My Favorite Place in Wyoming

There are special places in Wyoming that I like to visit often. Wyoming's diversity is what fascinates me so very much. But if I were forced to pick only one area of the state I could live and work it would be the Clarks Fork Country northwest of Cody, WY. There is no other country in the state that is as absolutely breathtaking to me. It is wild, untamed country. This is Grizzly and wolf country. It was here that I spent some time trapping Grizzly bears with my best friend Larry Roop. Before diesel prices soared to over $5 a gallon, I was making three or four trips a year to this area, and the short two week trips always left me wanting more.

I've made several good friends that I always look forward to seeing. If you are ever near Crandall, don't miss the opportunity to stop in and meet some great people at the Painter Outpost. It is owned and operated by Richard and Carol Lunger and Carol's brother Lee. They are the friendliest people I've ever met and Richard makes a mean beef stew, one of my favorite things to eat when its on the menu.

This is an old-fashioned, hometown friendly kind of place with a lot of regulars stopping in for a nightly brew after a long days work. There's Luis a guest ranch owner that looks and acts like he stepped out of a western novel. He always has tales to tell about bears or wolves they encounter on their pack trips, or that get into trouble around the ranch. And there is Ron, a great friend to all the folks at Painters. He cooks for them at times and helps with everything around the operation. He's a big fella that loves to talk hunting and telling of his numerous outdoor experiences. He's given me lots of ideas and help concerning my work in the surrounding country.

Lee, well he is the most congenial, down home kind of guy I've ever met. He has always, and I mean always gone out of his way to help me. Everything from setting up my displays to loading my vehicles in the trailer to guiding me to special places for certain images. He is just one of the many experts who have a vast knowledge of the area. Lee has become a good friend to me.

Richard, a retired physician cooks and tends bar and is perfectly comfortable sitting down with a perfect stranger and having a wonderful conversation. His wife Carol a retired military command nurse pretty much runs the place taking care of most everything to do with the store and restaurant. Together these and others that frequent Painters like Sam and Bill make this one of the friendliest places I've every visited. They are the best kind of western, down home hospitable people you'd ever meet. If you stop by for a visit tell them I sent you.

As for pictures look at my website and visit the galleries of the Absarokas, Clarks Fork Country, the Beartooths and Sunlight/Dead Indian. You will see lots of diverse country and beautiful scenery in the different seasons of the year. If you spend enough time there you will no doubt see Grizzly bears, Mountain Goats and wolves. Elk are everywhere as are Mule Deer. Moose frequent many places along the Clarks Fork River and the ponds below Cathedral Cliffs. You won't get a more spectacular vista than the overlook at Dead Indian looking down into the canyon country. And my favorite is Pilot Peak. It reminds me of the Matterhorn and is the most dramatic peak in Wyoming. It has more character than the Grand Teton and the weather there is always changing, offering up the dramatic for those who will wait.

There you have it, my favorite place in Wyoming. Keep an eye for my rig and maybe one day we will meet. I'll tell you about my outfit on a later post.