In the days leading up to Christmas, Santa Claus should be in overdrive preparing to traverse the globe, giving his list a second check. Instead, he's once again in a precarious situation south of Casper.
For several years, someone has set up a Santa dangling over the edge of a cliff along Highway 220 west of Casper heading toward Alcova. Santa's sleigh is lodged in a juniper bush at the cliff's edge, while Kris Kringle hangs on by a single arm.
It's not Photoshopped or AI. It's real — and mysterious — since nobody knows who keeps putting Santa in such a precarious situation.
"I hear he hits it every year," said Fred Lowery, who shared photographs of the strange Christmas display in the Facebook group Wyoming Through the Lens. "Must be the abrupt rise off the river!"
Dave Smith had a different explanation for the humorous accident.
"Reindeer must have gotten into the sagebrush wine," he commented.
Holiday Tradition
Casper resident Donetta Erickson looks for the return of the dangling Santa every year. Driving along Highway 220 to spot it is a genuine tradition for her family.
"My husband and I moved away from Casper three years ago," she said. "When we travel back to Casper around Christmas, we always look to see if it's out again. It's something I always look forward to seeing around Christmas."
Sure enough, Santa has found himself dangling from the same cliff every holiday season for several years. Seeing Santa like this might seem gratuitous or distasteful to some, but Erickson and many others disagree.
"Santa crashing into the hillside hanging on for dear life is kind of funny and magical for the spirit of Christmas," she said. "I enjoy always seeing it."
Santa dangles precariously from a cliff some where in Wyoming, prompting Fred Lowry to observe that "even the most experienced drivers can run into trouble in the Wyoming mountains!" (Courtesy Fred Lowry Jr. via Wyoming Through the Lens) 
Santa dangles precariously from a cliff some where in Wyoming, prompting Fred Lowry to observe that "even the most experienced drivers can run into trouble in the Wyoming mountains!" (Courtesy Fred Lowry Jr. via Wyoming Through the Lens)
Whodunit?
Part of the hilarity behind the strange Christmas display is not knowing who's responsible for putting it up.
Despite a lot of people who enjoy seeing it, nobody is fessing up to knowing who leaves Santa hanging there every year.
Lowery said he'd never noticed the dangling Santa until this week when he "caught it out of the corner of (his) eye and flipped a U-turn to shoot the pics."
"I'm not sure who does it," Lowery said. "It might be a landowner or some random person. But some of the comments have indicated it's there every year."
Erickson confirmed that this particular Santa is a recurring Christmas season sighting along Highway 220. She can't point the finger at whoever got Santa, but she wishes them a very Merry Christmas — whoever it has certainly been making theirs merrier for years.
"I have no idea who does it, but I wish I did," she said. "They took a crazy idea for all to enjoy."
The important thing is that nobody blames Kris "clutching on for dear life" Kringle for his seasonal predicament. It can happen to the best of us.
"Even the most experienced drivers can run into trouble in the Wyoming mountains," Lowery said.
Besides, he always seems to get himself out of the pickle just in time to make his annual global toy run.
Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.
