xanterra Parks & Resorts: www.yellowstoneassociation.org/institute and www.TravelYellowstone.com 

3.  Water Oases – Eastern and north-central Wyoming
With the summer camping crowd dissipating a visit to Ayres Natural Bridge west of Douglas, WY a few miles off Interstate 25 is a welcome departure from the highway’s white lines. Water flows quietly under the 30 foot high, 50 feet wide red rock arch. One of just a few known natural bridges in the world.  A fine location for relaxing, a picnic or camping. Operated as a county park.  Camping allowed until the end of October. Free day-use and camping is donation only - no set fee and 28-foot limit. No pets allowed. Gate open until 8 pm. Contact phone: 307.358.3532

Medicine Lodge State Archeological Site is one of those “who’d a thunk?” spots that pops up on rare occasions and is truly off the beaten path. The Indian petroglyphs and pictographs provide Medicine Lodge’s character but it is the creek water that is most soothing. Splash around with the grandkids and enjoy a day of relaxation in a surprisingly scenic location near Hyattville, WY. Excellent trout fishing and over 100 species of birds make the Medicine Lodge area home. No day-use fee. Overnight camping: $17. Contact phone: 307.469.2234 http://wyoparks.state.wy.us/

4. Intermittent (Periodic) Spring, Afton – western Wyoming
The intermitting nature of this wonder occurs for only a brief period (late summer and fall) of the year but is like clockwork every fifteen minutes. The heavy flow, down a moss-covered rocky bank, turns to a trickle and then spurts back again befitting its nickname –“the spring that breathes” – perfectly. The site is a short, easily manageable, hike from a parking area along the breathtakingly beautiful Swift Creek in a part of Wyoming known as Star Valley.  Intermittent Springs is only a 5-to-10 minute drive east of the town of Afton. Good hiking shoes recommended. Free.

5. Pioneer Passages – A wide swath across central and southwestern Wyoming
Favorites that are free-of-charge include Register Cliff, Oregon Trail Ruts, and Independence Rock State Historic Site which is an easy climb. Cost is minimal at the Mormon Handcart Visitors’ Center where you can actually pull your own handcart. Two well-interpreted forts with modest entrance fees are Fort Laramie National Historic Site and Fort Bridger State Historic Site. A good place to start – National Historic Trails Interpretive Center, Casper.  More information: Tour the Trails and: Mormon Handcart Visitors' Center

A feature-length film on pioneer trail life will premier August 22 at the Wyoming Film Festival in Saratoga. In Pursuit of a Dream places young people with little or no rural life skills in settings where they must learn to work together to make their way westward without a cell phone to text or receive messages. The cast was picked from calls done in Denver, Boston and southern California. You can follow the extensive work effort all across Wyoming and beyond by checking writer Candy Moulton’s personal accounts here: In Pursuit of a Dream . For information about the film festival which will include a talk and panel discussion featuring screenwriter Kirk Ellis (John Adams, Into the West) go to this site: www.wyomingfilmfestival.org  Tickets: call 307.326.7822, ext 236 – weekdays, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., starting August 10. 

6. Fossilized Fun, Rock Springs & Kemmerer – Southwest Wyoming
Dr. Charlie Love has spent a lifetime seeking out the truths of past civilizations whether ancient peoples, plants or animals. His devotion to sharing with others led to a campaign raising money for exhibiting dinosaur casts, fossilized fish and plants that made the Rock Springs area their home millions of years ago. Take the free indoor tour at Western Wyoming Community College – exit Interstate 80 at College Drive in Rock Springs. The WWCC Natural History Museum is open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Special tours can be arranged by calling 303.382.1666. Main phone is: 307-382-1600.

Kemmerer (or “kemurr” in the local vernacular) calls itself the “fossil fish capital of the world” and the reasoning is sound.  While looking at it today in high-desert form may strain the imagination, the area was once a gigantic lake where millions of fish, crocs, turtles and tropical plant life abounded. Well, perhaps the turtles lumbered as opposed to bounding.  Fossil Butte National Monument’s eight thousand acres protects a portion of the largest deposit of freshwater fish fossils in the world. There are well-maintained hiking trails and a number of unique displays. Open year-round and no entrance fee. www.nps.gov/fobu

7. Follow the Yellow to Mellow – Scenic fall season drives
The obvious road route for fall color scenes worthy of artist rendering at nearly every turn begins in the Bridger Teton National Forest along Highway 191 south of Jackson through Grand Teton National Park and into Yellowstone. Along with the quaking aspens, wide rivers, canyons, hills, valleys and mountains stay on the watch for elk, moose, bison, coyotes and grizzles. Early morning and again at dusk will bring the best opportunities for wildlife viewing. And the sunrises and sunsets have a tendency to place you in a powerfully uplifting spell.

With four other national forests beckoning the fall trek choices are truly without limit in Wyoming.  A couple of special spots that echo to a yellow-leaved crescendo are the Sinks Canyon & South Pass/Atlantic City region near Lander and Aspen Alley west of Encampment off of Highway 70.

A new Wyoming Road Trip guide features more than 30 pages of superb touring information and cultural background. You can order one free and toll-free from the Wyoming Travel & Tourism office: (800)225.5996