Holy crap Sluice, yes I can relate! Apparently I've told that story on here. Same exact deal for sure.

That stretch from Cheyenne to Casper has got to be the most open and desolate country I've ever seen.

+oM

Another nice tour!
Love the pic of the anticrepuscular rays. One of the best I've seen. You ought to send it to Astronomy Picture of the Day.
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
Mike

Fantastic photos. The rays are spectacular and I agree with Mike, send it that photo so lots of people can enjoy it.
Cher

Great photos and an educational tour for a Brit.

Last pic shouted APOD to me as well.

Thanks +oM, Mike, Cher and severnside!

The Laramie mountains extend roughly southeast of Caspar.
Here is a screen shot with zone 4a overlay, excerpted from plantmaps.
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Sunrise at Wheatland, WY.
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On the way to the mountains, there was a blue spruce with interesting form and needle pattern.
Picea pungens
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Picea pungens foliage
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From Wheatland, we headed due west. There are several farms in this area, many with extensive conifer windbreaks.
Laramie mountain range, the snowclouds moving in
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Laramie range
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As we climbed in elevation, the Pinus ponderosa became more abundant
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Pinus ponderosa
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Along with a few Juniperus scopulorum
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Fantastic rock formations along this gorge
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Pinus ponderosa broom 'Thing One'
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Pinus ponderosa broom 'Thing One'
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Another pinus ponderosa broom, 'Thing Two'
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Pinus ponderosa 'Thing Two' (inspired by Cat in the Hat)
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The snow began to accumulate at higher elevations. And it got worse before it got better.
We drove for about two hours along this road, during which time we saw two other vehicles.
Note to self: this is a 'Major Connector' according to the Wyoming map.
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Ponderosa pines in the heart of the Laramie Range
Medicine Bow - Routt National Forests
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We spotted a few buffalo amongst the ponderosa
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Bison bison
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And a golden eagle
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Aquila chrysaetos
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And a couple more pics of the juniper hedge.
Juniperus scopulorum 'Wichita Blue'
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As viewed from across the highway and frontage roads.
Juniper hedge
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That has got to be a blast getting out there and exploring mother nature.

Fantastic photos as usual. It sure is a PITA to download, paste and label all the pics but it sure pays off.

Stunning and fascinating.
I always enjoy the weather-related photos too taken in the USA. I love the wide open skies.
Thanks.
Richard

Couldn't agree more! You seem to seek out those places where one wouldn't want to sleep outside at night! T.

Great tour - thanks!!!

I just wow through your threads.

And I think it's great you and (your family) do these weekend getaways. A lot of families no-longer do that.

Thank ya Sluice.

Dax
P.s. One of my goals is to hunt for gold and gems. That would be my ultimate vacation. How bout' you sluice, know anything?

I love the tours you take us on, sluice! That juniper hedge is unusual. The critter pics are great. I'm glad you didn't run out of gas, it looked chilly.

Was the nursery on Prospect? My daughter's at CSU and I'm always on the hunt for places to spend money I don't have! ;0)

Nate, thank you for sharing the photos of your weekend get-a-way. You sure do take some beautiful photographs. I love seeing the landscape photos from various states.

Did you take any scion wood from those brooms?

Glad you enjoyed, Whaas, Richard, T, rcsmith, severnside, Dax, Barb, and Ladylotus!

Barb, you're in luck, the place in Ft. Collins actually borders the campus, down along the southwest side.
They have some gardens with Plant Select cultivars and other interesting stuff!
I'm not sure if it's retail though, it seemed to be for demonstration.

Ladylotus, yep, cuttings were collected!

Dax, there's a lot of mining going on out here. Below is a link to what some people are doing.

Here is a link that might be useful: prospecting

Nate, always a grand adventure in your Threads!

Josh

Real nice pictures Nate...as usual.

My wife and I went diagonally down across Wyoming last summer from Grand Teton National Park via Lander on down to Steamboat Springs, Co. We went back up that way too.
Beautiful state, but some stretches are pretty bleak, were it not for the Antelope.
Mike

Thanks Josh and Mike!

Since it's Dr. Seuss's birthday today, I wanted to make a brief note on the broom names:

Thing 2 would like to clarify that just because he wears the number 2 does not imply in any way that he's inferior to Thing 1.

He says you may feel free to call him Thing A if you like. He will also accept Super Thing, Thing King, Kid Dynamite, Chocolate Thun-da or Ben.

Thing 1 says he's Thing 1 for a reason and some people should just get used to it. It's a Thing thing, you wouldn't understand.

Enjoy!

Here is a link that might be useful: things