Category Archives: travel

Wamsutter, WY

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Places that you may never have heard of

Due to my love of traveling I’ve make countless cross country trips by car.

Our amazing Interstate Highway system takes us to so many destinations. But along the way I might see a sign with a name that I don’t recognize. These places with unfamiliar names get my attention and when I return home I may take the time to find out more about this locality.

Towards the middle of Wyoming there’s a small town called Wamsutter. I learned that Wamsutter is located in a geologic area known as the Great Divide Basin. This is an area in which rain does not drain into any of the oceans. Instead to the north and east the North Platte watershed flows to the Atlantic or Gulf of Mexico while to the south and west, the Green River watershed drains to the Pacific or Gulf of California.


Interstate 80, exit 173
Historically this area has been home to the Shoshone and Ute native American tribes. During the 1860’s other settlers moved to the area to help build and manage the transcontinental railroad. While its population is small, sheep and horse ranching has been an important activity for many years.

an industrial building on east side of town
Today the area is noted as a natural resource community with a small industry based on oil and natural gas extraction. The BP Corporation has been operating there since about 2000.

parking area with loads of semis

If you’re ever in the area – stop in Wamsutter to look around and to refuel your car.

Still Interested

More of my places that you may never have heard of are here:

Argenta, Nevada
Aragonite, Utah
Beowawe, Nevada
Dunphy, Nevada
Jackpot, Nevada
Mercury, Nevada
Rhyolite, Nevada
Vedauvoo, Wyoming

Same Place, Different Face

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For almost twenty years I’ve been flying to the Phoenix area in April or May to drive Mom’s car back to Michigan while she takes the quick way home by plane. I like driving and this is convenient way to retrieve her car and to spend few days sightseeing.

My wife Kris and I have quite a few grandkids. We thought it would be a treat for one of them to ride along and visit some of the “wonders of the West” on a road trip back to Michigan. This was also a great opportunity for Grandpa (me) to spend a few days together one-on-one. One of the grandkids and I would fly to Phoenix for a day or two to visit and then we’d be ready to hop in Mom’s car for the return trip.

For six different years you can see that I stopped to show them one of the most scenic places in America. Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park is part of the Navajo Nation in the northeast corner of Arizona near the town of Kayenta. In the valley is a 17-mile drive along which you’ll gaze at dozens of jaw dropping sandstone cliffs and buttes. I tried to stop in the same general area to record each grandkid with Merrick Butte or West Mitten in the background.



Ezra 2011


Eden 2014

Ezra and Eden 2014


Logan 2015


Ezra 2015


Lyon 2018


Izora 2019


Adeline 2022

I treasure these pictures so that I have made 20″ x 30″ poster size enlargements of each of them.

They represent great memories for me and hopefully for each of these grandkids as well.

Dunphy, Nevada

informational, personal, travel, , , ,

Places that you may have never heard of

I’ve been writing about places with interesting names. They’re mostly in remote areas of the country that are unfamiliar to most travelers. As I roam the roads, I keep my eyes open for these kind of places.

You can’t help by notice the large green signs along the road tell us where to find certain towns and interesting places. Once in a while I come across an interesting name and wonder what this place is all about. Dunphy is one such place.

In north central Nevada along the I-80 freeway is a sign for Dunphy. It’s located between the two better known towns of Carlin and Battle Mountain.

I found that the TS Lazy Ranch was started by an Irish immigrant named William Dunphy. Dunphy and other partners used the open ranges in this area as a large, successful ranching operation.

Barite, a mineral used in oil drilling process, was discovered in the area in the 1930s. The raw barite ore was shipped to Modesto, California to be processed. .

Not long after, a mill was constructed along side the Western Pacific railroad to crush and ship the raw materials onward

In 2014 the Halliburton Corp built a new 66,000 sq ft plant to process the barite.

The TS Lazy Ranch ranch is still in operation operation as a cattle ranch using modern management of the land, livestock and wildlife

For more info about the Halliburton Barite Plant click here.

Dunphy turns out to be another neat place with an interesting name.

These are more of my places that you may never have heard of

Aragonite, Utah
Argenta, Nevada
Beowawe, Nevada
Jackpot, Nevada
Mercury, Nevada
Rhyolite, Nevada
Vedauwoo, Wyoming
Wamsutter, Wyoming