Daily Darwin

Girl saw a spider in her car and jumped out. We would 100% do the same.....

Darwin 10 24 24

Cowboy State Daily is Wyoming’s largest newspaper with Wyoming’s most experienced journalists. 

<title>Daily Darwin: Thursday, October 24, 2024 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Daily Darwin: Thursday, October 24, 2024

 Girl saw a spider in her car and jumped out. We would 100% do the same.....

Mac Watson

Daily Video News

It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming for Wednesday, June 3rd.  I’m Mac Watson

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Police in Montrose, Colorado, say a Gillette resident bought a gun in Wyoming, drove hundreds of miles and started randomly shooting. Cowboy State Daily’s Kolby Fedore reports that police say they don’t know why 42-year-old Eduardo Garcia Barrera did it.

“Barrera, a part-time resident of Gillette, bought a gun at a local sporting goods store in Wyoming, and then he drove 11 hours to Montrose, Colorado, where he then unleashed a fury of bullets in downtown Colorado, in a busy commercial section, he did strike a 22-year-old pedestrian before he ultimately turned the gun on himself. The 22- year-old victim is in stable condition.”

Police say the incident unfolded over roughly 35 minutes Saturday morning as Barrera fired at moving vehicles and pedestrians as he entered the western Colorado city.

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A Bozeman woman is home following a 24-day hospital stay after her hand was ripped off in a terrifying horse accident at the Montana State University rodeo practice arena. Cowboy State Daily’s Kate Meadows reports the woman’s husband and MSU rodeo coach sent team members to find the detached hand.

“Presely Whitaker was training a horse in a small enclosure with a rope, and something happened to spook the horse or buck her off somehow. The horse drug her through the arena and she hit a fence and broke her jaw, and that's where she also lost her right hand. Presley was flown to a hospital in Salt Lake City, where surgeons tried to reattach her hand. However, the damage was too extensive, and they were unable to do so. Casey Ray Sellers, the rodeo coach at Gillette College, told me that she's seen people lose fingers in rodeo accidents and horse accidents. She's seen a lot of wrecked legs, but she's never seen someone lose a hand.”

On May 4, Presley was pen roping a young horse — a horsemanship technique that teaches young horses how to handle cattle and grow accustomed to working with a rope — when the horse she was on threw her and took off.

Cheyenne attorney George Powers, who filed a complaint calling for a criminal investigation against Chuck Gray for releasing sensitive voter data to the federal government, asked the Wyoming Supreme Court on Tuesday to appoint a special prosecutor. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports Powers wants answers.

“Powers has said, 'Well, get a special prosecutor, you know, find a way to rope in a special prosecutor. And then Kautz, the Attorney General, said, 'You know, I'm handling this in accordance with the rules, not in the public arena, so that's what that's what Attorney General Kautz said to Powers on May 4th, and so then Powers pushed again May 20th, like I need to know something's going on, we're probably, we can file a writ of mandamus, making you do the thing, so that so he did end up filing that writ of mandamus. Which is a petition to a court to make an official do something that is clearly that official's duty.”

Powers also asked the high court to issue an order “commanding,” Wyoming Attorney General Keith Kautz and the AG’s office to recuse themselves from investigating whether Gray could have committed a crime. It’s unclear whether the AG’s office already has, or has not recused itself from the matter. 

Cheyenne planners are recommending denial of most of the provisions in a huge 3,200-acre Microsoft data center expansion. Cowboy State Daily’s Renee Jean reports that one resident said during a marathon five-hour hearing Monday that this would overtake the city.

“A fifth of Cheyenne’s size, this 3200 acres coming into the city. It's huge. It's just a huge track that really did kind of put some scale to it. So the person who brought that up was one of the commissioners, Megan Connor, and she just wanted to know, you know, how did the planning people come to determine it's beneficial to the city? It's kind of hard to imagine, and then because it's in the beginning stages, Microsoft really hasn't planned it out, or you know, there's no way to know how much water it will eventually use, or you know exactly how many data centers will go there.” 

Only one part of the plan — assigning agricultural zoning to the 3,050-acre Highlands area if it is annexed — will reach the June 8 City Council meeting with a recommendation to approve.

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I’ll have more news from Cowboy State Daily right after this.

Cowboy State Daily News continues now….

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A young grizzly named Storm got too close to a sandhill crane’s nest in Yellowstone. Outdoors Reporter Mark Heinz reports that the crane was having none of it and drove the bear off. 

“She apparently got too close to a crane, a sand hill crane nest, and so you see this, the crane came out, you all stood up big and tall with its wings spread out, being all intimidating, and stood the grizzly bear down. I talked to some bird experts, bird biologists, and they said, ‘Yeah, you know, birds whether they're big birds like crane or even smaller birds, they will take off after something as big or even considerably larger than them if they think their nest is at stake.’”

Drawing itself up to its full height, the crane towered over Storm with its wings spread wide in a display of aggression during their close encounter on Saturday in Yellowstone National Park.

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The city of Rock Springs is catching backlash after declaring June “pride month.” Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that one councilman says people are upset.

“Councilman, Rick Malonis, was talking about how, you know, he cast it as ironic. They took a photo of the Pride display, the flags, and everything under a banner that said ‘In God We Trust,’ and so Malonis derided the proclamation, but the other council members that I talked to on Tuesday said that the backlash is being overblown.”

Rock Springs has declared June “pride month” for years, but this year’s proclamation has generated a surge of backlash, as shown through 543 comments on the city's Facebook post and 43 shares as of Tuesday afternoon.

A Casper man who tried to burn down his ex-boyfriend’s house last summer — but made sure to save his own pet snake — was sentenced Monday to six to eight years in prison. Cowboy State Daily’s Dale Killingbeck reports that the ex says David Lee Wilkinson “destroyed everything in my life.” 

“Casper Mann, 31 years old, faced his last day in court, presumably when he was sentenced for setting fire to his ex-boyfriend's home last summer, and the ex-boyfriend did testify to say that you know his relationship with this guy was great and terrible at the same time, and that you know he felt like he took a bullet for others that might be in a future relationship with him. He said that alcohol fueled a lot of his problems, and he had trauma in his past. Meanwhile, the defendant just sat at the table and kind of just sat there and watched and listened, and then when it was his turn, he apologized for what he had done.”

Wilkinson entered a plea deal with the Natrona County District Attorney’s office on Feb. 19 where both a first-degree arson charge for the July 16 fire and a domestic battery charge for an Oct. 11 incident were admitted via an Alford plea. 

Wild turkeys recently attacked an elderly California woman, leaving her bruised and bloody. Cowboy State Daily’s Mark Heinz reports that Game and Fish says Casper's urban turkeys “have absolutely established a reputation for aggressive, bold, and disruptive behavior.”

“Gaming Fish told me that they do get - they haven't had like in bonafide turkey attacks yet, but they've had instances of turkeys, you know, trying to fight people's dogs, turkeys chasing people, trapping people in their cars, those sorts of things. And I talked to a resident who lives right next to the downtown area, and she says, I haven't really had a run-in with the turkeys yet, but I don't get really close to them either. Don't take for granted that turkeys can't be aggressive.”

83-year old Mary Jo Kelly, of Alameda, California described the turkey attack as terrifying. She suffered severe bruising and cuts to her right hand that required stitches at a local hospital.

And that’s today’s news. Get your free digital subscription to Wyoming's only statewide newspaper by hitting the Daily Newsletter button on 

 - and you can watch this newscast every day by clicking Subscribe on our 

 channel, or listen to us on your favorite podcast app.  Thanks for watching - I’m Mac Watson, for Cowboy State Daily.

News image 6 3 26

<title>Cowboy State Daily Video Newscast: Wednesday, June 3, 2026 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Wednesday's headlines include:
* Gillette Man Dies In Shooting Spree
* Woman Loses Hand In Rodeo Accident
* Attorney Asks For Special Prosecutor For Gray

Cowboy State Daily Video Newscast: Wednesday, June 3, 2026

Heinz mark

Mark Heinz

Outdoors

Wildlife

A young grizzly called Storm wasn’t prepared for an aggressive sandhill crane when she got too close to the crane’s nesting site.

Storm made a couple of pensive moves toward the crane, but the gangly bird was having none of it. Eventually, the baffled grizzly had enough and scrambled away.

Wildlife watcher and photographer Linda Ghent captured video of an encounter that typically would end very badly for the crane.

“What cracked me up was the crane’s little hop at the end. That little victory dance,” she told Cowboy State Daily.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Upcoming Famous Grizzly"}]

Storm belongs to a famous Yellowstone grizzly lineage. She’s the daughter of Snow, one of the park’s most visible bears.

And Snow in turn is the daughter of Raspberry, likely Yellowstone’s most famous grizzly.

 for about a year and is feared by many of her fans to have died.

At age 2 last year, Storm split from Snow, who is now 3 and newly out on her own.

Ghent said that the bear’s youth and inexperience probably played in the crane’s favor during the encounter.

Ghent said she spotted Storm coming down off a slope on Saturday and settled in from a safe distance for what she assumed was going to be a typical grizzly-watching session.

However, the bear apparently got just too close for comfort to the crane’s nesting site, and the bird was all business as it came at Storm.

“They did their little ‘Sugarplum Fairy’ dance," Ghent said, referencing the familiar passage from Tchaikovsky’s holiday classic “The Nutcracker Suite.”

Ghent added that she didn’t see any crane hatchlings, which are called colts.

They’re so named because they have the ability to stand up and run almost immediately after hatching.

Some bird experts told Cowboy State Daily that they weren’t particularly surprised that a sandhill crane stood up to a grizzly.

Nesting cranes are nothing to trifle with, said Chris Helzer, the director of science and stewardship for The Nature Conservancy of Nebraska.

“Based on size, it looks like this was a fairly young bear (in the video), but sandhill cranes are well known for being strong and courageous defenders of their nests against predators of many sizes,” he said.

“The wing spreading and aggressiveness seems in line with other footage I’ve seen,” he added.

While they’ll fiercely defend their nests, cranes and other birds aren’t suicidal about it, Helzer said.

“There are plenty of other birds who show similar fearlessness against predators — small songbirds that mob crows or hawks, for example,” he said. "The size disparity in those cases is much bigger than the crane/bear example.

“The instinct to protect their progeny is strong, though they’ll rarely die in the defense of the nest. If they can’t drive the threat off, they’ll usually abandon the nest and try again,” Helzer added.

Courtney Rudd, a migratory bird and wetland biologist with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, said large birds like cranes are nothing to trifle with.

“The video is exactly how I would expect a sandhill crane to react to a threat at the nest,” she said. "Cranes and trumpeter swans are especially invested in their clutches/broods, and I'd put my money on the crane."

Birdwatcher and crane aficionado Gayle Irwin of Casper said she’s seen cranes stand up to animals many times their size.

“I watched a pair of sandhill cranes attempt to scare off a cow moose outside of West Yellowstone back in the early 1990s,” she said. “It was quite a spectacular thing to see.”

Crane faces down bear 6 2 26

<title>Sandhill Crane Gets Aggressive To Scare Young Yellowstone Grizzly Away From Nest | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A young grizzly called Storm got too close to a sandhill crane’s nest in Yellowstone, but the crane was having none of that and drove Storm off. "I'd put my money on the crane,” said a bird biologist about how protective sandhill cranes can be.

Sandhill Crane Gets Aggressive To Scare Young Yellowstone Grizzly Away From Nest

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily reporter, Dale Killingbeck

Dale Killingbeck

Crime & Courts

Courts

CASPER — A 31-year-old man who tried to burn down his ex-boyfriend's house after they argued last summer — while saving his own pet snake from the fire — was sentenced Monday to serve six to eight years in prison.

David Lee Wilkinson appeared in Natrona County District Court with his attorney Dylan Rosalez before Judge Daniel Forgey and listened as the ex-boyfriend tell the judge how Wilkinson “destroyed everything in my life.”

The prosecution agreed to cap the prison sentence request at eight years.

The Alford plea mean Wilkinson did not plead guilty but admits there is enough evidence that would convict him of the charges if taken to trial.

A third-degree arson charge and domestic battery charge from July 16 were dropped.

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Wilkinson’s ex told the court that his relationship with Wilkinson was “great” and “terrible” at the same time and that Wilkinson during their relationship had threatened violence against both him and his family.

“I tend to look for the best in people,” he said. “The abuse he inflicted on me was generally after the influence of alcohol.”

After Wilkinson’s arrest for the arson of his home, the ex-boyfriend said they remained in relationship while he was out on bond until Wilkinson was arrested in October on suspicion of domestic battery.

“I was addicted to my relationship with David and feared for my family,” he said. 

The ex-boyfriend said his house and garage suffered more than $200,000 worth of damage and is still not “habitable” due to conflicts between his contractor and insurance company.

He asked the judge to impose a sentence that would help Wilkinson become rehabilitated and overcome his addictions, as well as help him deal with past trauma that occurred in his life.

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Natrona County Assistant District Attorney Patrick LeBrun told the court that arson is a “terrible crime” because it it takes away “our own space” and “castle” that people look forward to retreating to after a day at work.

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“When you set fire to someone’s home you destroy it,” he said. “It’s extremely dangerous … (firefighters) are going to go in there and risk their lives. Firefighters die doing their job.”

LeBrun said that a prison term was appropriate and asked the judge to impose a sentence of 6.5 to eight years. 

He also asked the court for $1,100 restitution for the home insurance deductible that his ex-boyfriend had to pay.

Rosalez told the court that his client is “remorseful about what happened” and the conduct that led to the fire.

“Alcohol played a significant role to his actions,” he said. “He wants a chance to make this right, a chance to show that he is law abiding.”

Rosalez asked the court for a suspended sentence of four to six years in prison, as well as well as three years of supervised probation that would include time in an addiction treatment center.

Wilkinson told the court that he wanted to “apologize” for his actions.

“I have taken steps to ensure this will not happen again,” he said. “I can’t fix what happened.”

Forgey said that after reviewing the case and the pre-sentence report, probation was not appropriate.

“Incarceration is appropriate due to the circumstances in this case,” he said. 

Forgey then sentenced Wilkinson on the first-degree arson charge and gave him credit for 234 days served in jail as an appropriate sentence for the domestic battery charge.

Forgey ordered Wilkinson to pay the $1,100 restitution.

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The arson charge against Wilkinson stems from a 911 call at 3:42 a.m. reporting the house fire fire in the 2200 block of Sagewood Avenue on July 16, 2025. 

A responding Casper Police Department officer found Wilkinson at the home with his pet snake.

“David stated he smoked a cigarette in the garage earlier and then went inside,” a police affidavit states. “David was in the living room when he noticed the residence getting cloudy. 

"David grabbed his snake and tried to look for his two cats. David then called his mother … and exited the residence.”

When his parents arrived at the house, he told his mother, “I promise, I didn’t do anything,” the officer says in the affidavit.

Wilkinson initially told police he lived at the home with a 31-year-old male who was supposed to get off work at 2 a.m. and speculated the other man might be with an ex-boyfriend.

The affidavit states Mills Fire Chief Wil Gay investigated the blaze and reported the fire started in the garage and moved into the kitchen area. 

Wilkinson told the fire chief that the owner was his boyfriend and was at work. He admitted to smoking in the garage and was unsure where he put his cigarette out. 

Wilkinson told the chief that the fire was burning where there was a bunch of clothes in the garage, the affidavit states.

During an interview with the 31-year-old homeowner on the afternoon of July 16, the chief reported that the he said he and Wilkinson had an argument when he arrived home at 2 a.m. and attempted to kick Wilkinson out of his house and put all of Wilkinson’s clothes in the garage.

He told the fire chief that Wilkinson went to the garage to smoke, came back and then made a comment along the lines of, “Well, have fun with that, your garage is on fire,” the affidavit states.

The homeowner found a fire burning in a metal clothes basket, put it out with a fire extinguisher and told Wilkinson to leave. 

When Wilkinson continued to argue, the homeowner left the residence about 3:15 a.m. and went to his parents’ home. He then got the text from Wilkinson at 3:24 a.m. saying that his house was on fire but did not see the text until the next morning, the affidavit states.

After Wilkinson’s arrest on the arson and a battery charge for his actions on July 16, he was released on bond.

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Then on Oct. 11, officers were called at 7:39 a.m. to the 200 block of South Kenwood Street for the report of a suspicious person. 

A woman reported a man in a ripped black shirt and shorts came onto her porch and rang her doorbell. 

He then opened her door, and she told him to sit on the porch as she called police, the affidavit states.

The affidavit states the man walked back to the house across the street. 

As officers arrived at the scene, they heard a “bang” from inside and the 31-year-old who owned the Sagewood Avenue home, and who Wilkinson identified as his “ex-fiancé” in the arson case, was seen by police walking out the door of a residence across the street with a bruised eye.

Another officer found Wilkinson in the home. 

The boyfriend told police they had agreed it would be their last night in a romantic relationship, and that if their relationship continued, “Wilkinson would kill (the boyfriend) due to domestic violence,” the affidavit states.

The boyfriend said they drank alcohol and smoked marijuana until he blacked out. At 7 a.m., he felt pain on his face. He then armed himself with a kitchen knife to get away from Wilkinson.

“Wilkinson stated that (the boyfriend) became ‘scary’ so Wilkinson beat him up,” the affidavit states.

Wilkinson told police that the boyfriend grabbed the knife after he beat him, and had threatened him with it.

Police also found a leafy green substance in the home and multiple glass pipes with residue, the affidavit states.

David Wilkinson and burned house 6 2 26

<title>Casper Man Who Tried To Burn Down Ex’s House — But Saved Snake — Gets 6-8 Years | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A Casper man who tried to burn down his ex-boyfriend’s house last summer — but made sure to save his own pet snake — was sentenced Monday to six to eight years in prison. The man “destroyed everything in my life,” the ex told the judge.

Casper Man Who Tried To Burn Down Ex’s House — But Saved Snake — Gets 6-8 Years

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

Law Enforcement

A Gillette man bought a handgun and a box of ammunition at a sporting goods store there, then drove 11 hours and hundreds of miles across Colorado and, less than 24 hours later, allegedly opened fire on strangers in the Western Slope city of Montrose before taking his own life, the Montrose Police Department reports.

Authorities have identified the man as Eduardo Garcia Barrera, 42, a part-time resident of Gillette, and say they have no motive for why he opened fire on random motorists and a pedestrian, or why he did so in Montrose.

In an incident that unfolded over roughly 35 minutes Saturday morning, Montrose police say Barrera fired at moving vehicles as he entered the western Colorado city.

He then shot a 22-year-old pedestrian before crashing his vehicle at a local burger joint and dying from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, Montrose police report.

According to the Montrose Police Department, officers were first dispatched around 10:16 a.m. after reports that a man driving a green Honda sedan with Wyoming license plates was shooting at vehicles while driving westbound on U.S. Highway 50 into Montrose.

Police say Barrera was driving erratically and approached vehicles from behind before firing shots.

The occupants of the first vehicle reported to police that they were not hit, and investigators found no damage to their vehicle.

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Over the next several minutes, dispatchers received numerous reports of the Honda weaving through traffic and passing vehicles as it traveled along East Main Street.

At about 10:21 a.m., police say Barrera pulled alongside a 22-year-old man walking in the 200 block of North San Juan Avenue and fired through the passenger-side window of his car, hitting the pedestrian in the lower left side of his body.

He then crashed into a restaurant called Crash Burger, where Barrera was found with a gunshot wound.

Cowboy State Daily reached out to the restaurant manager Tuesday morning, but they said none of the employees saw the shooting take place. 

The pedestrian was taken to a hospital and was reported to be in stable condition, police wrote. 

Having a motorist driving around town shooting at people apparently at random was a very dangerous situation, Montrose Police Chief Blaine Hall 

“The risk to public safety was high from multiple incidents, including the first report, where it was reported there was shooting at vehicles on our highway,” Hall told the Daily Press. “We’re fortunate the suspect hit the (decorative) gas pump instead of going through the building. We could have had potentially more injuries, even fatalities.”

The chief also called out the actions of bystanders who provided medical help to the shot pedestrian until emergency responders could arrive.

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Cowboy State Daily spoke with Montrose Police Department spokesman Paul Eller on Monday. Eller confirmed Barrera was a "part-time" resident of Gillette and said the case remains under active investigation.

Eller said investigators have not found evidence that any vehicles were struck by gunfire. He also declined to say whether anyone other than the wounded pedestrian may have been struck during the incident.

He would not discuss whether investigators have identified any significant events in Barrera's life leading up to the shootings. 

Investigators say Barrera bought a 9 mm handgun and a box of ammunition at a sporting goods store in Gillette on May 29, one day before the shootings.

Eller also declined to identify the sporting goods store where the gun was bought.

According to police, Barrera left Gillette that evening and traveled south through Wyoming, then through Colorado Springs and Pueblo before continuing west on Highway 50 toward Montrose.

At about 10:34 a.m., officers were dispatched to a crash at 646 E. Main St., where they found Barrera's Honda resting against a raised concrete platform, a bollard and a decorative gas pump.

Police say Barrera was alone inside the vehicle and dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Montrose investigators said they have found no identifiable ties between Barrera and the city.

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Police say they are continuing to interview victims and Barrera's family members in an effort to determine what prompted the shootings.

Cowboy State Daily found no criminal cases filed against Barrera in Wyoming's court system dating back to 2000.

Many details about Barrera's background and his reason for traveling to Montrose remain unclear, police say.

Authorities have not released any evidence suggesting the victims were targeted for a specific reason, and police have not announced a motive.

The investigation remains active, and officials say additional information will be released as it becomes available.

Montrose Press Crash Burger Montrose Press 6 2 26

<title>Gillette Man Goes On Shooting Spree In Colorado Town Before Shooting Self | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Police in Montrose, Colorado, say a Gillette resident bought a gun in Wyoming, drove hundreds of miles and unleashed a shooting spree before taking his own life. “The risk to public safety was high,” police say, adding they don't know why he did it.

Gillette Man Goes On Shooting Spree In Colorado Town Before Shooting Self

Wyoming Life

Around Wyoming

Perched atop a rocky knoll along the Snowy Range Scenic Byway in the Medicine Bow Mountains of southern Wyoming, the Libby Flats Observation Area rises nearly 11,000 feet above sea level.

Its weathered stone wall, turret facade and steep wooden staircase lead to a platform where visitors can look out at the Snowy Range to the north and the Laramie Valley to the south.

It looks more like what’s left of the ruins of a Medieval castle than a modern attraction.

For Laramie photographer David Peel, it's been a source of fascination for much of the last half-century.

"It's like an old ancient structure," Peel said. "Your mind kind of starts making up some fancy histories about it.”

Peel said its weathered stone and isolated perch above the tree line remind him of places far from Wyoming — Ireland, old European ruins and the kinds of structures that are much older than the observatory.

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The site is managed by the Medicine Bow National Forest and was approved in 2024 as a $5-per-vehicle day-use recreation site.

It’s also not ancient. It was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the 1930s, according to F.E. Warren Air Force Base.

Aaron Voos, public affairs specialist for the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest and Thunder Basin National Grassland, said U.S. Forest Service maps mark the location as an "observation point" as early as 1956 in its records.

Engineering blueprints from 1959 show plans for a parking area, footpath, restroom and the stone observation tower visitors see today, said Voos. 

The overlook typically opens with the Snowy Range Scenic Byway each spring and remains accessible through the summer and fall before winter snow closes the road.

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Peel said he has spent countless nights at Libby Flats photographing the Milky Way, auroras, and sunrises.

The high elevation and lack of light pollution create some of the darkest skies in Wyoming for photographers.  

The observation deck that looks like a Medieval castle ruin has turned heads for decades in the Medicine Bow range. For Laramie photographer David Peel, the 11,000-foot elevation and lack of light pollution make it a great place for astrophotography.

Daily Darwin: Thursday, October 24, 2024

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