Sweetwater County Museum Visit and a Wild Horse Scenic Tour

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Pilot Butte, a pominent landmark along the Emigrant Trails, Wyoming/  
 
Pilot Butte, a bit to the west of Green River and Rock Springs, Wyoming, was a prominent landmark along the Emigrant Trails.

We got up this morning, had breakfast- I am getting really tired of carton scrambled eggs- and headed for Green River, Wyoming. We primarily were interested in going on a driving tour of the Pilot Butte Loop, which is known for its herd of wild horses, but also thought we would visit the Sweetwater County Museum.

The Sweetwater County Museum was a typical small town museum, but did, I think, an admirable job of presenting the history of the county, which has a fairly deep and diverse history.

Connie examining displays at the Sweetwater County Museum, Green River, Wyoming. 
Connie studying the displays- she reads them all. I scan and move on- short attention span, I guess.
 

The museum leads off with text panels and photographs from the Powell expedition. A great piece of history. I really liked the photographs. However, the text panels tended towards "book on the wall," which was a major limitation of the whole museum. Too much to take in. This is a criticism, but intended in a positive manner.

John Wesley Powell Expedition display at the Sweetwater County Museum, Green River, Wyoming. 
The text-rich display describing John Westley Powell's expedition down the Green and Colorado rivers.
 

John Wesley Powell Expedition photograph display at the Sweetwater County Museum, Green River, Wyoming. 
My favorite display, photographs from the John Westley Powell's expedition down the Green and Colorado rivers.
 
 
Photograph of John Westley Powell's armchair boat. Sweetwater County Museum, Green River, Wyoming.
 
Photograph of John Westley Powell's armchair boat. He lost an arm to a bullet wound in the Battle of Shiloh (Civil War) and strapped himself in for the ride. 
 

The museum presented also a history of various immigrant groups, mining and agricultural interests, and some general history of native peoples and well-known bandits- Butch Cassidy, Big Nose George, and guns. 

Big nose George display at the Sweetwater County Museum, Green River, Wyoming. 
Big Nose George and guns. Guns!
 

Agriculture and mining display at the Sweetwater County Museum, Green River, Wyoming. 
Display about various industries/occupations in the olden days.
 

Although I thought the exhibits were a bit too text heavy, I still think the museum offers a really nice introduction to the history of the county. 

 

BLM Interpretive Sign on the Pilot Butte Loop Explaining Features along the Way.

The loop is advertised as 23-miles in length. That seems about right. We drove in from the "backside," at Green River and followed it around. We had almost made it to the "start" of the tour, where this and a few other signs were located, when we passed a minivan stopped on the side of the road. I noticed the front driver's side wheel was flat. We stopped to offer help the driver and her children. She didn't have a jack- I did- but she also didn't have a spare. She had cell service and had relative on the way. We visited for a bit and I gave her my number just in case. The websites describing the loop recommend high clearance, four wheel drive vehicles, I did not see the need if you stayed on the main gravel road, but there are some sharp rocks here and there on the road.

Well, along the way we saw at least 34 horses in a few small herds and six pronghorn antelope. We also saw 15 greater sage grouse, seven of which flushed from the roadside as we passed. It was impressive, the big birds flying up and over the hood and cab of the truck.

  
 
Small herd of wild horses on Pilot Butte scenic loop.
 

  
 
Wild horses on Pilot Butte scenic loop.

We returned to the hotel in Green River around 8:00 PM. We stopped and grabbed a snack for Connie and I got a couple of drinks. We relaxed and read for a bit before bed. All in all, a very enjoyable day!

 



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