on the road to yellowstone

T O Y E L L O W S T O N E2015: FREE TRAVEL GUIDE TO POWELL AND THE GREATER YELLOWSTONE AREA

■ CHIEF JOSEPH AND BEARTOOTHS: A YELLOWSTONE VISITOR’S BONUS■ JAPANESE AMERICANS CONFINED HERE IN WAKE OF PEARL HARBOR■ AVIATRIX AMELIA EARHART’S MEETEETSE DREAM UNFULFILLED

What’s inside?

Photo by Neale Blank

Kids, Kritters

Kool Knights&

2015 GRANDSTAND EVENTS:

Tuesday, July 21 --- Pig Mud Wrestling

Wednesday, July 22 --- Knights of Valour

Thursday, July 23 --- Chris Cagle in Concert

Friday, July 23 --- Endurocross

Saturday, July 25 --- Demolition Derby

POWELL, WYOMING • WWW.PARKCOUNTYFAIR.COM • 307-754-5421

July 21-25 • Park County fairgrounds

What’s I N S I D E

Park County FairPAGE 10

Homesteader MuseumPAGE 16

Amelia EarhartPAGE 26

YellowstonePAGE 33

About our coverA black bear sow and her cubs

charm the crowd on the banks of Calcite Lake near Tower in Yellowstone National Park.

Photographer Neale Blank called it a ‘Wyoming-style traffi c jam.’

Photo by Neale Blank

Powell Tribune Publication

128 South Bent, Powell, WY307-754-2221

www.powelltribune.com

ON THE ROAD » PAGE 3

Going Boating or Camp ing?Call ahead and order Chester Chicken plus all the good stuff from our deli to make a complete picnic.

30,025 Whopping Square Feetof Shopping Space!

True to the “Super Market” concept... WE HAVE IT ALL!!Especially a huge supply of craft products.

Many shops in one Giant store!IF YOU NEED...

Come in and see our World War II

Memorial Displays!

The

Su per mar ket

& Va ri ety

9 East Main • Lovell, WY307-548-2224 • Fax: 307-548-7074

• pillows • bedding • wash cloths • socks

• un der wear or automotive supplies...

WE’VE GOT THEM! A baby sec tion • clothes • toys • cards • mag a zines • picture frames • Rubbermaid items...

WE’VE GOT THEM. School supplies • of fi ce sup-

plies • shavers or wed ding gifts...

UH, HUH, WE’VE GOT THEM.

Crafts for the road or home - YOU BET!

Flowers • kitchenware • hard ware...

WE’VE GOT IT ALL!

• Produce• Groceries• Meat• Bakery• Hot & Cold Deli• Picnic Supplies

• Ice/Pop• Crafts• Sundries• C. R. Package Liquor• V&S Variety

• Western Union• Stamps• Fax Ma chine• Video Rent als• Redi-Cash• ATM Plus

Red Apple Red Apple

» ON THE ROAD

For any traveler on U.S. 14-A, Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area is a “must see” scenic wonder.

Th e park straddles the Big Horn River from just east of Lovell into Montana. A lake created by Yellowtail Dam stretches more than 70 miles through the canyon.

Bighorn Canyon is administered by the National Park Service. A day pass into the area is $5, and can be purchased at an automated fee machine when entering the area.

Th e Cal S. Taggart Visitor Center at U.S. 14-A and U.S. 310 in Lovell sells annual passes.

Boating, fi shing and other water sports are at the heart of Bighorn Canyon’s off erings. A trip down the canyon between walls and spires towering 500 feet above the water is a spectacu-lar experience.

Boats may be launched at Kane off U.S. 14-A, Horseshoe Bend and Barry’s Landing. Commercial boat rides are available.

At Devil’s Canyon overlook, visitors can get a dizzying view of the lake below.

Th e area is noted for the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range. It is home to a unique band

of horses descended from mustangs brought to the area by Spanish explorers.

Four historic ranch sites tell the story of early ranching and of colorful characters such as Caroline Lockhart, a writer who bought a ranch in the 1920s and operated it until age and health forced her from ranching life.

Th e park contains more than 25 miles of hiking trails.

Camping is available in the park at devel-

oped and primitive sites. All campsites are fi rst-come, fi rst-served and no reservations are accepted. Some campsites are free.

Ranger programs are off ered on weekend evenings through the summer at Horseshoe Bend.

Information about Bighorn Canyon NRA is available through the area’s website at nps.gov/bica, or by contacting the visitor’s center in Lovell at 307-548-2251.

A slice of the Old West

CRAGGY BIGHORN CANYON

File photo


On the RoadT O Y E L L O W S T O N E

Lovell Area Chamber of CommerceCall 307-548-7552www.lovellchamber.comemail: [email protected] E. Main, Lovell, WY 82431

Town of Lovell, 307-548-6551www.townoflovell.com

L O V E L L A R E A F E A T U R E S :

CELEBRATE HOMETOWN HOLIDAYS

» Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area» Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range» Big Horn National Forest

and the mysterious Medicine Wheel

• Hyart Film Festival --------------------- June 18-20• Lovell Mustang Days ------------------- June 23-27• Byron Days ------------------------------ July 6-11• Big Horn Lake Celebration & Triathlon - July 18• Cowley Pioneer Day -------------------- July 25• Big Horn County Fair ------------------ July 27-Aug. 2

Your Outdoor Adventure

Starts Here!

• FREE camper facilities• Three town parks - including

picnic shelter and kiddie pool• Foster Gulch Golf Course

• Veteran’s memorial & spectacular murals

• Public Swimming Pool• Main Street Shopping

Find us on Facebook

Photo courtesy PryorWild

10%Off Your Mealwith this couponBrandin’ Iron, No photocopies 483 Shoshone Ave. Lovell, WY - (307) 548-9370

www.BrandinIronRestaurant.com

Lovell’s Top Choice ForBreakfast, Lunch & Dinner!

One of the best things travelers will fi nd on their 14-A adventure between Burgess Junction and Yellowstone Na-tional Park are two especially enjoyable stretches of the highway itself.

On the east end, from Burgess Junc-tion across the top and down the Big Horn Mountains’ west face switchbacks to the bottom, is a drive that offers among the most breathtaking vistas to be found anywhere. But equally appeal-ing — to driving enthusiasts and espe-cially those in a sports car or astride a motorcycle — is the design of the road itself.

Initially named Wyo-ming Wonderland Way, a moniker that earned Pow-ell resident Pat Deming a hundred bucks in a nam-ing contest, the mountain-ous east end of U.S. 14-A opened with a dedication ceremony on June 24, 1983.

During construction, all 57 miles of the route from Burgess Junction to Lovell, which took 19 years from start to completion, required 17 separate highway contracts and came with a price tag of $23.5 million. By itself, the 5.5 miles from bottom to top of the west face of the mountain near Lovell cost $11.5 million.

In the time it took for this marvelous feat of engineering and construction to be completed, three diff erent governors served the citizens of Wyoming.

Th e marvelous curves and grades make for a great driving experience — within the confi nes of the liberal speed limits, of course — whether going up or

coming down. Signs on the serpentine downward course suggest lower gears and it’s solid advice. Th e brake pedal is best left alone on the descent except for a tap or two from time to time as needed. Let the transmission hold you back when descending and save the brakes in case you really, really need them.

Awaiting 14-A adventurers on the west end of their journey to Yellowstone National Park is a wide and smooth North Fork Highway.

Beginning at the Shoshone National Forest boundary west of Cody near the community of Wapiti, and continuing from there to Yellowstone’s East Gate, is a highway that required three independent phases of construction.

This piece of road is far less vertical and wind-ing than its counterpart on the west slope of the Big Horns, and in fact

climbs gently uphill to the East Gate of the park. People, campgrounds and guest lodges are much more in evidence, too, but don’t be fooled: the drive through Wapiti Valley to the tiny community of the same name, then on west through the Shoshone National Forest to Yellowstone, is home to fascinating rock formations, mountain river views, world-class wild trout fishing and an abundance of wildlife — from mountain blue birds to moose and grizzly bears — that are all second to none.

Enjoy the drive. U.S. 14-A country has it all.

U.S 14-A offers

two great drives

» ON THE ROAD

On a wind-swept plateau nearly 10,000 feet in elevation, the Medicine Wheel stands as a sacred site and source of spiritual power to Native Americans.

Th e arrangement of local limestone rocks in the shape of a wheel atop the Big Horn Mountains swirls amid curiosity and controversy over its origins as well as present day use of the national historic landmark.

“We believe that it’s a source of power,” said Francis Brown, a Northern Arapahoe tribal elder.

Astronomical and calendar functions served by the wheel are secondary to the site’s source of

religious power to Native Americans, says Gregory Campbell, a University of Montana anthropologist.

Campbell believes the arrangement of stones in an 80-foot diameter circle with 28 “spokes” radiat-ing from a central cairn should be called “a sacred universe” to native peoples.

Aft er years of negotiations by various Native American tribes with federal offi cials, the Medi-cine Wheel/Medicine Mountain National Historic Landmark site was expanded to 4,080 acres last year.

The U.S. Forest Service administers the site,

which is in the Bighorn National Forest.Brown said Native Americans saved the wheel

from “being destroyed by tourism” due to the erosion caused by so many people at the site. Th e site will be “open to anybody, but you have to walk,” he said.

People must walk about a mile to the wheel from a parking area.

Visitors can reach the Medicine Wheel by turn-ing north off U.S. 14-A near the Bald Mountain campground 34 miles east of Lovell. A sign reading “Medicine Wheel Archeological Site” indicates the turnoff with the white dome of a Federal Aviation Administration radar station visible at the turnoff . Th e road is usually clear of snow by the end of June. Visitors are also asked not to go to the wheel dur-ing certain times when Native American religious ceremonies are conducted, such as at the summer solstice.

Tribune fi le photo by Gib Mathers

Making a myriad of honey-sweetened candies starts with tiny bees buzzing around alfalfa fi elds.

Th e hardworking honeybees help Queen Bee Gardens in Lovell create thousands of candies each year. Using honey as the main ingredient, the pos-sibilities abound: caramel, almond, coconut, creamy fudge, pecan pearl, strawberry lemonade and fl avors still in the works.

Like bees in a hive, members of the Zeller family each have specifi c tasks in operating two businesses — Zeller & Sons Honey Company, which oversees beehives and honey production, and Queen Bee Gardens, which makes and distributes honey can-dies. Queen Bee Gardens is located at 244 E. Main Street in Lovell.

From the base of the Big Horn Mountains to the

North Fork of the Shoshone River, the Zellers have about 3,000 colonies of bees in the region.

Th e family’s honey business began in the 1940s when Clarence and Bessie Zeller started producing honey on their farm near Lovell, using the wild bees Clarence’s father gathered from the Shoshone River bottoms.

Using an old family recipe from Bessie’s ances-tors in Scotland, the Zellers started making honey candy in 1976. Soon the family was developing new candy recipes.

Today, the business has grown to include dozens of candy varieties, shipping to all 50 states and a few international countries.

In the field of honey-sweetened candies, the Zellers are pioneers.

“We make everything with honey,” said Jason Zeller, who works at Queen Bee Gardens.

Clarence and Bessie have passed away, but their descendants continue to operate the family busi-nesses, each taking on diff erent responsibilities.

Working together, the Zellers keep family busi-ness traditions alive while also trying new methods for fl avors of honey.

“We’re always experimenting,” said Jason Zeller, noting he’s working on four or fi ve new fl avors.

Th e biggest part of the business is selling to stores that re-sell the candy. With honey as the main sweet-ener, the candy oft en appeals to health food stores.

Queen Bee GardensCreating candy from local honey

Gene Zeller explains how a machine works at Queen Bee Gardens in Lovell during a Powell Valley Community Education Tour. Th e Zeller family has operated the business for decades. Tribune fi le photo by Carla Wensky

112 North Bent Street ~ Downtown Powell ~ 307-754-8085

Have an Ice Cold Cerveza and enjoy the

Best Authentic Mexican Food in Yellowstone country!

Atendidos Por La Familia Acevedo

Dine In or Take Out

SPICE UP YOUR LIFE!SPICE UP YOUR LIFE!


Just off Hwy 14A • 307-754-0639 • In Homesteader Park in Powell

Dive in! • Obstacle Course• Leisure Pool• Lazy River • Lap Pool

• Fun For Everyone!

www.powel laquat ics.comMonday-Friday from 5:30am to 8pm • Saturday & Sunday from Noon to 5pmPOOL HOURS:

U P C O M I N G E V E N T SLions Car Show ---------------------------------------------- May 23Summer in the Park Free Concert Series ----------June 12-19Alumni Centennial Celebration Weekend ---------June 26-27Summer in the Park Free Concert Series -------------- July 10Little League Tournament ----------------------------- Juy 13-18Park County Fair ---------------------------------------- July 21-25Park County Fair Parade ---------------------------------- July 25Summer in the Park Free Concert Series ------------August 7Arts Festival ----------------------------------------- August 13-15Wings N Wheels------------------------------------- August 14-15

Mounted Shooting Regional Competition----- August 14-15Summer in the Park Free Concert Series ---------- August 21Cycle Greater Yellowstone ----------------------------- August 21Play In Powell ------------------------------------------- August 22Homesteader Days Festival Weekend -------September 11-12Powelloween Treat Street ---------------------------- October 31Sample the Season ---------------------------------- November 20Shop Small Saturday ------------------------------- November 28Country Christmas -------------------------------- December 4-6

Powell Valley Chamber of CommerceA N D V I S I T O R S C E N T E R

1 1 1 S O U T H D AY ST R E ET ~ P.O. B OX 8 1 4 • P O W E L L , W YO M I N G 8 2 4 3 5(307) 754-3494 • 1-800-325-4278 • FAX: (307) 754-3483 • www.powellchamber.org ~ [email protected]

Th e home of Northwest College has a progressive business climate, excellent shopping and dining, plus a visitors center to assist in travels and tour planning.

Enjoy our hometown Wyoming atmosphere at numerous community events. Here, a crowd of visitors partakes in the annual Homesteader Days Festival held each September.

PAGE 8 » ON THE ROAD

214 North Bent Street • Powell • 307-754-5811

Camping, Fishing& RV Supplies!

Stop in for live bait (worms).

Getting help at Ace is like going to your neighbor!

Coulter Avenue/14-ABent

StreetN

600 Hwy 114 - 6 miles east of Powell, WY - 307-754-7259 - www.powellgolfclub.org

This challenging 18-hole layout is labeled a “must play!”p y

Northwest Wyoming’s


Features fun for the familyPowell Aquatic Center

Located in Homesteader Park just off U.S. 14-A, the Powell Aquatic Center features two pools. Th e new facility, completed in 2010, has a leisure pool with a beach entry, splash pad, continuous river, Pepsi water walk, mountain slide and bench area for relaxing. An eight-lane

pool ranges from 4-12 feet deep with plenty of room for exercise and enjoyment.

Th e aquatic center is open from 5:30 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday through Friday; noon-5 p.m. on weekends.

Daily admission to the pool is $5 for adults

(22-59), $4 for seniors (60 and over) and $4 for youth (3 to 21).

Punch passes and memberships also are available.

For more information, visit www.powellaquatics.com or call 307-754-0639.

Tribune fi le photo by Kevin Kinzley

• Hospital• Urgent Care Clinic• Physician Clinics• Home Care• Hospice• Assisted Living• Care Center• OB Services• Emergency

Medical Svcs.• Rehab Svcs.

Your Community Health Partner

307.754.2267 • www.pvhc.org • 777 Ave. H, Powell, WY 82435 • Find us on Facebook

The Depot - Fine family dining117 S. Bent St. Powell, WY - 307-764-7245

We offer the best in fine family dining!

Summer Hours:

Homemade gourmet dishes prepared fresh daily, and a casual friendly dining atmosphere. Also offering gluten free and lactose free options. A real gem that you wouldn't want to miss.

Friday: 11AM-2PM, 5-9PM

Wed-Sat: 11AM-2PM, 5-8PM

Sunday: 10AM-1:30PM

» ON THE ROAD

» Cont’d

First & Bent Streets in Downtown Powell • 307-754-2191

Traditional and gourmet pizzas, steaks and other entrées, pastas, sandwiches, salads, burgers and wraps, delicious daily soups and specials!

Featuring nightly specials and a variety of entertainment!Transadadada

FAIRENJOY THE PARK COUNTY

Tuesday-Saturday, July 21-25Park County is proud as punch of its annual summer fair, and U.S. 14-A travelers

are more than welcome to join locals for tons of fun.All it takes is to be passing through Powell the week of July 21-25.Th is year’s fair — themed “Kids, Kritters & Kool Knights” — celebrates the

pride residents have for their county fair.Th e Park County Fair opens with an evening of raucous pig mud

wrestling on Tuesday, July 21, in front of the grandstand. Th e carnival offi cially opens on the midway Wednesday, July 22, at noon and will continue daily from noon to midnight through Saturday.

Knights of Valour take to the arena on Wednesday, a return-ing event this year.

American country music artist Chris Cagle is the headliner for this year’s fair. He will perform on Th ursday, July 23.

On Friday evening, the Endurocross races return to the fair.

Saturday is parade day at the Park County Fair. Th e kids’ day parade will fi ll Bent Street in downtown Powell Saturday morning, followed by the main fair parade in all its color and pageantry.

Th e ever-popular demolition derby closes out fair week on Saturday night. Th e crash ‘em up action is co-sponsored in a partnership between the fair and the Powell Lions Club.

Tribune fi le photo by

Carla Wensky

Knights of Valour will joust at the Park County Fair on Wednesday, July 22.

CODY736 Yellowstone Ave307-527-7819

POWELL855 E Coulter

307-754-9588

PIZZAHUT.COM

220 East First Street in Downtown Powell • 307-754-3629

from our

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Unique gift items and home decor.


As always, the Park County Fair will also feature a wide vari-ety of continuous entertainment by cloggers, musicians, a magic show and hypnotist on the free stage. Th is year’s schedule includes Young Guns of the Wild West, caricatures by Connie, hypnotist and magician Michael Mesmer, comedy ventriloquist Jim Adams and more.

Enjoy a wonderful selection of foods from dozens of vendors and buildings fi lled with exhibits — from canned goods to culinary to clothing.

Like all good county fairs, this one will host non-stop 4-H and FFA contests revolving around dogs, cats, poultry, swine, sheep, rabbits, goats, cattle, horses and perhaps even the odd canary or

hedgehog.To f ind the Park County

Fairgrounds, head north on any through street from U.S. 14-A to Fift h Street, then simply roll down the windows and let the delight-ful smells of the food court lead you by the nose straight to all the excitement in the northeast quad-rant of Powell.

Daily gate admission is $5 per person — children 12 and younger are admitted free. Weekly passes are available for $10. Daily parking passes are $5, and weekly parking passes can be purchased for $10.

For parade info, call the Powell Valley Chamber of Commerce at 307-754-3494.

For fair info, visit www.parkcountyfair.com, see the fair’s Face-book page or call 307-754-5421.

Park County Fair entertainment includes:• Tuesday: Pig Wrestling, free event, however, fair patrons must pay gate fee

to get into the fair• Wednesday: Jousting with Knights of Valour, $15 adults, $10 youth• Th ursday: Concert, Chris Cagle, $20/seat• Friday: Endurocross, $15 adults/$10 youth• Saturday: Demo Derby, bench seats $15, box seats $18, bleachers $20

Kids enjoy carnival rides and other entertainment at the annual Park County Fair in Powell in July. Tribune fi le photo by Ilene Olson

307-527-5505 Located at US Hwy 14-16-20 and 26th Street2 minutes West of Yellowstone Regional Airport • www.beartoothinn.com

Wyoming Inn: 720 Yellowstone Avenue • 307-587-4208

• Affordable quality• 50 spacious rooms• AAA approved• 2 Diamond rated• Airport shuttle• Large family rooms

• Free deluxe continental breakfast with Belgian waffles

• Wireless internet in rooms• Mini suites with whirlpool• New whirlpool spa & sauna• 42” LED TVs

Driving through Wyoming?Be sure to visit our other properties. Call for reservations.MOTEL 6 IN RIVERTON ~ 307-856-9201SUPER 8 IN RIVERTON ~ 307-857-2400

» ON THE ROAD

What better to break up the days in the car than a few whacks on the local golf course.

At Powell, the golf is more than just another “local” layout. It’s golf designed to challenge and entertain the afi cionados of the sport with two entirely diff erent sides of an 18-hole course.

Th e back nine was redesigned and re-built in a massive makeover in 2003, and the vastly enlarged greens are a prime feature.

But the big greens are the singular distinguishing characteristic. Putting is a challenge. Th e huge, undulating greens have three-putt written all over them. If that’s not enough, the well-placed and plentiful sand traps give the golfer plenty to think about.

On the other side of the course, the front nine layout was completed in the mid-1990s and refl ects the infl uence of present-day golf architecture.

It’s clearly a case of “welcome to target golf” on the front side, an outward cir-

cuit into desert-like sagebrush and rock country.

Even though water is very much at a premium in the upper rim of the valley, the course’s signature hole, No. 4, brings the wet stuff into play on a dramatic par 3. Golfers better hope the wind isn’t blowing.

Th e front side fi nishing hole, No. 9, is another tantalizing test. A wide, usually downwind fairway beckons off the tee on this par 5. But to get to the large ninth green, the golfer is faced with a second-shot decision. A wide drainage ditch lurks some 140 yards from the green. Golfers must pick their poison: let ‘er rip and try to carry the ditch on the second shot, or play it close to the vest and lay up short.

The Powell Golf Course is a public course and welcomes non-member, green fee players. Th e complex includes a club-house, pro shop and a fl eet of carts.

Th e Powell Golf Club sits 7 miles east of the City of Powell off Wyoming High-way 114.

Up to par

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“THE CORNER STORE WITH A TOUCH OF THE PAST.”

140 N. Bent Street • Powell • 307-754-2031

open daily 8amm-ddduskAdditional info: www.powellgolfclub.oorg • 307-7575754-4-727 59

Up to par

iPowell Golf Club

Tribune fi le photo by Dante Geoff rey

Lunch Hours: Monday-Friday, 11am-2pmDinner Hours: Monday-Saturday, 5pm-close

Powell ValleyChamber of Commerce111 South Day, Powell, Wyoming

307-754-3494www.powellchamber.org

Customized tours for: Individuals, Families, Groups, OrganizationsTour area farms and ranches - See area crops, livestock production, irrigation systems and more

O F T H E P O W E L L V A L L E Y .Nestled between the picturesque Big Horn and Absaroka mountain ranges of Northwest Wyoming,

Powell is a community historically rooted in agriculture. Early in the 20th century, homesteaders around

Powell were rewarded with life-sustaining irrigation water when the United States Reclamation Service

established the dams and canals of the Shoshone Irrigation Project. Today, what was once a barren,

desert-like landscape has been transformed into fi elds and pastures capable of producing a rich variety

of crops, forages and livestock. Farmers around Powell excel at producing malt barley, edible beans,

sugar beets and alfalfa; while local ranchers proudly raise cattle, horses and sheep, sustainably and

effi ciently.

The Powell Valley Chamber of Commerce can help you learn more about the agriculture industry in

and around Powell by customizing a tour for you or your group. Learn about area crops, livestock produc-

tion, irrigation systems and more from area farmers and ranchers. Here at the Chamber we off er custom-

ized agriculture tours for groups, organizations, families and individuals. Area farmers and ranchers who

participate in our agro tourism ventures realize the value that consumers place on visiting

rural settings where food is produced, and they strive to provide tours that are informative,

pleasurable and inspiring.

Powell was incorporated in 1909, having been named after Major John Wesley Powell who

was one of the fi rst to explore the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River and former Director of

the U.S. Geological Survey. Powell is only 20 minutes from historic Cody, Wyoming. Contact us and let us

arrange a customized tour for you!


Powell’s roots are in agriculture and so is its future. As technology advances, its eff ects on agriculture can aff ect the whole community.

Powell was founded on agriculture from its beginnings as Camp Coulter in the heart of the Shoshone Irrigation Project. Visitors to the area can get a fi rst-hand look at modern agri-culture by touring area farms with the Powell Valley Chamber of Commerce. Tours generally include local farms producing sugar beets, pinto beans, barley and sometimes other specialty or unique crops.

Tours are off ered for individuals or groups. At least two people must sign up for these individual tours. Group tours are off ered for groups of fi ve or more people. Tour prices do not include lodging or meals, but off er a guided tour of farms on the Powell fl at. One-day tours include local farms and area attractions. Two-day tours are off ered that include one day of farm visits and a second day that includes a visit to the Heart Mountain Interpretive Center and

the Pryor Mountain Mustang Center. Tours are given by appointment throughout the summer, but no tours will be given the last week of July during the Park County Fair.

Th e Powell Valley Chamber of Commerce operates a visitor center at 111 S. Day St. (P.O.

Box 1258) in downtown Powell. Th e visitor center off ers maps, tourist information about Park County attractions as well as Yellowstone National Park.

Call the chamber at 307-754-3494 or 800-325-4278 or email [email protected]

An up-close look at


agricultureTribune fi le photo by Kevin Kinzley

northwestcollege.eduNWC is an EOI

northwestcollege.edu

Drive a little. Save a lot.

Just minutes from Cody!FREE Expanded Continental Breakfast.

845 East Coulter (14A)Powell, Wyoming

1-307-754-72311-800-800-8000

» Comfortable Rooms» Pillowtop Mattresses» FREE Wireless Internet» Cable TV with HBO» FREE Local Calls» Truck & RV Parking

Summer Rates from $99Winter Rates from $69

» PAGE 15

» ON THE ROAD

From the fi rst settlers who vowed to “turn the desert green,” to the modern-day residents who populate the valley — Homesteader Museum off ers a look through the ages.

Th e log cabin-style Homesteader Museum, just off Highway 14-A in Powell, houses a collection that chronicles the history of the Powell Valley.

Founded in 1968 and encompass-ing more than 10,000 square feet of space, Homesteader Museum has a number of permanent exhibits and photographs, including vintage bar-bershop, clothing, kitchen, cameras and a hunting and fi shing display fea-turing antique fi rearms and fi shing poles, to name a few.

The museum’s summer exhibit is “Garland: The Town Forgotten,” highlighting the once lively early 1900s community that later faded from prominence. Th e exhibit opens June 4 and remains on display through Oct. 2.

The Homesteader Days Festival Weekend Sept. 11-12 promises fun for the entire family, featuring kids games, pony cart rides, fi ddlers and car, tractor and truck show. Learn more about Powell’s past on a history walk and see historic machinery and watch a blacksmith demonstration during the festival.

Th e festival features a street dance,

free dance lessons and a live band at Plaza Diane in downtown Powell on Sept. 11.

Th is autumn, Homesteader Mu-seum will be home to the Haunted Homesteader on Halloween. The museum then hosts the exhibit “Only the Shadow Knows,” featuring images with the photographer’s shadow. Th e new exhibit opens Oct. 8.

Th e museum’s permanent collec-tion of historical memorabilia also includes a photographic history of the Shoshone Reclamation Project that brought water to the valley and made possible the lush agriculture that visi-tors marvel at today.

Th e exhibit spotlighting the story surrounding the legendary outlaw Earl Durand is a continuing fascination.

The museum also features the Bever Homestead, a 1913 homesteader house moved in 2004 from its original location east of Powell. Th e popular renovated building off ers a fi rsthand glimpse of the early settlers’ lifestyle.

A second building is chock full of antique equipment and there is a bright red caboose on the grounds that the kids will love to explore.

Th e Homesteader Museum is open, free to the public, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday from June through Labor Day.

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In addition to a beautiful setting, the Heart Mountain World War II Japanese American Confi nement Site west of Powell off ers both an artifact of World War II-era politics and hysteria, as well as a reminder of the fragility of democracy in times of confl ict.

Today, the site features an Interpretive Center, war memo-rial, walking tour and original camp structures, all dedicated to telling the stories of the 14,000 Japanese Americans con-fi ned there during World War II. Th e site is managed by the Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation, a private nonprofi t that formed in 1996.

Th e Interpretive Center is the focal point of the site, featur-ing a museum, gallery, theater and victory garden. Th e area immediately surrounding the Interpretive Center evokes the sparseness of the landscape that greeted the internees when they arrived. Inside, a visit to the Center begins with a pow-erful fi lm created by Oscar-winning documentarian Steven Okazaki. It is titled “All We Could Carry,” and features intern-ees speaking directly about their experiences. Th e museum is punctuated by interactive exhibits featuring oral histories and original fi lm footage from life in camp.

Th ere are also photographs, artifacts and art pieces created by internees. Th e building also includes two full-scale bar-racks rooms that have been replicated to provide an authentic portrayal of living quarters in the camp. Th e pieces are tied together through a narrative that allows visitors to experience life at Heart Mountain through the eyes of those who were confi ned there.

Brian Liesinger, Executive Director of the Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation, believes the site is not only signifi cant historically but also for what it can teach visitors about the importance of defending civil rights, even in the most dire

circumstances. “Th is is not merely a Japanese American story. Th is is an American story,” he said. “We’re a country of immigrants, and this is one of our powerful immigrant sto-ries—one that unfortunately includes a chapter on injustice.”

Yet, within the Japanese American confi nement, Liesinger notes stories of perseverance, loyalty and patriotism that inspire his work on a daily basis. “Somehow, they endured incarceration with grace,” he said. “To know these stories is to have a more complete understanding of what it means to be American. By knowing our faults as well as our successes, we know what it means to be better citizens.”

Th e Interpretive Center opened amid a grand celebra-tion in August 2011. Turning out for the event were former internees, their families, and dignitaries including Tom Brokaw, former Sen. Alan Simpson, R-Wyo., and former U.S. Congressman and Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta (who met Simpson as a Boy Scout at the Heart Mountain Relocation Camp). Mineta was interned with his family and a Boy Scout in a camp troop. Simpson was a Cody Boy Scout.

“What you are doing here is drawing that line in the sand to say that never again will there be something like what hap-pened at Heart Mountain and other relocation camps,” said Mineta during a grand opening ceremony attended by more than 1,200 people.

Since then, the Center has established itself as a world-class facility and was recognized for its excellence with an award from the American Associations of Museums in 2012. “Due to the uniqueness of the history, the quality of the in-formation and, frankly, the haunting beauty of the site, I am of the opinion that this is a must-see if you’re in the area,” said Liesinger.

Heart Mountain A look inside the internment camp

Shizuiko Morita of Virginia, a former internee at the Heart Mountain Relocation Center, is framed by historical, life-sized photos of internees while she reads information on another display at the new Heart Mountain Inter-pretive Center during the center’s grand opening in August 2011. Th e center is open daily from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. through September. Tribune fi le photo by Ilene Olson

Th e Heart Mountain WWII Japanese American Confi nement site is located between Cody and Powell, on Highway 14-A. Th e address is 1539 Road 19, Powell, Wyo., 82435.

Th e Interpretive Center is open daily in the summer from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $7 for adults, $5 for seniors and students and children under 12 are free. For more information please call 307-754-8000 or visit www.HeartMountain.org.

If yougo:

Heart Mountain camp wJapanese Americans confi ned here in wake of Pearl Harbor

Th e Heart Mountain Interpretive Center west of Powell on U.S. 14-A features a replic


A curious-looking city arose from the barren Wyoming landscape between the towns of Cody and Powell in the summer of 1942. Aft er two months of steady work, it was set to house 11,000 residents—all coming from the West Coast. What made this “city” glaringly diff erent from the rest of Wyoming’s cities was the presence of barbed-wire fences, guard towers and armed sentries. Its “residents” arrived by force — rather than choice — and their arrival came as a result of a complete denial of civil rights.

Th is “city” opened in August of 1942 as the “Heart Mountain Relocation Camp.” One of 10 “relocation centers” built nationwide, its purpose was to detain Americans of Japanese descent who lived on the West Coast. In the wake of the Japanese attack on Pearl Har-bor on Dec. 7, 1941, many feared Japanese-Americans would conspire with Japan against the United States. Amid the fear and uncertainty, President Franklin Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, which paved the way for the forced removal of 120,000 Japanese-Americans — the majority of them U.S. citizens — from their West Coast homes.

With that declaration, an exclusion order was made in California, the southern part of Arizona and the western parts of Oregon and Washington. Signs were posted stating that all Americans of Japanese descent in those areas were required to dispose of their property and possessions and report for exclusion. Th ey were not told where they were going or how long they would be gone. And they were allowed a single suitcase each.

Internees came by train, and at its peak, the Heart Mountain confi nement site held 10,767, making it the third-largest “city” in Wyoming. Heart Mountain came to operate much like any other city, with a hospital; internee-managed fi re, police and judicial systems;

a post offi ce; water, sewer and electrical systems; two grade schools and a high school; and several coopera-tive enterprises. Th ere were hobby clubs, theaters and ball games, as well as births, deaths, weddings and festivals. Internees formed active recreation programs and developed a successful agricultural program to provide fresh food. It was all done in the spirit of “shigata ga nai,” a phrase roughly translated as, “it cannot be helped” and expressed in Japanese culture as the need to endure unavoidable hardship or injustice with dignity. With that spirit in mind, the internees at-tempted to build community despite the barbed-wire that surrounded them.

Th e camp itself was constructed on a large, fl at swath of Bureau of Reclamation land, and the project employed a workforce of about 2,500. “It seems that any and all who want work fi nd quick employment in the building of this gigantic relocation center,” wrote the Powell Tribune in a June 1942 edition. “From Powell and Cody and other Big Horn Basin towns the labor supply has been requisitioned as if with a fi ne-tooth comb. As a consequence, labor for the farmers is scarcer than ever before in the valley’s history.”

What rose up in the shadow of Heart Mountain in a period of two months were over 450 barracks, arranged in blocks with communal restrooms and mess halls. When the crew was working full-speed, they could build a barrack in about 60 minutes. Each 20-foot by 120-foot barrack contained six apartments and was constructed of untreated lumber covered with tarpaper.

Th e fear and hysteria that fueled the decision to confi ne Japanese-Americans from the West Coast fol-lowed them to Heart Mountain. Most local residents were not receptive to these new visitors. Former U.S. Senator Alan Simpson, a Cody resident, recalls the

T IMEL INE◆ DECEMBER 7, 1941

Japanese planes attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

◆ FEBRUARY 19, 1942President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, forcing 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry — most American-born citizens — to move from their West Coast homes to relocation camps

◆ JUNE 1942Work began on the Heart Mountain Relocation Camp near Powell. “So many carloads of lumber have been taken from local yards — yards at Powell, Cody, and neighbor towns as far as Billings — are almost denuded,” reported the Powell Tribune on June 25. Work was completed by early August.

◆ AUGUST 11, 1942The fi rst 292 Japanese-Americans arrived at Heart Moun-tain. At capacity, the camp housed 10,767 internees, making it, at the time, the third-largest city in Wyoming.

◆ MAY 1945Departures from the camp began in earnest as the U.S. government began allowing internees to return to their West Coast homes.

◆ NOVEMBER 10, 1945The last train departed from the Heart Mountain Relocation Center.

◆ AUGUST 10, 1988Sen. Al Simpson, R-Wyo., and Rep. Norman Mineta, D-Cal., sponsored the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, a law that acknowledged the fundamental injustices of the internment of Japanese-Americans.

◆ 1996The Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation formed. Local leaders included John Collins, Dave Reetz and Pat Wolfe. The foundation went on to purchase 50 acres of land at the original camp site, restored the camp’s military honor roll and acquired a signifi cant collection of artifacts, oral histories, photos and historic papers.

◆ SEPTEMBER 2000Wyoming Gov. Jim Geringer and Powell Mayor Jim Milburn sent letters to surviving Heart Mountain intern-ees and their families, intended to “acknowledge the diffi culties and hardships faced by internees and the lack of consideration given to those at the Heart Mountain Relocation Center.”

◆ JUNE 23, 2005A walking tour of the Heart Mountain camp was dedi-cated, named in honor of Setsuko Saito Higuchi, a former internee who served on the Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation Board of Directors and Advisory Board.

◆ FEBRUARY 1, 2007Heart Mountain camp site offi cially named a National Historic Landmark.

◆ AUGUST 20, 2011Heart Mountain Interpretive Learning Center was dedicated and opened to the public. Hundreds of guests, including former internees, attended the opening of the 11,000-square foot, $5.5 million facility between Powell and Cody.

general concern from Cody at the time: “We were told there were 11,000 people there,” he said. “Th ere were only two cities larger than that in Wyoming… So, people thought, ‘Now, if those people escape, we’ll all be killed.’”

Th e Powell Tribune noted the in-ternees’ arrival in a story that referred to the camp as a “Heart Mountain haven” and, despite evidence to the contrary, stated that “(T)he Japanese themselves get the point. Th is com-ing to a peaceful habitation for the duration of the war is welcome and voluntary for the main body of them.”

In reality, the internees did not welcome relocation and they were not made wel-come upon arrival. Nels Smith, the governor of Wyoming at the time, told the federal government, “If you bring Japanese into my state, I promise you they will be hanging from every tree.”

In the 1943 Wyoming Legislative session, Sen. George Burke of Powell in-troduced a law barring the residents of the Heart Mountain Camp from voting in Wyoming. Th e city councils of Powell and Cody passed a joint resolution. In part, it asked that the Japanese-Americans at Heart Mountain not be permanently relocated to the region and requested that visits to the two towns by camp residents “be held to an absolute minimum,” only “when absolutely necessary.”

However, the council members stressed that they still would like to see the Japanese-Americans released for work on the area’s farms.

Th at double standard frustrated the center’s employment chief, Joe Carrol. “We are requested to confi ne them to the center, except to permit them to assist in the planting and harvesting of agriculture. Just what do you want, liquidation or continuance of the center?” he asked at a Powell Club meeting later that May. “Certainly citizens or law abiding aliens cannot be expected to participate in your agricultural work, if they cannot be accorded the same rights as other citizens or aliens, whether they be of Japanese or any other ancestry.”

However, Big Horn Basin residents did extend occasional olive branches to the internees. Many did not know what to make of the camp, but that did not prevent area schools from bringing in sports teams to compete with Heart Mountain High School’s teams, for example. Both Cody and Powell Boy Scouts participated in scouting activities and outings with the Heart Mountain troops. In addition, lo-cal church groups donated gift s for children in camp and baby blankets for those born in the Heart Mountain hospital.

All the while, World War II marched on, and the need for able-bodied soldiers left the War Department scrambling for new recruits. Initially, all internees were declared “enemy aliens” unfi t for service, but in 1944, the government decided to make draft -age internees eligible. More than 800 Heart Mountain internees fought for the U.S. in World War II. Several of them had distinguished careers of military service, and 15 were killed in action.

While many answered the call, there were some that refused. Sixty-three of them persisted in their resistance, declaring that their obedience to the draft order was dependent on being released from the camp with their constitutional rights restored. In the largest mass trial in Wyoming’s history, all 63 of these men were found guilty of draft evasion and given federal prison sentences of three years.

At the end of 1944, the government announced that it would begin closing the camps. In the months that followed, internees were released with little more than the suitcase they arrived with and a $25 train ticket. Heart Mountain closed in November of 1945, and the camp buildings were soon dismantled, removed by incoming homesteaders or used by the Bureau of Reclamation. Eventually, all bar-racks were removed from the site, though many can still be seen scattered around the Big Horn Basin today, remnants of homesteads established aft er World War II.

Today, it is known as the Heart Mountain World War II Japanese-American Confi nement Site, with the focal point being the Interpretive Center there. Th e Center opened in 2011 to tell the stories of confi nement through museum exhibits, a gallery, victory garden and introductory fi lm titled “All We Could Carry.” Th e site has been declared a National Historic Landmark and also includes a military memorial, walking trail and original camp structures. Th e site memorializes the experiences of more than 14,000 Americans of Japanese descent who were brought into and out of the camp from 1942 to 1945.

was third-largest city in Wyoming

ca of a guard tower and barracks. Tribune photo by Toby Bonner

Courtesy photo/Okumoto Collection, Heart Mountain

Wyoming Foundation


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» ON THE ROAD

Th e Japanese residents of the Heart Mountain Relocation Camp found austere conditions when they arrived at the camp.

Camp resident Mary Oyama wrote a weekly column for the Powell Tribune during her internment. Her writing depicted a camp that wasn’t quite the “haven” referenced by the paper in earlier columns, which depicted comfortable lodgings, good food and happy times for the camp residents.

When they were forced to evacuate the West Coast, internees were not al-lowed to take many belongings with them — oft en not more than a suitcase. Th e barracks at the relocation camp didn’t have much either.

Oyama described the typical room as including an army cot, a mattress and a blanket for each person. Th at was it.

“Th ere were no chairs, no table — no nuthin” she wrote.In her opening columns, she spent time assuring Powell readers that there was

no truth to rumors that Japanese-Americans were buying up large quantities of knives and engaging in ancient Japanese “christening ceremonies” at the camp.

Allegations of “coddling” at the camp swirled — driven by the execution of U.S. Prisoners of War in Tokyo.

Wyoming Sen. E.V. Robertson of Cody, who had not visited the camp, said the internees had things soft and easy. Th e Denver Post ran a story stating that residents received better food than other Americans, who were subject to food rations at that time.

Guy Robertson, the Heart Mountain Center director, said residents at the center were provided food at a cost of 12.3 cents per meal.

“I believe this does not indicate extravagance or waste,” Robertson told the Tribune.

Oyama similarly promised readers that the residents were not being coddled.“Th e church, the administration buildings, the department store, the rec-

reation halls, etc., may sound like an imposing group of edifi ces, but in reality they are all only barracks,” she wrote. “We all live in black tar papered barracks.”

When a reader chastised Oyama for complaining, she didn’t back down.“It was not our intention to express or imply a ‘gripe,’ although of course, you

can’t expect people who have given up their freedom and surrendered all their civil rights although they committed no crime or single act of sabotage (as proven by FBI or NIB records) to be perfectly, blithely happy in confi nement,” she wrote.

However, despite the tough times, when Oyama was released to settle in Den-ver in January 1943, she left with kind words for the people of the Powell Valley.

“We are actually sorry about leaving a state whose people have been so genu-inely kind and sincere who have proved themselves truly democratic, Christian and American,” she wrote in her farewell column. “We leave with the feeling that some day we simply must come back so that we can get to know you better. Yes, we want to come back to Wyoming.”

Barracks offered mostly bleak living conditions

A PROGRESSIVE CITY WITH HOMETOWN SPIRIT!Come and enjoy shopping in our downtown area with lots of convenient parking.

Powell’s 9 city parks are unmatched and cover 125 acres.With open green spaces, picnic tables and picnic shelters, playgrounds, tennis courts, skate park, wading pool, Aquatic Center, band shell and stage, 1.5 miles of paved pathways, basketball courts, soccer fields, horseshoe pitches, fishing pond, R/C off-road track, ice skating and skate rental, four softball, one American Legion and one Babe Ruth baseball fields.

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www.HeartMountain.org

HEART MOUNTAIN

Visit the site where more than 14,000 Japanese Americans were confined

during World War II.

Through interactive exhibits, artifacts, photographs and by walking the grounds of the site, you will experience

life at Heart Mountain through the eyes of the Japanese Americans confined there during WWII.


By Bacon SakataniSpecial to the Tribune

Let me fi rst say that I became 13 years of age on the train ride to Heart Mountain in August 1942 and did not know hardly anything about what was happening.

I think the new Interpretive Cen-ter will help educate the people who see the exhibit in understand-ing what happened there during the war years. We were not put there for our own protection nor because we were a security threat.

Th e exhibit shows what it was like at the camp during the three years we were there. We were a group of people who obeyed the orders and made best of the situation. Most of us accepted what was happening as the American way. Th ose who objected were segregated to another camp; those who remained went along with the situation, to show their loyalty to America. Wartime atmosphere with barbed wire fence, guard towers and searchlights at night, soldiers, parents belonging to the enemy race, all created a situation that we were prisoners of war, so we obeyed. We adapted ourselves to what we had, we did not riot, we thought everything was legal the way it was approved by the president, Congress and the courts.

I do think people underestimate what happened to us. I received a letter many years ago from a person living near the camp while we were there, and she wrote we in the camp had it better than she did, as she had no running water and sewer system, while we did in the camp. Another Wyoming person told me that he also heard that recently. I have been told that there are still people in Wyoming who feel that the camp was justifi ed. WWII veterans who took over the campland and

lived in the barracks with no piped water and electricity complained to me how hard they had it compared to me. Th ey put up a monument stating, among other things, “...the camp was equipped with modern waterworks and sewer system and a modern hospital and dental clinic...”

Well, my family of seven was put in a room of 20’ by 24’ — just a room to sleep in with a single light bulb and a coal burning stove, no bathroom, nothing, we were fed meals costing the government 15 cents. We got jobs within the camp that paid us $12, $16 and $19 per month. I could go on some more.

When the war ended and we were free to go back to the West Coast,

we had a hard time. I did not forget about Heart Mountain, as I always thought that the U.S. had the right to do what it did, as a youngster of 13-16 years of age. In the 1980s, Congress established the Commis-sion on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians, and found “...the broad historical causes which shaped these decisions were race prejudice, war hysteria and a failure of political leadership...” (page 18 of report). Th e redress payment and apology followed. I was surprised by the fi ndings, but in retrospect, the truth came out. And still few people think that the camp was justifi ed. It should be noted that Wyoming did “acknowledge the diffi culties and hardships faced by the internees and the lack of consideration given to those at the Heart Mountain Reloca-tion Center” in 2000.

I have gone to the University of Wyoming about six - seven times to look at the camp administrative papers and Wyoming newspapers of that time. How surprised I was to see what was written.

(Editor’s note: Bacon Sakatani lived at the Heart Mountain Reloca-tion Center for three years beginning in August 1942.)

Bacon Sakatani

‘I do think people underestimate what

happened to us’

» ON THE ROAD

Surrounded by sagebrush, Heart Mountain stands alone. Named by the Crow Indians, this mountain is one of the few identifi able features on the maps Lewis and Clark created.

With its unusual limestone cap, Heart Mountain is a puzzle. Geologists from around the world have studied it, yet its origin remains a subject of passionate debate. Somehow it became separated from larger masses of similar formations found 60 miles away in Yellowstone National Park. Moreover, older limestone lies atop younger strata, which is “upside down” in relation to how these strata are found elsewhere.

Th e Nature Conservancy’s Heart Mountain Ranch supports one of the greatest concentra-tions of rare plants ever discovered on private property in Wyoming. Many native mammals

also are oft en seen here, particularly elk, mule deer and antelope.

Th e rugged trail to Heart Mountain’s sum-mit attracts hikers. Horseback riders are wel-come to enjoy the lower trails and take in the preserve’s undeveloped and wide-open vistas. Th e Heart Mountain Trailhead Interpretive Cabin off ers information about the geology, cultural significance and ecology of Heart Mountain and the surrounding land.

Heart Mountain Ranch, located at 1357 Road 22 in between Powell and Cody, is avail-able for non-motorized travel and fi eld trips. No dogs are allowed.

For directions and more information about climbing Heart Mountain, visit tinyurl.com/heartmountainranch.

— Information from Th e Nature Conservancy

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Located at the base of Heart Mountain, the Heart Mountain Trailhead Interpretive Cabin off ers information for visitors.Tribune fi le photo by CJ Baker

Chief Joseph and BeartoothsHighway and mountains a bonus for Yellowstone area visitors

Yellowstone National Park is the Big Daddy destination of the summer travel season in northwest Wyoming.

No question about it.But, there are any number of “must sees” for the summer traveler on the

rim of Yellowstone Country, just the sort of thing to add icing to an unforget-table summer in the West.

One such experience that entices many an adventure seeker to extend their stay to or from Yellowstone is the spectacular drive aff orded by the Beartooth All-American Highway along the Wyoming-Montana border just outside the Northeast Entrance to Yellowstone. For many, it is a destination unto itself.

Th e Beartooth Highway (U.S. 212) is a 68-mile travel cor-ridor between the NE Entrance and Red Lodge, Montana, that reaches nearly 11,000 feet in elevation with sweeping vistas of snow-covered mountains, high plateau views, lakes and trails. A 54-mile segment of the road is designated as the Beartooth All-American Road, one of only 31 All-American Roads highlighted as the most scenic national byways in the country.

Wyoming’s connection to U.S. 212 is the remarkable Chief Joseph Highway (Wyo 296) north of Cody that climbs over Dead Indian Pass and traverses the Upper Clark’s Fork River Valley to intersect with 212 on the way to Cooke City, Montana. It provides a wonderful loop road from Cody for a day trip (or longer) to access the scenic majesty of the Beartooths.

In the summer travel season of 2012, University of Montana researchers conducted an economic impact study of the Beartooth All-American Road. More than 163,000 non-resident traveler groups were counted. In dollars and cents, they accounted for $45 million in spending in the three gateway communities of Cody, Wyoming, Cooke City and Red Lodge, Montana.

Nearly half of them were fi rst-time travelers to the Beartooths, and they told what made the Beartooth Highway special to them.

Th ese are among traveler comments:“Absolutely beautiful drive, we loved it and would highly recommend it.

Only suggestion would be to provide more advance notice of some of the more scenic pullouts.”

“Beartooth Highway is best route off Cody to Mammoth Hot Springs, least traffi c, great scenery. Cody is used to stock the RV.”

“Beautiful trip over Monster Mountain was scary for me. I’m scared of heights! God’s handiwork is awesome!”

“Best mountain scenery we have ever experienced. Please leave as is. We don’t need another four-lane highway through scenic America. Slow down and take it all in.”

“Don’t ever change this road. I love the curves and turns just the way it is.”

“Fantastic scenery, great animal watching opportunities., fascinating road construction.”

“God and engineers and builders did a good job.”“Happy we traveled Chief Joseph Scenic Byway, beautiful country even

though we did not go up to Red Lodge.”“Have seen Beartooth Pass written up in the magazines. Highly rated,

should invite PBS or National Geographic with direction to make a docu-mentary of the building and use of BTH. I fi nd it interesting that the Swedish engineers designed the road.”

“I am from Japan. I don’t understand the expression ‘elbow room.’”“I was familiar with Chief Joseph as I am a historian. Th e highway was a

highlight of our trip, and I will recommend this passage.”“Most beautiful drive anywhere! More signage needed to remind tourists

not to stop on the roadway, more turnouts needed.”“Primary reason for traveling Beartooth — it was a diff erent route between

Cody and the interstate on the way to Yellowstone.”“Breathtaking drive. Please don’t make it ‘safer’”

‘God and engineers and builders did a good job.’~ Traveler ~

Mothers and kidsMountain goats take a rest aft er an aft ernoon of grazing in a wildfl ower-covered meadow near the summit of the Beartooth Highway

(U.S. 212). Th e goats were shedding their winter coats and growing new, sleek ones. Tribune fi le photo by Ilene Olson


» ON THE ROAD

Meeteetse dates its earliest settlements to the 1870s. Th e town, itself, dates to the establishment of a post offi ce and the school in 1880.

This was 16 years prior to the establishment of Cody in 1896. Meeteeste, in Park County, lies 30 miles southeast of Cody on Wyo-ming 120.

Meeteetse’s history is rich in early day ranching in the upper Greybull River Valley. Th e Pitchfork Ranch, an icon of pioneer ranch development west of Meeteetse, traces its roots to 1879 and at one time encompassed 250,000 acres.

In 1881, Meeteetse was the terminus of the old Meeteetse Trail, built by the army as a stage and freight road running from Red Lodge (and Billings), Montana, to get supplies to the area. Th e trail was the fi rst road built in the Big Horn Basin and was eventually extended to Lander and Rawlins.

In the 1880s, Meeteetse became the jumping off point for a minor gold rush to the Upper Wood River Valley. In 1885, William Kirwin discovered gold in the valley, and by 1891, the Wood River Mining Dis-trict had been formed. Th e center of the mining district was the town of Kirwin, 33 miles to the southwest of Meeteetse at 9,500 feet of elevation.

A number of mines were established in the area, and gold was brought out by mules. Snow, and depleting commercial gold, spelled the end of the mining. In a 1907 blizzard, 50 feet of snow fell on Kirwin in eight days, and an avalanche buried the town store, killing three people. With spring thaw, the remaining occupants left town.

Meeteetse even has connection with some of the mystical outlaw history of the West. Butch Cassidy once lived in the area and left his mark on an 1886 petition. In 1894, he was arrested outside the Cowboy Bar. Th e Cowboy Bar is still operating today.

Kirwin is accessible today, and has buildings still standing.Meeteetse is proud of its

ranching, mining and cowboy heritage. Today the “meeting place” is the center for many and varied outdoor recreation ac-tivities in keeping with Western traditions. Th e charm of the Old West is preserved in Meeteetse’s wooden boardwalks, watering troughs, hitching posts and historic buildings dating to the turn of the 20th century.

Hiking, hunting and fi shing, horseback riding, camping and wildlife viewing opportunities are abundant in the Meeteetse outdoor world. Th e cowboy heritage of rodeo provides a town celebration each Labor Day weekend. Last year was the 101st running of the Meeteetse Labor Day Rodeo.

For more information, call the Meeteetse Visitor Center at 307-868-2454 or visit www.meeteetsewy.com.

‘Meeting place’In the Shoshone Indian language, Meeteetse means “meeting place,” and for more than 140 years, it has been just that as one of the oldest settlements in the Big Horn Basin of northwest Wyoming.

Meeteetse: Rich with history

Hiking, hunting and fi shing, horseback riding, camping and wildlife viewing opportunities are abundant in the Meeteetse outdoor world.

Th e meadow of the Double D Dude Ranch lies southwest of Meeteetse on the Wood River. Courtesy photo


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Free 2015 Events:June 5--Legend Rock Presentation, 7pmJune 6-----------------Legend Rock TourJuly 17 ----------- Outdoor concert, 6pm with the Gypsy Cowbelle and Packin’ the MailJuly 19 ----------- Double D Ranch TourAug. 8 ---------------------- Kirwin TourAug. 22 ----------Medicine Lodge Creek Pictograph TourSept. 25-26 --------- Black-Footed Ferret Celebration

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Where outlaws rode and cattle barons ruled

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Sunday Noon - 4pm Tel. 307-868-2423

» ON THE ROAD

A monument on the north edge of Meeteetse attests to the dream that died with the disappearance somewhere in the Pacifi c of America’s heroine of aviation, Amelia Earhart.

Th e fi rst woman to fl y across the At-lantic Ocean (and the fi rst person to fl y across both the Atlantic and the Pacifi c) fell in love with the Meeteetse area while on a visit in the 1930s. She was having a home built in the Wood River Valley when she mysteriously disappeared in 1937 on a fl ight to circumnavigate the earth from the equator.

Th e Meeteetse connection for Amelia Earhart was dude rancher Carl Dunrud and his wife Vera. In the early 1930s, the Dunruds made an eff ort to revive the abandoned town of Kirwin. Th ey built and opened the Double D Dude Ranch near Kirwin.

Carl Dunrud had previously worked on Meeteetse area ranches, and he had served as a guide in Yellowstone Park. Th ere, he met George P. Putnam, New York City publisher, who would marry Amelia Earhart in 1931. Putnam em-

ployed Dunrud as a roper on Putnam’s 1926 expedition to Greenland where Dunrud roped polar bears, musk oxen and walruses.

Years later, Amelia Earhart and Put-nam were among visitors and guests of the Dunruds at the Double D Dude Ranch. Earhart directed that a cabin be built for her future use aft er her around-the-world fl ight.

The Earhart cabin, located one-half mile from Kirwin, remains unfinished, awaiting for the aviatrix who never re-turned.

“Lady Lindy,” as Earhart was known in the adoring press of the time, had com-pleted 22,000 miles of her fl ight around the globe. The remaining 7,000 miles would be over the Pacifi c.

She was on a 2,556-mile leg from New Guinea to Howland Island, between Australia and Hawaii in July of 1937 when she disappeared. It is widely believed her plane ran short of fuel and had to be ditched.

To see pictures of Amelia or to learn more, visit the Meeteetse Museums.

Aviatrix Amelia Earhart’s Meeteetse dream unfulfilled

Carl M. Dunrud gave Amelia

Earhart a haircut on the Double D

Ranch in 1934.

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We offer prompt and courteous service. We take pride in our customer’s satisfaction. We offer courtesy shuttle service to your home or business

and a comfortable customer waiting area with free wi-fi.

We will work with your extended warranty or extended service plan even if you didn’t buy it here.

Complete vehicle maintenance from oil changes to brakes, batteries and tires.

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Cody is the “Rodeo Capital of the World.”

Night aft er night, Cody proves that it is rodeo, all summer long. The Cody Nite Rodeo kicks off every night from June 1 to Aug. 31, and the annual Cody Stampede arrives July 1-4.

From the turn of the century, rodeos and parades have been part of the Fourth of July in Cody. For 95 years, starting offi cially in 1919, the Cody Stampede rodeo has been held every summer.

Th is year marks the 77th an-niversary of the nightly perfor-mances. Th ese two events establish Cody as not only one of the longest running successful professional rodeos, but also the only place in the country that has a rodeo per-formance nightly.

Mo Betta Rodeo Company and Tate family have been producing the nightly rodeo for more than fi ve

years and continue to make history. For the nightly rodeo, gates

open at 7 p.m. with rodeo action kicking off at 8 p.m. All seating is general admission.

Be sure to arrive early and have your picture taken on the live rodeo bull “Hollywood,” get your face painted by the rodeo clowns, learn to rope like the cowboys and cowgirls.

Th e Cody/Yellowstone Xtreme Bulls, featuring the top 40 bullriders in the world, takes place June 30. Gates open at 5 p.m. and the rodeo kicks off at 7 p.m.

For the Cody Stampede Rodeo from July 1-3, gates will open at 6 p.m. and the rodeo begins at 8 p.m. On the Fourth of July, gates will open at 3 p.m. with the rodeo beginning at 5 p.m.

For tickets, visit www.codystampederodeo.com, www.codynightrodeo.com or call 1-800-207-0744.

CODY IS RODEO

Cody Nite Rodeo Every night from June 1 to Aug. 31

Cody Stampede Rodeo: July 1-4

2ND & BENT STREETS DOWNTOWN POWELL

Art Exhibits

Outdoor Splash Pad

AUGUST 13-15Plaza Arts Festival

YEAR ROUNDArts Education

Trashcan School Plein Air Event

Enriching the community through access to the arts!

Join us for:

Community Center for the Arts

YEAR ROUND

JUNE - SEPT.

WWW.PLAZADIANE.ORG

Th e Cody Nite Rodeo kicks off June 1 and is every night at 8 p.m. through Aug. 31. Tribune fi le photo by Kevin Kinzley

» ON THE ROAD

Whether you have two hours or two days, a visit to the fi ve museums of the Buff alo Bill Center of the West is sure to be one of the best parts of your trip West. Th e center, a Smithsonian Institution Affi liate, is billed as “Th e Voice of the American West.” And what a story the center’s fi ve museums tell!

Th e Buff alo Bill Center of the West recounts the tales of the legendary show-man William F. “Buff alo Bill” Cody. Just imagine, by age 22, Cody had worked a wagon train, prospected for gold, rode for the Pony Express, hunted buff alo for the railroad and scouted for the Army. One need only spend some time in the Buff alo Bill Center of the West to meet the man and agree, “Buff alo Bill was so big — even the West couldn’t hold him.”

Th e Whitney Gallery of Western Art captures the masterworks of the artists of the American West. Remington, Russell, Catlin, Bierstadt, Moran and Wyeth are just a few of the long list of revered artists represented in the collection.

Th e Plains Indian Museum presents the history of the Northern Plains tribes. Native voices, coupled with beautiful objects, articulate the life stories of Plains Indian peoples — the cultures and histories, as well as the modern-day existence.

Whether cowboy or trapper, settler or Native American, the story of the American West is incomplete without the fi rearm. Housing the most comprehen-

sive collection of American fi rearms in the world, the Cody Firearms Museum chronicles the history of the fi rearm, from the earliest days up to the modern era.

Th e Draper Museum of Natural History is the fi rst American natural history museum to be established in the 21st century. Here, visitors are encouraged to become explorers of the Greater Yellowstone Area as they explore the relation-ship between the people, the animals, the plants and the landscape of the West.

Th e Buff alo Bill Center of the West is located at 720 Sheridan Ave. in Cody.Travelers to Cody in 2015 will fi nd a new name on the museum treasure that

for the last 50 years was known as the Buff alo Bill Historical Center.Now the museum complex bears the name of the Buff alo Bill Center of the

West.Th e institution’s board of directors said the name change is to more accurately

describe the width and depth of the museum’s mission, collections and programs.Th e new name captures more fully the great collections and everything

the museum is about. Th e fi ve museums and research library are a world class experience in Yellowstone nature and science, art of the American West, Plains Indians, fi rearms and history as told through the life and times of William F. “Buff alo Bill” Cody.

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Located in the heart of Downtown Powell, the Plaza Diane Community Center for the Arts is a gateway to creative exchange and a gathering spot in the community.

Visitors are invited to observe and experience the arts and humanities in the center’s casual, friendly setting.

Th is summer, the center will host the Powell Arts Festival from Aug. 13-15.

Th e festival will feature an arts and craft s fair, art walk, live performances on the outdoor stage, urban plein air painting, a fi ne art exhibit by artist Karyne Dunbar and a brewfest at the WYOld West Brewing Company in downtown Powell.

Th e urban plein air event is called Th e Trashcan School. Artists are invited to paint scenes along the picturesque main street of Powell. Paintings completed during the event will be exhibited in the Plaza Diane Community Center for the Arts gallery the evening of Aug. 15.

Th e full weekend of events also includes the Wings ‘N’ Wheels car and air show at the Powell

Airport and the Wyoming Desperados Mounted Shooters at the Park County Fairgrounds.

Enjoy the arts, sun, beer and fun!Th e weekend festival is sponsored by Th e Pow-

ell Valley Chamber of Commerce, Park County Travel Council, The Wyoming Arts Council, PleinAir Magazine and Plaza Diane.

For more information about the Powell Arts Festival, visit www.plazadiane.org/festival For details about the urban plein air event, visit www.plazadiane.org/pleinair.

Lodging and information about the area can be found at www.powellchamber.org and www.yellowstonecountry.org.

P O W E L L A R T S F E S T I V A L A U G U S T 13 - 15

Plaza Diane Community Center for the ArtsPlaza Diane Community Center for the Arts

Plaza Diane Community Center for the Arts in downtown Powell will host Powell Arts Festival events Aug. 13-15. Enjoy painting, sun, beer and fun. Tribune fi le photos

» ON THE ROAD

Buffalo Bill Dam

It’s known today as Buff alo Bill Dam in the Shoshone Canyon west of Cody.

But it was Shoshone Dam when it was constructed as an engineer-ing marvel between 1906 and 1910.

Th e name was changed to Buf-falo Bill Dam in 1946 by an act of Congress.

Today the Buff alo Bill Dam is even taller than it was in 1910 when it was initially completed as the world’s tallest concrete arch, then standing 328 feet high. Over a seven-year pe-riod between 1985 and 1992, the dam was raised by 25 feet to increase the storage capacity of Buff alo Bill Reservoir by 74,000 acre-feet.

Buff alo Bill Dam is now 353 feet high. A modern visitors center has been constructed adjacent to the top of the dam. Th e visitors center tells the story of dam construction and the story of reclamation of more than 90,000 acres of Shoshone Rec-lamation Project lands downriver.

Powell is at the center of the Sho-shone Reclamation Project, where land was opened to homesteading in 1907, even before the dam was completed. Th e Corbett Diversion Dam on the Shoshone River some 5 miles below Cody allowed for wa-ter to be diverted into the Garland Canal which delivered the irrigation water to the fi rst homestead units near Powell.

Th e Shoshone Project was the second U.S. Bureau of Reclamation project authorized by Congress.

Buff alo Bill Dam, registered as a National Historic structure and recorded as a National Civil Engi-neering Landmark, stands unique among structures of its kind.

It was dedicated as a National Civil Engineering Landmark in September 1973. Th en Commis-sioner of Reclamation Gilbert Stamm praised Buff alo Bill Dam as

a tribute to the archi-tects, engineers and laborers who built the dam at the turn of the century.

Engineers selected the narrowest part of the solid granite Sho-shone Canyon for the location of the dam. H.N. Savage, super-

vising engineer for the reclamation service, called the spot “the perfect granite foundation” for the dam.

Before work could begin on the dam, an 8-mile road from Cody to the site had to be carved along the rugged river bank. Much of the drilling for the construction was carried on during the winter, and drillers cursed low temperatures, high winds and anchor ice, as well as the huge granite boulders tightly grouted to smaller boulders resting on the bedrock.

Th e original contract was let for $515,730 on Sept. 5, 1905. Before the dam was completed at a total cost of $929,658, two contractors had gone bankrupt, and the project was fi nished by a third contractor. Seven workers were killed during construction, three lost limbs, three more lost their eyesight and 28 oth-ers were crippled or mutilated.

Lives and limbs

sacrifi ced during dam’s construction

Th e Buff alo Bill Dam west of Cody, with the visitor center at upper right, is a key part of the water supply system for both irrigation and munici-pal water needs in the Shoshone River basin. Tribune fi le photo by Ilene Olson

Once the world’s tallest concrete arch


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In 2014, 95 of the 148 people who died on Wyoming highways WERE NOT WEARING SEAT BELTS. And

Smith MansionAn architectural wonder atop a hill 15 miles

east of Yellowstone National Park prompts many passersby to question: ‘What’s that?’

Just west of Wapiti, the 75-foot-high Smith mansion, or, as it’s also known, “The Crazy House,” was built by Francis Lee Smith.

While working on the home on a April day in 1992, Smith slipped from an upper fl oor and fell to his death.

Sunny Smith Larsen, who grew up in the home, is organizing an effort to restore and preserve the site.

“Everything is pretty much left how he left it,” says Smith Larsen.

Beneath the spot, on the rocky ground, a rose bush has grown.

“Makes you kind of wonder,” says Smith Larsen. “Nothing grows up here.”

She took a renewed interest in the mansion aft er her brother, Bucky Smith, died in 2005, leaving her with sole ownership.

“It’s amazing that it was all done by hand,” she says, pointing out pieces that were to be used as a hand-drawn elevator.

“We’ve had architects come up here, and they’re amazed,” she said.

It was a talent unique to Smith, who, when

not working on the home, worked as an architect in Cody.

Any blueprints for the site are gone, leaving Larsen with few clues as to what exactly her father had planned.

“I wish he was here so I could ask him,” she says.

At the time of his death, Smith was close to completing two decades of work on the mansion.

As a testament to its eccentricity, opinions of the home widely diff er. Some neighbors enjoy the mansion’s towering profi le, others fi nd it an eyesore.

“You either love it or you hate it,” says Smith Larsen. “You’re either really intrigued or you’re just put off .”

Interest in the hilltop high-rise, however, is near universal. For passing tourists or long-time locals, the structure is hard to miss or ignore.

Smith Larsen has a number of ideas for the mansion, perhaps selling branded memorabilia, perhaps creating a tourist attraction, perhaps turning it into a bed and breakfast where fl oors, and not rooms, would be rented out to guests.

Realistically, Larsen says it would take $400,000 to $500,000 to restore the place. For more information, visit www.smithmansion.org.

Th e Smith Mansion stands on a ridge above the North Fork highway west of Cody near the community of Wapiti. Construction on this home halted with the owner/builder’s death in a fall from the structure. Clean-up eff orts continue at the site, which is privately owned. Tribune fi le photo


PURCHASE OF $50+

TAKE AN EXTRA

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America’s fi rst national park off ers something for every traveler — excit-ing adventure, beautiful scenery, wildlife, serenity, geysers, fi ne food and accommodations ranging from rustic to glamorous.

Yellowstone National Park was founded in 1872 aft er early explorers reported fi nding dazzling geysers, colorful mineral ponds, rumbling wa-terfalls and abundant wildlife. More than 100 years later, little has changed in the park’s backcountry, although beautiful hotels, campgrounds, visitor centers and other facilities dot the park’s 466 miles of paved roads. To leave the beaten path, go to one of the park’s 92 trailheads, leading to more than 1,100 miles of backcountry trails.

Come early; come oft en — an annual pass allowing unlimited access to the park is $50, while a seven-day pass for a private car full of visitors is $25. A visitor riding a motorcycle or snowmobile pays $20. Th ose walking in or riding a bike pay $12 apiece. An annual interagency pass that covers admission to most national parks and federal recreation areas throughout the United States is $80.

Discounted passes are available for senior citizens or disabled visitors.

But for a few days a year, you can get into the park for free — the Na-tional Park Service waives entrance fees on Aug. 25, “NPS Birthday;” Sept. 26, National Public Lands Day; and Nov. 11 for Veterans Day weekend.

Roads are open 24 hours a day throughout the park through the summer, although various road construction projects are planned each year. For cur-rent conditions and road construction schedules, call (307) 344-2117 or visit www.nps.gov/yell. Xanterra Parks and Resorts operates lodging and store facilities in Yellowstone. For lodging reservations, camping information and other visitor services, call (307) 344-7311 or toll-free at 866-GEYSERLAND (866-439-7375) or check the company’s website, www.yellowstonenationalparklodges.com.

Information about Yellowstone National Park is also available at the Pow-ell Valley Chamber of Commerce along U.S. 14-A or at visitor information offi ces in gateway cities like Cody and Cooke City, Montana.

To drive to Cooke City, take the scenic Chief Joseph Highway off Wyo. 120 about 16 miles north of Cody and follow the signs leading to the park’s northeast entrance.

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK

B E C K O N I N G T R A V E L E R S


A ranger gives directions to a tourist at the Grand Prismatic Spring area in Yellowstone National Park while others walk or sit and observe the geo-thermic features and beauty around them. Tribune fi le photo by Ilene Olson

» ON THE ROAD

Be alertSee the bear before you surprise it.

Watch for bear signs such as tracks, scat and feeding sites. When hiking, stay alert and aware of your surround-ings. Frequently look ahead, off to the sides, and behind you.

Carry bear sprayBear spray is a non-lethal bear

deterrent designed to stop aggressive behavior in bears. You don’t have to be a good shot with bear spray. All you need to do is put up a cloud of bear spray between you and the charging bear when it’s about 30-60 feet away. Bear spray must be im-mediately accessible in a quick draw holster, not stored in your pack.

Avoid hiking at dawn, dusk

or at nightWhenever possible avoid hiking

at dawn, dusk or at night. During the hot summer season these are the periods when grizzly bears are most active.

Hike close together

or in groupsWhenever possible, hike in

groups of three or more people — 91 percent of the people injured by bears in Yellowstone since 1970 were hiking alone or with only one hiking partner. Only 9 percent of the people injured by bears were in groups of three or more people.

Make noise, alert bears

to your presenceWhen hiking, periodically yell

“Hey bear,” especially when walking through dense vegetation or blind spots, or when traveling upwind, near loud streams or on windy days. Avoid thick brush whenever possible.

Avoid carcassesDeer and elk carcasses are a highly

preferred bear food that bears will guard and defend against other scav-engers or humans. Dead ungulates will attract and hold many bears near the carcass site. It is risky to approach a carcass; many bears may be bedded nearby just out of sight. Leave the im-mediate area by the same route you approached the carcass from. Report all carcasses to the nearest ranger sta-tion or visitor center.

Stay with your gearDon’t leave your packs, lunches,

food or beverages unattended as they may attract and hold bears at the site. If you surprise a bear that’s eating your stashed food, you may lose more than your lunch.

(From the National Park Service)

Reduce the risk of a BEAR

ENCOUNTER

Buffalo Bill DamV I S I T O R C E N T E R

Visit us at www.bbdvc.orgCall us at 307-527-6076

Located on the road to YellowstoneOpen daily May through September

F R E E A D M I S S I O N

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331 West Coulter Powell 307-754-3122

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» ON THE ROAD

POWELL • 307-754-9521455 South AbsarokaHours: Mon-Sat -----7:30am-6pmSunday ----------10:00am-4:30pm

Clothing Department

If you forgot something ... We probably have it!

It’s like ten stores under one roof!

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CAMPING SUPPLIESRubbermaid Coolers, Rayovac Flashlights & Batt eries, Honda Generators & Much More!

Tools & Hardware by Stanley, Allied Tool, DeWalt and Quality Nut & Bolt.

Automotive Parts by Fram, Pennzoil, Havoline, Autolite, Quaker State, STP & Turtle Wax.

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