July 6, 2014 Travel to Douglas Wyoming - Jackalopes and Trains

We woke to a beautiful morning, packed up, filled with water, dumped our tanks and we were on our way heading north on the prairies:

WOW!

The road goes on forever:

Trains, trees, river, rock formations – all in a row:

We made our way to Douglas and got settled in their little city park (free):

With the North Platte River in our backyard:

Cute:

After setting up, we took a walk around the park area, had lunch and then headed off to see the World’s Largest Jackalope:

Isn’t he just the cutest!

From the internet:

History and legend of the Jackalope:

“The jackalope is an antlered species of rabbit, unfortunately rumored to be extinct, though occasional sightings of this rare creature continue to occur, suggesting that pockets of jackalope populations continue to persist in its native home, the American West. The jackalope is an aggressive species, willing to use its antlers to fight. Thus, it is also sometimes called the "warrior rabbit."

Jackalopes possess an uncanny ability to mimic human sounds. In the old West, when cowboys would gather by their campfires to sing at night, jackalopes would frequently be heard singing back, mimicking the voices of the cowboys. Jackalopes become especially vocal before thunderstorms, perhaps because they mate only when lightning flashes (or so it is theorized). When chased, the jackalope will use its vocal abilities to elude capture. For instance, when chased by people it will call out phrases such as, "There he goes, over there," in order to throw pursuers off its track. The best way to catch a jackalope is to lure it with whiskey, as they have a particular fondness for this drink. Once intoxicated, the animal becomes slower and easier to hunt.

Jackalope milk is particularly sought after because it is believed to be a powerful aphrodisiac (for which reason, the jackalope is also sometimes referred to as the 'horny rabbit'). However, it can be incredibly dangerous to milk a jackalope, and any attempt to do so is not advised. A peculiar feature of the milk is that it comes from the animal already homogenized on account of the creature's powerful leaps.

Douglas, Wyoming has declared itself to be the Jackalope capital of America because, according to legend, the first jackalope was spotted there around 1829. A large statue of a jackalope stands in the town center, and every year the town plays host to Jackalope Day, usually held in June. Jackalope hunting licenses can be obtained from the Douglas Chamber of Commerce, though hunting of jackalopes is restricted to the hours of midnight to 2 a.m. on June 31.

The Warrior Rabbit
Douglas Herrick, a long-time resident of Douglas, Wyoming, is often credited with popularizing knowledge of the Jackalope. In the 1930s Douglas and his brother Ralph began selling mounted Jackalope heads to the public, and these became wildly popular. Examples of their work can be found in many bars and homes throughout the United States. Jackalope postcards also became a popular Western souvenir. Douglas Herrick died on January 6, 2003 at the age of 82.

The jackalope is now most commonly sighted in the states of Colorado, Wyoming, and Nebraska. However, the jackalope does appear to have a European cousin, which in Germany is known as the wolperdinger. In Sweden, a related species is called the skvader. “

The best part of finding the world’s largest jackalope was that he was located at the Douglas Railroad Interpretive Museum.

This is the original train station:

The center had nine vehicles and we were able to go into 5 of them – how impressive!

Even a potty!

What a great outdoor museum.  We stopped inside the train station which was also the visitor center for the area and talked to the folks there.  They took us in the back and showed us their model train setup – Such detail!

And shared with us some great stories about the jackalope and the town:

What a gem of a place!

From there we went to the World’s Second Largest Jackalope (a few blocks away).  This one was the World’s Largest until they built the one at the train station – .

This one had whiskers – :

What fun!

Our next stop was the Ayres Natural Bridge:

The way to the Bridge:

The park – so beautiful:

The Natural Bridge:

People cooling off in the river:

And the red rocks surrounding the bridge:

The view on our way back to the interstate:

On our way back, we stopped at the local American Legion and talk with the folks there.  Back home we relaxed the rest of the evening.

Today it was 97 degrees here – very hot.  We have no hookups so for a few hours we ran the generator to power the AC.  We were going to stay another day here but not sure with the heat.  Will decide tomorrow so stay tuned.

Stats for today:

Miles Traveled: 63 Miles

Routes Traveled:

Wyoming: 8th Street, GilChrist Street; 9th Street; I-25; West Yellowstone Highway; Grant Street

Enjoy today!

May 31, 2013 The Heber Creeper and New Friends

We both love railroads and train rides so when I found out that there was one close by, we had to check it out.  Today and tomorrow they were running a special train to Depot Bay - $10.00 so we made reservations for the 1:00PM ride.

From Provo to Heber City is the scenic Provo Canyon and it was beautiful.  Sorry no pictures - I was driving -

We arrived in Heber City, had lunch at Subway, and went to the train station.

A little history on the railroad and trains in this area.

During the late 1800’s, the only way to ship products from the Heber Valley was by wagon on the Provo Canyon Toll road.  This journey often took three days in good weather and sometimes much longer in winter weather.  The citizens of Heber pushed to have a railroad and in 1899, the first Rio Grande Western train arrived.   At that time, Heber was one of the largest sheep producing regions in the world and more sheep often rode the train than anything else.

In 1938, the Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation came to Heber to build Deer Creek Dam which would create the waters of Deer Creek Reservoir.   However the tracks ran right in the center of the construction. Tracks were removed and new tracks took two years to build to accommodate the new body of water.  In 1940 trains started using the “new line” but by 1968, the last Rio Grande freight train went out of Heber City.  In 1971 the railroad was purchased by UDOT and from then until 1990 it became a tourist attraction.  In 1990 it went out of business and after much ado by the citizens of Heber and railroad enthusiasts, the Heber Valley Historic Railroad Authority was created and in 1993 the Railroad began running again as a tourist and historic attraction. 

And yes I have pictures:

Our train - engine, passenger car, snack car, and passenger car.  We were in the car directly behind the engine.  The very last car was purchased from the Lackawanna Railroad in Pennsylvania.

The train took us through parts of Heber City past homes and farms:

Along side the Deer Creek Reservoir:

At Depot Bay, we stopped, enjoyed the scenery, and were entertained by a fiddler player and then Crazy Annie (who was wonderful) while the engine went to the front of the train to take us back to the station.

It was a nice little train ride.  I think the next time we are here, we will take the lunch ride into the canyon.

On our way back we stopped at Deer Creek State Park:

And then Bridal Veil Falls:

Back at the lodge, we met up with our neighbors, who are all Escapees, and had a great dinner while getting to know each other.

Another wonderful day!