Caspar or Casper?

Wyoming Cat Parking Lot and Ft. Caspar Campground in Casper, Wyoming – July 8 through July 10, 2013

It was time to depart the Lewis Park Campground in Wheatland, Wyoming for a couple of reasons. There was a three day limit at the campground and we had stayed 3 times that long. Although we did get the word that unofficially you can stay until they ask you to leave, we didn’t want to put them in that position.

The other reason was that Big Guy was due his 11,000 mile oil change. Frank had contacted the Caterpillar dealer in Caspar, Wyoming Cat, and made an appointment for 8am Tuesday.

Since we knew we would be camping without services in Wyoming Cat’s parking lot, we saw no reason to leave Lewis Park until 5:30pm. That way the cats could have AC all day long and we would arrive in Casper as the sun was setting and the temperature were dropping to comfortable levels.

We caught site of this statue high up on a hill. It seems the Jackalope are everywhere.

Along the way we were passed by a highway patrolman doing at least 100mph and wondered what the rush was. He disappeared into the distance and after 25 or 30 minutes we saw a car pulled over and a highway patrolman behind him with his lights flashing. We thought it odd that the patrolman would speed after someone in that manner just for breaking the speed limit. Then immediately after that we saw the remains of one or two (we couldn’t tell) travel trailers on the opposite side of the interstate. It was a mess, part of the wreck was on the ground another part was on a flat bed truck. All you could see was sheetmetal, insulation,  and axles all twisted together. I guess that’s where the highway patrolman was going so fast.

We made it into Casper without further incident and found the Cat dealer. The directions weren’t quite clear where we were supposed to park. Bear in mind this place is absolutely huge, encompassing about 6 or 8 city blocks. We drove around until we found the service department. This is a 24 hour operation and one of the serviceman came out to great us. He told us where to park for the night. We followed his instructions and got Big Guy settled in for the evening.

As we were enjoying the first few sips of our adult beverages, a knock came on the door. It was another worker that wanted our information, what we were having done and then told us we couldn’t park there. So he gave us another set of directions that led us to the opposite side of the complex. So we settled in for the night, and this time no one bothered us.

I set a 6:30am alarm with the idea of showing up at the service bay at 7:30. At about 7:10 we got a phone call wanting to know where we were, they were waiting for us. Good thing we were already ready to move.

This place is professional. Everyone is wearing white smocks and the service bays inside were spotless. We pulled Big Guy completely inside the service building and they shut the doors. We got the OK to stay inside Big Guy and it’s a good thing as they had lots of questions and even found a problem we thought had just been fixed two weeks ago.

It turns out Big Guy’s air conditioner had been re-installed incorrectly and was not sealing to the return duct properly. They were very nice and let me borrow a crawler so I could scoot under the coach and take pictures. Of course we had to have it fixed, and fortunately it turned out to be quick and easy. So now I have a bone to pick with DM RV in Loveland, Co.

We paid the bill and headed over to Ft. Caspar campground. Because it was just after 10am, we stopped and filled up with gas and found a place to park in the filling station parking lot to cool our heels for about 45 minutes. This was a first for us. We were too early to check into the campground. After 11am rolled around we pulled into the campground and checked in.

As soon as we got set up, we took off in the Element to find the visitor’s center. I had gotten the address off the internet and it turns out that street didn’t exist. So EJ checked her AAA guide book and found an address for it with the correct street name spelling and we went to that address. It was a big empty parking lot. There was a policeman sitting there in his car having lunch so we pulled up and asked him where it was. He gave us another set of instructions. However, his instructions were right and we found it. You have to be pretty tenacious to find this place.

We talked to a real nice lady who told us where to go for lunch and several other sights we needed to see.

We went to a discount theater (which was very nice). Senior price was $2.50 each. Off course the popcorn & drinks were almost twice our admission. We saw Iron Man 3. We’ve enjoyed the first two and this one did not disappoint either.

At the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center they cover the history of the Oregon, Mormon, California & Pony Express Trails. We learned more about how tough the early pioneers were and what some of the reasons were for people to make this arduous journey. One thing we didn’t know was that even though wagons were utilized by most to haul their worldly possessions west, almost every settler walked the whole journey. Another was that Indians were responsible for very few deaths on the trail. Around 1 percent if I remember correctly. Deaths from disease, drowning, being run over, and other accidents comprised most of the total. In fact most of the settlers that encountered Indians went on to say how friendly and helpful they were. We even got to ride a wagon across a virtual river. It was pretty realistic.

And here’s EJ enjoying a ride in a stagecoach.

Before the day is done, we want to squeeze in one more activity. The Rodeo is in town. A couple of years ago in Cody, Wyoming we missed the chance to see a rodeo and this time we’re gonna do it.

And besides, it’s Geezer Day so we get in for free. But first we have to find a place to park. We were told to go in the main entrance, but apparently every one in Casper received the same instructions. So we drove around to the back side, found some off street parking right next to the rear gate and walked on in. The ticket taker just waved at us. Man! We don’t feel that old.

But the rodeo was fun. We saw the bucking broncos, calf roping and youngsters trying to ride sheep. And there was one little 8 year old girl that sang the National Anthem who had a voice a whole lot bigger than she was.

And that was just the first day in Casper.

Day two was not nearly as exciting. We did see another movie. This one was not so cheap, but boy did it have and impressive sound system. We saw the Lone Ranger. What a different take on the original franchise. It’s a good story and Johnny Depp livens it up. Other than that it was grocery shopping, maintenance and laundry.

It’s Thursday and our two Passport America discount days are over so it’s time to move on. But first we rush downtown to have breakfast at Sheri’s where we meet the owner and tell her what we’re up to. She gives us advice about places to go in Grand Teton National Park and also Jackson.

Check out here at the Ft. Caspar campground is 11am and we just barely make it. Leaving the campground we have to pass by the Ft. Caspar Museum. So we stop and learn more about the Casper area and it’s history. Two more mysteries are solved. Casper was originally named for Lt CaspAr Collins, but when the town was officially registered, the name was misspelled and now forever remains CaspEr. The second is that CY Road is not pronounced “Sigh” it is pronounced C-Y. It’s not someone's initials it comes from the name of one of the big ranches in the area, The CY Ranch.

And now we head on down the road, where we’ll end up next nobody knows, not even us. But we are still headed west with the Grand Teton National Park on our radar.