While resting on a rock on a hike in Boulder, Colorado, I met a fellow hiker visiting from Australia. He asked me if I had been to Vedauwoo. I asked, "VEDA what?" He told me he had just visited Vedauwoo motorcycle camping! He described the Medicine Bowe-Routt National Park (an area between Laramie and Cheyenne) as an "alien-like Stonehenge" of Wyoming. Having never even heard of it, I set out to Google the destination. And, the next day I planned by trip across the border into Wyoming.
In a nutshell, Vedauwoo is a collection of magnificently colored rock pottery for giants (a little "Gulliver's Travels" reference). Perfectly stacked and balanced rocks that create peaceful natural sculptures, random rock formations growing out of the ground, and sudden and random hail, wind or thunder storms all make Vedauwoo a unique hiker and climber destination.
Native Americans (Arapaho) named this area Vedauwoo (pronounced Vee-duh-voo) which means "Land of the Earth born spirits." It's quite literally enchanted land. While hiking through the area, I saw so many animals in the rocks. In a picture below, it looks like a bear climbing upwards towards an eagle. Almost defying gravity, these natural rock formations were created over time from ice, wind and water. The rocks are Sherman granite and are some of the oldest rock in Wyoming (yet, still more than a billion years younger than the Tetons.)
Outdoors enthusiast of all skill levels can hike the trails of Vedauwoo. But, if you're looking for a challenge, you can climb the rocks vertically to see over 75 miles of beautiful dense pine trees meeting the beautiful Wyoming horizon. In a few pics below, you can see climbers (tiny specs in the pictures).
On my trip, I came back off the trail just in time to take cover in my car before a torrential hail storm hit. I had never seen hail like this before. No matter what the season in Wyoming (and even the peaks of Colorado), prepare for change as it can happen quick! After the storm subsided, I drove through the park and saw a moose! You can also see other wildlife in the park, such as elk, mountain lion, yellow-bellied marmots, badgers, coyotes, beavers, antelope, wild turkey, bald eagles, hawks, and mule deer. I plan to go back to see more (I think the hail storm discouraged a lot of the critters from coming out). Vedauwoo was definitely worth the adventure! It's great for a weekend of hiking, trail running, biking, climbing and camping. I even saw a beautiful wedding being set up while I was exiting the park.
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