Introduction

In the process of writing Wyoming Road Trip by the Mile Marker, I realized that my perception of Wyoming is much different than that of the general populace. Many people that I have talked to in the past couple of years seem to think that Wyoming is nothing more than prairie, antelope (technically called pronghorns), and wind. Some didn’t even know that Yellowstone National Park was in Wyoming.

So, it is clear that I have several purposes for creating this blog: to create interest by demonstrating the beauty and diversity of the state; to help make my book known to the public; and to generate conversation to improve the book.

Going forward, I will be describing various attractions and experiences from my many weeks of traveling Wyoming while performing research for the book. Before that, though, it is important to realize what makes Wyoming special. For me, the state is wide open, with a total population of just over half a million. By comparison, Denver County, in my home state of Colorado, has a population larger than that, and Colorado has a population of over 5 million. Both states have the Rocky Mountains running through them, but the difference is that in Colorado it is difficult to find mountain locations that are not full of people. Wyoming is different in that there are few expensive resort towns in their mountains, and there is not a huge population base looking for mountain getaways each weekend.

Add onto this Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park, and the historic emigrant trails from the 19th century, and you have a state that merits weeks of exploration if you know where to look.