WYOMING: Visitors Come From All Over For The Otherworldly Pull of Devils Tower

Devils Tower CREDIT Wyoming Office of Tourism

Wyoming’s epic landscapes have attracted visitors for decades. Hence, it is no wonder that Devils Tower gained its pop culture fame in Steven Spielberg’s 1977 film “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” The movie became an instant cult classic internationally. Most notably, this film stands out in a world of manmade facades and special effects as a landmark crafted by none other than Mother Nature. The tower stands at 264,262 meters and hosts an otherworldly appearance. 

Today, the otherworldly pull and Hollywood fame of Devils Tower has made it a cultural phenomenon. With the funds from the film’s creation, the landowners were able to open a campground and restaurant to host fans of the landscape and the movie. Campers are welcome to hike and climb the tower 24 hours a day, and at night they are treated to a showing of “Close Encounters” on a screen at the base of the landmark. Visitors leave with a new appreciation for the unique rock formation and a deepened curiosity about our place in space.

For more information on Wyoming, visit TravelWyoming.com.

The Wyoming Frontier Prison Was Perfect Set For 1987 Horror Film

Did you know that Viggo Mortensen filmed a movie in Rawlins, Wyoming, featuring the Wyoming Frontier Prison? The prison, which was occupied from 1901-1981, was never expected to become the perfect filming location only six years after they shut the doors; locals certainly never anticipated one of the most recognizable faces from Hollywood to be the movie’s star, either!

Viggo Mortensen arrived in Rawlins in 1987 to film the now-B-rated horror film “Prison.” To say the city surrounding the famous Wyoming Frontier Prison was excited was an understatement. The film plot centers around Viggo’s character, Burke, as he enters the previously decommissioned prison, now deemed suitable for prisoners due to the overpopulation of the more modern Wyoming State Penitentiary. Soon after Burke’s arrival, strange and scary things begin to happen within the prison walls. Warden Sharpe, played by Lane Smith, is convinced he knows the culprit behind the strange happenings, but how can he stop the ghost of the Wyoming Frontier Prison?

Discover Carbon County Wyoming! Plan to take a guided tour of this 122-year-old prison facility, walk the blocks where “Prison” was filmed and see the lasting effects and staging left behind.

For more information on Carbon County, visit WyomingCarbonCounty.com.

Casper’s Not-So-Hidden Secret: Hell’s Half Acre

Believe it or not, this out-of-this-world landscape is located just a few feet from the highway, yet travelers pass by it every day without knowing! A quick 30-mile drive from Casper, Hell’s Half Acre is well over half an acre, encompassing 960 acres of deep ravines, caves, rock formations and hard-packed eroded earth. Native American tribes used the ravines during their hunts, driving thousands of bison over the cliffs.

Fun fact: Hell’s Half Acre was a filming location for the fictional planet of Klendathu in the movie “Starship Troopers” in 1997!

For more information on Casper, visit VisitCasper.com.

Cheyenne Frontier Days a Big Topics in Country Western Music

 When it comes to who made what famous, one could say Cheyenne, Wyoming, was made famous by the many songwriters who put the capital of Equality State in their songs. On the flip side, one could argue some of those songs were famous because of Cheyenne’s pre-existing fame, especially pertaining to rodeo. 

Denver, Colroado skyline CREDIT Visit Denver

For starters, two of the most beloved country artists of all time, Garth Brooks and George Strait, had hit country songs within a year of one another – “The Beaches of Cheyenne” by Brooks and “I Can Still Make Cheyenne” by Straight were both Top 5 hits in 1995-96. Both refer to rodeo in Cheyenne, most likely Cheyenne Frontier Days.

Wyoming country music legend Chris LeDoux released two hit songs, “Photo Finish” (1973) and “It Ain’t The Years, It’s the Miles,” (1983) that mention both Cheyenne and the rodeo there (most definitely CFD). Several other artists, from Eric Church to Aaron Watson, have given shoutouts to Cheyenne, with most of them referring to the legendary rodeo, or at least its Western roots.

For more information on Cheyenne, visit Cheyenne.org

“Liver Eating” Mountain Man Interred In Cody, Wyoming

Cody, Wyoming, certainly has its share of colorful characters, but only one of them was known as “Liver Eating.” John Jeremiah Johnston was a real person and not just a character portrayed by Robert Redford in a 1972 movie. The real Jeremiah Johnston was a mountain man who was born in 1824 in New Jersey, fought in the Mexican American War, married a member of the Flathead tribe, and embarked on a 25-year vendetta after his wife was killed by a young Crow brave. He spent many years in Montana and was a town marshal in Red Lodge.

 Johnston died in 1900 at a veterans’ home in Santa Monica, California, and was buried at a Los Angeles veterans' cemetery. When a freeway was planned to go through that graveyard, some 25 seventh-grade students and their teacher embarked on a campaign to find a suitable location for Johnston’s final resting place. In 1974, he was reinterred at Cody’s Old Trail Town/Museum of the Old West. Among the pall bearers was Robert Redford.
Johnston’s epitaph reads "No More Trails."

For more information on Cody Yellowstone, visit www.CodyYellowstone.org.

DENVER: Famous For Its Food, Beer Scene

Denver is one of the best cities for beer lovers, with more breweries than any other U.S. city and the second-highest number of breweries per capita!  With so much emphasis on foodie culture, it’s no surprise that Denver also hosts some of the best food and drink festivals in the West, including the annual Great American Beer Festival and the Denver Food and Wine Festival. Get a taste of our local flavors by exploring our Denver Beer Trail and the many brewery tours!

Denver, Colroado skyline CREDIT Visit Denver

Additionally, with numerous food and beverage awards to its name (including a few from the uber-prestigious James Beard Foundation), Denver has quickly become a dining destination for foodies. You’ll find plenty of fine dining options at nationally ranked and recognized eateries, along with international cuisine from around the globe and local favorites like green chile at restaurants and diners across The Mile High City. 

Denver is a metropolis of ever-evolving tastes, its forward-thinking dining landscape filled with restaurants from gifted chefs whose culinary magnetism, passion and fortitude fulfill our city’s lust for great food.

For more information on the Official Gateway City of Denver, visit VisitDenver.com.

*Source: Caroline Davidson - Davidson Communications – Account Manager RMI AUNZ, CONTACT FOR THE GREAT AMERICAN WEST: AUSTRALIA / NEW ZEALAND caroline@davcomm.com.au