Dubois, Wyoming was about an hour drive from Moran, Wyoming. The town is mispronounced “due-boys” on purpose by the locals because they didn’t care for the man it was named after. Less than 1,000 people live here. The area attracts artists, writers, musicians, songwriters and photographers.
Dubois, Wyoming
The Wind River runs through it and is used for irrigation. Mountain Shoshone, called “Sheepeaters”, were the first inhabitants of the area.
We were able to find some of their petroglyphs.
We visited Welty’s General Store in Dubois. The owner told us about his cave where he stored goods, which was previously used by Butch Cassidy, who had a ranch on the outskirts of Dubois.
He recommended we go to the Rustic Pine Tavern for a drink and food, which we enjoyed.
National Bighorn Sheep Interpretive Center, Dubois
A small museum packed with information. The largest herd of Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep winter in this area which is referred to as the Whisky Basin.
Whiskey Basin
We hiked to Torrey Creek Falls. Since it was August with temperatures in the 80s, the Bighorn Sheep were at higher elevations. The falls were beautiful and we had a good workout.
Along the way there were cattle and a hawk.
Dubois Badlands
Over 4,500 acres of red and tan sandstone rock and clay. The area is stunning
Longhorn Ranch RV Park
Our site was spacious, private and had a view of the Wind River. We had 50-amp electric, good water pressure, and sewer. The Internet was fast enough to stream. Jake liked the size of the property so that he could get long daily walks.
National Museum of Military Vehicles
It is a 140,000 square foot museum that was opened in May 2022.
With an emphasis on World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War there are over 500 restored vehicles, artillery pieces, planes, and other memorabilia that date back to 1897.
Funded and founded by Dan Starks, a former CEO of St. Jude Medical, he has invested $100M and plans on opening another 140,000 square foot facility dedicated to the Gulf and Afghanistan Wars, in addition to a hotel and affordable housing for Dubois.
No other private USA military museum compares to the National Museum of Military Vehicles. It was amazing to see such a great exhibit dedicated to our men and women who were involved in the numerous conflicts over the years to secure our way of life.
My father who passed away this year at age 96, enlisted into the military and ended up as a sniper/scout in WWII Germany/France even though he was a trained pilot. He rarely spoke of the War, it was a significant event, but he put it behind him, choosing instead to focus on the future. He lived in the present and rarely spoke about the past.
My father grew up in the woods of northern Wisconsin where he learned to hunt and survive in the harsh and cold. He remembered when electricity was first run to his home to provide a bare bulb light and later a refrigerator. It is amazing how far technology has advanced in his lifetime. He grew up poor. After the War he went to fashion school and was an artist, but became a successful businessman/entrepreneur. Art never left him and he continued to paint until late in life and was a masseuse for the elderly. Even though he had an artistic personality and expressed his creativity through numerous mediums, he was a conservative at heart. He knew how to farm, hunt with rifle or bow and arrow, fish, fence, ride a horse, sail, golf, canoe, fly a plane, ride motorcycles, sculpt, photograph, use a darkroom, paint, was a certified masseuse, owned a printing press, hiked the Grand Canyon, rebuilt engines, owned a gun store, had ownership in a restaurant, lingerie store, and office supply store, installed leech fields, raised trout, and could sell anything. He did whatever he could to thrive and survive.
He taught me to be self-sufficient, pay back debt, only blame myself if defeated, thank those who helped in my success, and respect myself and this amazing country. He only taught his children what they wanted to know. He wrote down a brief summary of some of his war events to my sister which was later documented on a WWII military website. He had a blessed and wonderful life and is greatly missed.
