If you don’t live in Wyoming, the sight of a pronghorn antelope is positively magical. These thickly-coated mammals are like a cross between a deer and a wild goat, and look so peaceful as they graze in western grasslands. Yet the moment they’re startled, a pronghorn springs into action, sprinting up to 60 miles per hour across the plains. When you spot a pronghorn on the move, you believe it’s the speediest land animal in North America. They’re also an evolutionary oddity; they look a lot like African antelopes, but they’re genetically unrelated. Believe it or not, their closest relatives are giraffes.
This is just one species you may spot in the scrubland around Fossil Butte National Monument. Shaped like a giant, striated bottle cap, Fossil Butte is a big hill composed of sedimentary rock and speckled with vegetation. The multicolored surface may remind visitors of the Dakota Badlands, as may the surrounding treeless expanses. In a state full of natural wonders — from the jagged peaks of the Grand Tetons to the cylindrical monolith of Devils Tower — Fossil Butte is easily overlooked.
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Moreover, this national monument in Wyoming’s southwest corner is difficult to reach without a long drive in the backcountry. But intrepid travelers will be rewarded with big skies and eponymous fossils. And, like this underrated Wyoming state park that’s a must-visit for wildlife lovers, Fossil Butte is a fantastic ecosystem for spotting wildlife.
The prehistoric origins of Fossil Butte
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Animals have lived in this spot for at least 50 million years, but back then, most of its inhabitants had fins: the land mass that would become Fossil Butte lay was at the bottom of Fossil Lake. Over the eons, deceased marine specimens left permanent impressions in the emerging rock faces. Many of the fossils here are shockingly clear, giving scientists a vivid portrait of the sizes, shapes, and textures of various lifeforms.
So far, paleontologists have identified 27 fish species and 100 different kinds of insects. The Fossil Butte visitor center displays more than 2,000 of the fossils discovered here, including the “fish wall,” “turtle wall,” and “insect end case.” The center also has an extended physical timeline, representing different stages of geology since Earth was formed, helping patrons appreciate just how ancient this region is.
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If you’re looking for fauna that still roams these parts, head outside. The grounds are crisscrossed with two main hiking routes: Historic Quarry Trail and Fossil Butte Nature Trail. Together, the trails cover about four miles and are well-maintained. More rustic alternatives include Cundick Ridge Trail, Eagle Nest Point Trail, and Rubey Point Trail. None of these trails is too difficult, and you’d be hard-pressed to get lost in such a wide-open space, but do make sure to bring water, snacks, and sunscreen, especially on hot days. (These are some of the hiking safety tips everyone should know.) From the trail, you’re likely to spot pronghorns in the surrounding grasses, as well as white-tailed prairie dogs and ground squirrels. You’re less likely to encounter a bobcat, mountain lion, moose, or badger, but rest assured, they’re out there.
Getting to Fossil Butte and where to stay
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Fossil Butte is definitely off the beaten path. Two hundred miles south of Yellowstone National Park and more than 350 miles from Wyoming’s state capital Cheyenne, this national monument requires effort to visit. Interestingly, Fossil Butte is closer to Salt Lake City, Utah than it is to any major Wyoming destination, and you can drive from that city’s airport — a major hub — to the entrance of Fossil Butte in a little over two hours.
This is a great location to get away from it all; the landscapes from the highway are rugged desert and prairie as far as the eye can see. You can drive for miles without passing so much as a service station. You could easily weave Fossil Butte into a scenic road trip from Salt Lake City to Yellowstone National Park. One consolation for venturing out so far is that entrance to Fossil Butte is free.
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The closest hotels to the national monument are nestled in the little town of Diamondville. This place doesn’t have quite 700 residents, but the nearby tourist attraction supports several accommodations, most under $100 per night. Note that Diamondville isn’t next door; you’ll have to drive about 12 miles to reach town, so keep an eye on that fuel gauge. If you come during warmer months, you can hop over to Bear Lake State Park in Utah, a popular spot for swimming and water-sports. It may give you an idea what Fossil Lake looked like all those ages ago.
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The moment my wife and I finished earning our college degrees, we were ready to leave Utah.
We’d been living in Orem, a city with about 95,000 residents, while attending school nearby. Now that we weren’t tied down to the area, we wanted to move elsewhere — ideally, someplace cheaper.
I’d started working as a remote freelance writer, so we were flexible on location and interested in seeing where my modest income would stretch furthest.
Most of all, we wanted to live somewhere that would help us save for a down payment on our first home. Eventually, these goals led us to a tiny town in Wyoming.
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Wyoming’s Bridger Valley offered lower rent, taxes, and gas prices
Moving to a smaller, more rural town was a great move financially, but it came with trade-offs.
Christian Allred
After learning about our moving plans, my wife’s aunt suggested looking in Bridger Valley, where she and her husband lived. We’re glad we did.
Located on the southwestern tip of Wyoming by the Utah border, the area had a lot of relatively affordable rentals, and we settled on an apartment in its small town of Mountain Valley.
Our rent was $650 a month — nearly half of what our existing lease would’ve renewed at for about the same living space. Both apartments were two-bedroom, one-bathroom units in a fourplex.
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Over the next two years, we discovered other financial benefits of living in Wyoming, such as not having to pay a state income tax or sales tax on most groceries. Even gas was significantly cheaper here than it was in Orem.
As a result, we were able to save more of our income each month.
But living in a small Wyoming town also had its drawbacks
Mountain View has a population of just over 1,000, and many residents work at one of the nearby trona mines, making them a hardy group. I felt like an outlier as a remote worker, and I only met one other person who worked from home while we lived here.
Meanwhile, though we were only a two-hour drive from my wife’s family in Utah, it was far enough that we saw them much less — maybe five or six times a year.
Compared to Orem, there were also fewer amenities: We had a gas station, a grocery store, a bowling alley, a tiny library, a handful of restaurants, and little else. However, we didn’t mind much, especially since we made good friends at church and in the community.
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The hardest part was the cold. Winter weather in the area basically lasts half the year, from about November to April, and temperatures regularly drop below freezing.
On occasion, the freeway connecting Mountain View to Utah was even closed due to dangerously icy road conditions. We stayed indoors a lot and missed Utah’s milder winters.
After 2 years, we’d saved enough to buy land in Washington, where we plan to build our first home
There’s a lot to like about small-town living, including how much we were able to save.
Christian Allred
Our move ultimately paid off.
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During our time in Wyoming, we saved $20,000 to put toward just over an acre of land near my family in rural Washington.
Today, we own the land outright as we prepare to have our first home built on it. In the meantime, we’re living in my parents’ newly renovated ADU nearby.
Looking back, those cold Wyoming winters and quiet weekends were worth it. We traded convenience and proximity to family for financial breathing room — and in two years, that breathing room helped us buy real estate.
Plus, we came to love so much about remote small-town living, like its slower pace of life and the friends we made. For us, it was exactly the sacrifice we needed to make homeownership possible.
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — A Wisconsin teen is safe after Wyoming Highway Patrol troopers tracked down her alleged kidnappers.
On Saturday, Nov. 29, troopers responded to a “be on the lookout” alert for a missing female minor. She was allegedly traveling with a 20-year old male wanted on drug charges out of Two Rivers, Wisconsin.
Using cellphone pings, troopers were able to determine the suspected vehicle was traveling west on Interstate 80 between Laramie and Rawlins.
A trooper stopped the vehicle after spotting it just outside of Sinclair and identified the missing girl.
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She was found to be with two people who claimed they were hired to transport her to Utah. The two men were taken into custody and charged with kidnapping and interference with parental custody.
“I am proud of the work and cooperation between the troopers and our dispatchers who went above and beyond to locate this girl and get her home safe,” said Captain Mike Simmons of WHP District 1. “Two alleged kidnappers are in custody and a girl is home with her parents thanks to incredible teamwork of all involved.”
There is an active investigation in relation to this case, and no further details will be released during the investigation.
