The Seven Wonders of Casper

I had heard of the seven wonders of Casper, but for one reason or another, I kept forgetting to check them out.  I finally did a little research and found out that there are actually more than seven.  I use the term “wonder” loosely.  These are mainly quirks and oddities that, over time, our city has adopted.  As time has gone by, many people have added their own wonder to the list.  I will be no different.  My first “wonder” that I am adding to the list is new to Casper:

1.  The sundial:  It’s a public art project located near the intersections of Collins and Beech Streets in downtown Casper.

 

 

2.  Car in the Box:  Drive toward Second Street on Sun Drive.  You will see a car in a box next to the traffic signal.  I thought this was pretty cool.  I have driven on Second Street countless times, but never had a reason to drive on Sun, so I never noticed this before.

 

3.  Echo Chamber:  This is located in the Natrona County Library parking lot, in the rotunda.  The story is that you face the middle of the rotunda, from the sidewalk, and speak into the plaque.  Your voice is supposed to echo.  I tried it a few times, but couldn’t get it to echo.  I might not have been speaking loud enough (I probably looked pretty silly speaking to a wall.)

 

4.  The Egg Beater:  This is the Wells Fargo Tower.  You stand under it and spin around.  I tried to video this, but it made me dizzy and couldn’t keep the camera straight.  It was quite a site!

 

5.  Spiral Staircase:  This is located in the alley behind Toy Town.  I am not sure why this was built, because it dead-ends into a brick wall. I had one of those huh? moments.  I thought about climbing it.  That was it, just thought about it.

 

6.  Look-out Point:  This is located on a pull-out as you head up Casper Mountain.  I took this photo a week before the Sheep Herder Hill fire started.  I am not sure what it looks like up there yet.  The fire has not yet been contained and Casper Mountain Road is still closed.

 

7.  Eternal Flame:  The flame is part of the Sinclair Refinery in Evansville.  It tells Casperites that they are home.  ( I did not post a picture because the flame would not have shown up in a photo on that bright, sun shiny day.)

 

The next set of “wonders” I could not see or could prove that they worked.

 

8.  Cowboy in the lights:  The story is that the lights of Casper, as seen from look-out point, make the shape of a cowboy on a bucking horse.  With all of the growth that Casper has experienced, I can’t imagine that this is still a “wonder.”

 

9.  Gravity Hill:  I was most excited about this one.  It starts on Garden Creek Road, near the entrance to Rotary Park.  This is where it gets specific:  You face your car toward Casper Mountain Road, by a big tree, and put your car in neutral.  You are supposed to be pulled uphill.  Notice I said “supposed to be?”  We tried several different big trees that were in that area.  Nothing seemed to work for us.  I don’t know if maybe I sneezed or looked the wrong way, but our truck just stood still.  I feel like the Mythbusters… myth busted.

 

10.  Jewels of Downtown:  On Midwest Avenue, near Center Street, there is a storm drain cover that is supposed to shine like jewels in the light.  We drove up and down Midwest Avenue and inspected all of the storm drains – no jewels.  Maybe after a rain shower?

 

11.  Hidden Clock:  You are supposed to be able to see this from the third floor of the First Interstate Parking garage.  We thought that it was the actual First Interstate parking garage (which was closed when we were trying to find it.)  I later found out that it can be seen from the public parking garage.  It is a clock that was on the side of a building before the parking garage was built.

 

As you can see, these are mainly weird points of interest.  It was a fun-filled day finding and learning about these oddities, even though I did look silly sometimes.  I challenge you to find your own town’s seven wonders.

 

 

 





 

 

 

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