Douglals, WY - Ayres Natural Bridge

Our last morning in Douglas we head 15 miles to Ayres Natural Bridge one of Wyoming's first Tourist Attractions

We pass the Pony Express

 Uh Oh - Tucson will have to wait in the truck

 We go from dry rolling plains to a winding road down into lush green

 Park in the shade of the red cliffs

 A glimpse of the Natural Bridge from the man made bridge

It is a well maintained and cute county park.  There are fairy doors spread about

 The 150 acre park sits along LaPrele creek

 with several picnic pavillions all with grills and smokers

 The bridge is

 It is 30 feet high and 50 feet long

 According to Indian Legend, a young brave was struck by lightning and killed while hunting in this canyon.  It was believed that an evil spirit lived below the bridge.  White settlers learned this and used this area to protect themselves from Indian attacks.  Gary should be safe.

 Someone had fun setting up this park.  

Oscar the Grouch is on all the garbage cans.

A short hike up to the top of the bridge

 A view of the old Power House

 Tree stumps become Troll and Fairy lands

 

 and hollow limbs are cottages

 They even had fun with the Playground using real tractors and ATVs

 and a nice touch on the toilets

Definitely worth the trip

Douglas, WY - Wyoming Pioneer Memorial Museum and POW Camp

Finished Laundry so we stop at Jackalope Square.  

Tucson is quick to make friends

 Next stop is the Pioneer Museum

 I figured it would be a small little display but we were pleasantly surprised

It had 7 rooms upstairs and down.

The Pioneer Gallery features history, weapons and Military items

 The Fink Gallery had art, photography, clothing and china from 1850's to 1950's

 The Bar featuring a 1914 Brunswick Backbar from the Labonte Inn

 The Johnson Gallery incuded a major collection of North American Indian Art and artifacts

Including the TeePee from Dances with Wolves

This horse head carved from  basswood was amazing

The Main room downstairs houses period furniture and room displays, tools and a printing press

 A complete Salon but alas no one to cut our hair

 and finally over an hour later we enter the last room

The woman at the desk suggested we go to the POW museum.

We get there 1/2 hour before they close

 Construction of 180 buildings began early in 1942 and the first Italian prisoners began to arrive in August of that year.

You start in the very pink kitchen.

The Officers Club was constructed in the Spring of 1943 and is one of the few remaining buildings - it houses the museum

The interior walls of the club are painted with sixteen large, colorful murals—most of them 6 feet tall-- by three of the Italian prisoners

 It housed a lot of POWs.  After Italy surrendered the Italians were freed and replaced by Germans

 Besides the Murals there was artwork that they left behind

The murals have been identified as copies of western paintings by William Henry Jackson and Charles Russell.

 After the war, Spiegelberger Lumber and Building Company of Laramie dismantled 137 buildings and the rest were sold as surplus inventory.  The Douglas Community Country Club acquired the Officers Club and saved it from destruction.

It was a really fascinating piece of history - glad we stopped

Douglas, WY - Fort Fetterman

This morning we head over to Fort Fetterman

We overshot it and found the former local House of Ill Repute - Hog Ranch

We turn around and make it to the Fort

 There are only a couple original buildings remaining.  The visitor's center is one of them

 It houses a nice museum

 We take Tucson for a walk down the trail outside

 The Bozeman Trail was an overland route connecting the gold rush territory of Montana to the Oregon Trail. Its most important period was from 1863–68

The fort was built on a Hill overlooking the North Platte River

 The house in the distance is where Hog Ranch once stood

 A look back to the Fort

We stop at the Armory where carriages are stored 

Tucson enjoys the exhibits

We pass a Jackalope on the hill on our way home

 Picked up lunch of Gyros and Rootbeer floats at Arby's - 

Tucson is on cleanup detail

 We enjoy lunch by the River and watch some Floaters go by

 and Canadian Geese do a fly over

Time to do Laundry