Shows
Wyoming My 307Driving in Wyoming - Episode 21I’ve driven a lot of miles here in Wyoming, and have lots more to go! Driving in Wyoming is a little different from other parts of the country, for many reasons we go into in this episode. On this episode I had the pleasure of interviewing Aaron Turpen. He is a nationally recognized automotive journalist. Today’s Wyoming Wildlife segment is a three for one special! It will give you something to think about as you drive through the parts of Wyoming that feel like an endless sagebrush sea. The “Dot on the Map” is a charming little town at...2024-06-261h 03Wyoming My 307Caring for Family Treasures - Episode 20This episode I came to realize that the older I get, the more my house starts to feel like my own family history museum. That thought reminded me of a packrat, which is the Wyoming Wildlife featured in this episode. I turned to Sara Davis of the Wyoming State Archives for help on the “family treasures”. She gives us some great insights into the care and preservation of our own family heirlooms - things like this notebook, belonging to my great grandfather Alonzo Peterson. He was a miner for the Owl Creek Mining Company in Gebo WY, and before that...2024-05-2432 minWyoming My 307How to Read a Cemetery - Episode 19Have you ever wandered through a cemetery? Wondered about the life lived in that little dash between two dates? I visited a lot of local cemeteries for this episode, and today’s featured Wyoming wildlife kept me company. On this episode I was privileged to interview someone who shares my fascination with cemeteries, Jennifer Romanosky, of the Jim Gatchell Memorial Museum. Through her expertise, we decipher the symbolism engraved on headstones, and how they offer a unique peek into a person’s life. The dot on the map in this episode is Basin WY, an unassuming little town that was...2024-04-2752 minWyoming My 307Coal in Wyoming - Episode 18Too often, the coal industry is boiled down to an argument of good or bad, for or against. I interviewed Dr. Holly Krutka of the University of Wyoming, who gave us a much more nuanced look at this critically important Wyoming industry. I was also lucky to find some really great oral histories at the Wyoming State Archives. We get to hear from two old timers who were born in coal camps, and I even shared a personal perspective of coal mining in my own family. Our dot on the map is Donkey Town - well, that’s what it...2024-02-1747 minWyoming My 307Bar Culture in WY: Episode 17 REBOOT!Every time I go into a Wyoming bar, I’m pretty sure I’ll come out with a funny story. Did you hear the one about the coyote and badger that walked into a bar? No? I guess you’ll have to listen to the episode. Today features Julianne Couch, author of Jukeboxes and Jackalopes. We giggled a lot and got surprisingly philosophical - I promise we weren’t drinking! She guides us through a lot of Wyoming bars, mostly small town ones and we discussed what makes Wyoming bar culture unique. Hartville is the Dot on the Map - it’s W...2024-01-1655 minWyoming My 307Christmas In Wyoming 2023: Episode 16Happy Holidays! To quote Owen Wister in A Journey in Search of Christmas, I have left this reboot episode "until the lastest day"! I hope I caught you while you’re still in the Christmas spirit, and that 2024 brings you health, happiness and peace.
In this second special Christmas episode of Wyoming My 307, the German influence of Christmas in Wyoming features strongly. From the first “decorated Christmas in Wyoming” (Wyoming Historical Society) through the early settler period, WWII, and more, Wyoming Christmas has reflected the people and historical events at that time.
Check out the shownot...2023-12-2520 minWyoming My 307A Japanese-American in Small Town WY: Episode 15Wyoming’s treasures include turtles who can breathe underwater, a small town that moved across the river, and history makers such as Grant Ujifusa. He went from being a star on the high school football team to editor of a prestigious political best-seller in our nation’s capital. Grant convinced President Reagan to issue redress and an apology to Japanese Americans for their incarceration in WWII. Grant’s accomplishments have resulted in recognition not only in the Worland Warrior Hall of Fame, but in receiving the Order of the Rising Sun award from the Emperor of Japan! This episode shares...2023-03-281h 01Wyoming My 307Architecture in the Cowboy State: Episode 14We think of architecture as grand buildings found in big cities, but it actually covers all the built environment, and includes everything from finely crafted houses, to prisons, or one room log cabins. On this episode I interview Eileen Starr who wrote THE book: Architecture in the Cowboy State. The dot on the map is a Wyoming architectural gem; a town of less than 500 folks featuring stunning Spanish style buildings and homes. The Wyoming wildlife segment features our own natural architect, a rarely seen, tiny rodent.
See the shownotes for links and more details!2023-01-3151 minWyoming My 307Christmas in Wyoming - 2022 Episode 13Happy Holidays! I’ve been collecting stories and anecdotes about Christmas in Wyoming - these stories highlight the uniqueness of celebrating the holidays during our harsh winters. From Portugee Phillips’ Christmas Eve ride to secure reinforcements for Fort Fetterman, to ordinary citizens and their determination to celebrate despite winter’s hardships, Christmas in Wyoming is not for the faint of heart!
See the shownotes for links and more details!
2022-12-2423 minWyoming My 307Indian Artifact Repatriation: Episode 12Go to any Wyomingite’s home, especially if they have been here for generations, and you will find references to American Indian culture, or even native artifacts. On this episode I interviewed Jordan Dresser, Chairman of the Northern Arapaho Business Council on the Wind River Indian Reservation. He helped me understand what the repatriation of native artifacts means. His hometown of Ethete is our dot on the map, and you’ll be blown away by the Wyoming Wildlife segment.
See the shownotes for links and more details!
2022-11-2728 minWyoming My 307Cryptocurrency In Wyoming: Episode 11Starting in 2018, Wyoming’s legislature passed a host of laws favorable to the blockchain industry, becoming the lead state in the field. This effort was shepherded by Wall Street veteran, Wyoming native and UW graduate Caitlin Long, who I interviewed on this episode. Prepare to learn about blockchain, beefchain, crypto-currency, Decentralized Autonomous Organizations and how all of this relates to Wyoming. Plus you’ll learn about a cryptic snake native to our state, and our Dot on the Map which has about 5000 citizens, none of which actually live there.
See the shownotes for all the links and detai...2022-11-0159 minWyoming My 307Hikes By Highways: On Your Way to Yellowstone - Episode 10When it comes to outdoor recreation, Wyoming has an embarrassment of riches! Whether you’re a resident or visitor, it’s impossible to get to all of it. In this episode I explored Hikes by Highways with Wyoming Outdoor Recreation Pathfinder Bruce Scigliano. We explored two routes to Yellowstone, and hikes right off the highways that would take us there. Bruce brings us hikes along the route from the Black Hills to Yellowstone. I brought us up from Colorado to Yellowstone. We picked hikes that were as close as possible to the highway so you can stop and stretch your...2022-08-2644 minWyoming My 307Wyoming’s History of Flight - Episode 9Wyoming has surprising connections to America’s history of flight - including heroic early mail flights, and the founding of America’s air stewards. This episode features an interview of Mike Kassel, co-author of Wyoming Airmail Pioneers, and Wyoming's Friendly Skies. A tiny Wyoming town, whose streets are former runways is explored, and we also learn about one of Wyoming’s biggest, and most distinctive sounding birds.
See the shownotes for links and reference information presented in this episode.
2022-06-0945 minWyoming My 307Game Warden Life - Episode 8Over 55% of Wyoming is public land, with 31 million acres open to hunting. Enter the Game Warden. One third of their job is enforcement of hunting, fishing, trapping and boating laws. This episode features an interview of Bill Robertson about his experience as a game warden, then delves into Otto Wyoming. Plus, Mountain Goats!
See the shownotes for links and reference information presented in this episode.
2021-12-0350 minWyoming My 307The Language of Rocks: Geology and Dinosaurs in Wyoming‘s Bighorn Basin - Episode 7Wyoming is a geologist's paradise, but you don’t have to be one to enjoy the geologic wonders that Wyoming offers. Just driving through the state gives us spectacular views of badlands, layered rock formations, faults and canyons. In this episode, geologist and Wyoming native Erik Kvale imagines a Jurassic era road trip through the Bighorn Basin. We also learn about the history and geologic importance of Medicine Bow WY, and are introduced to the Black Footed Ferrets once thought to be extinct, who are now being repopulated in the nearby Shirley Basin.
See the shownotes for lin...2021-10-0143 minWyoming My 307Wide Open Spaces - Episode 6When you fall in love with Wyoming, it's often because of the wide open spaces we're known for. This episode highlights outdoor recreation in our state; the effects we have on the natural world, and how it affects us. I interview Dr. Abigail Sisneros-Kidd and we learn about the town of Wapiti. Then I talk about an animal of which Scott Weidensaul said, "Before the East was logged, tamed and farmed...it, too, was the home of a creature the color of wheat that the Shawnee called wapiti." Join me to learn more!
See the shownotes for...2021-07-0839 minWyoming My 307Ranching In Wyoming - Episode 5Ranching in Wyoming - it's an industry, a vocation, and an important part of Wyoming's history and culture. This episode takes you behind the scenes, with an interview of Mary Flitner, life-long rancher and Wyoming author. We also explore the little town of Byron, and learn about bald eagles, and why my mom thought we ate horsemeat here in Wyoming. See the shownotes for links and reference information presented in this episode.
2020-11-1646 minWyoming My 307Words of Wyoming - Episode 4Crick or Creek? Join me in exploring words and phrases of Wyoming. Lexicographer and linguist Grant Barrett of the NPR podcast A Way With Words is my guest. Learn new words, pronunciations and have a good chuckle at my using the word agriculture as a noun. See the shownotes for links and reference information presented in this episode.
2020-10-1252 minWyoming My 307WW2 POW Camps in Wyoming - Bonus to Episode 3An interview with Wyoming author Cheryl O'Brien provides insights into the lives of POWs and the local Wyoming communities that hosted them during WW2. From finding a surprise relative, to a German prisoner's poetic love for Wyoming, this episode gives us a slice of life in the 40's and how the war impacted our state.
Check out the shownotes for links referenced in this bonus episode.
2020-08-1733 minWyoming My 307World War 2 in Wyoming - Episode 3Go on a virtual tour of WWII related locations. Learn about two surprisingly different teams working on murals at the same time, and how my Uncle Dale "snuck in" to the Navy. The episode also features an interview of documentary film maker Mark Pedri who has made a film about WWII in Wyoming. See the shownotes for links and reference information presented in this episode.
2020-08-0550 minWyoming My 307A Critter In the Henhouse - Bonus to Episode 2In this (first!) bonus episode, Jackson Lassiter reads a short story from his book, Birds of a Feather. Be warned, there's some cussin', act accordingly! Listen to Episode 2 for the interview with Jackson, and see the shownotes for information on how to purchase the book.
2020-06-2813 minWyoming My 307Gay In Wyoming - Episode 2A look at being Gay in Wyoming, including some historical context. I interviewed my first guest, Jackson Lassiter, author of the book of short stories and essays Birds of a Feather, who grew up Gay in Wyoming in the 60's and 70's. Please forgive some of the low quality sound issues - this was my first virtual interview and I'm still wrangling this technology!
Episode 2 shownotes.
2020-06-2739 minWyoming My 307Welcome to Wyoming My 307 - Episode 1An introduction to the podcast, featuring a little town in Wyoming, Greybull, where you can have a lovely spot of tea, then walk on the footsteps of dinosaurs. Links and details are in the shownotes for episode 1.
2020-05-0834 min