By Melissa Mehle, Editor Wow. A destination that starts with a winding country road and gives no hint of the serene scenic hideaway that lies ahead. The park is located about 2 miles south of the Oregon Trail, 11 miles West of Douglas, WY on County Road 13. The span at the bottom of the bridge is about 150 ft…
Castle Gardens gets its name from the outcropping of sandstone that the wind has eroded into fanciful shapes resembling the turrets and towers of castles. This unusual formation has been luring visitors for thousands of years, and many of them left their mark in the soft sandstone.
The development of the modern west was largely related to the vast open spaces that surround the towns. Many of these lands are federally owned, and contain historic resources related to homesteading, ranching and grazing, energy development, and fire suppression. The National Historic Preservation Act plays an important role in preserving these open spaces and the cultural resources that lie within them.
Oftentimes in historic preservation, there are conflicts that arise between industrial development and historic places and spaces. In this piece, AHW volunteer Kathrine Kasckow shares her personal account of how the National Environmental Policy Act and the National Historic Preservation Act helped preserve an important historic landscape on public lands.
The western cowboy’s history in Wyoming is actually relatively short. Several different Native American groups inhabited the region far before immigrants from the east settled there, and they are still here today.