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IT'S A LAND THAT CAN TAKE YOUR BREATH AWAY,
WITH TOWERING VOLCANIC PINNACLES TO MAKE YOU GASP IN AWE,
STUNNING CANYONS TO KNOCK THE WIND RIGHT OUT OF YOU,
AND ENCOUNTERS WITH WILD CREATURES
THAT MIGHT JUST LEAVE YOU WAITING TO EXHALE.
BUT HERE IN WYOMING, THERE ARE MANMADE WONDERS, TOO,
FROM THE MYSTERIOUS CIRCLE OF AN ANCIENT TRIBE...
TO GIANT MINES CARVED BY THE BIGGEST MACHINES IN THE WORLD...
TO VAST STRETCHES OF OIL FIELDS THAT LIGHT UP THE PRAIRIE SKY,
WORRYING ENVIRONMENTALISTS,
BUT GIVING JOBS TO THOUSANDS FROM ACROSS THE NATION.
"AERIAL WYOMING" SOARS THROUGH THE LUSH VALLEYS
OF THE WORLD'S FIRST NATIONAL PARK,
HIGH UP INTO ICY PEAKS
AND ACROSS A LANDSCAPE
OF WHERE THE MEETING OF SKY, EARTH, AND WATER
MAKE IT HARD TO KNOW JUST WHERE YOU STAND.
HERE, COWBOYS STILL RIDE THE RANGE
AND HOLD ON FOR DEAR LIFE, JUST FOR FUN...
JUST AS THE PEOPLE OF WYOMING HAVE ALWAYS HUNG IN THERE
AND DONE WHAT'S RIGHT WHEN IT REALLY MATTERS...
CONDEMNING A HORRIFYING ACT OF HATRED IN THE 21st CENTURY
AND CELEBRATING EQUAL RIGHTS FOR WOMEN
IN AN AGE WHEN FEW OTHERS WOULD,
REVEALING THE TRUE SPIRIT
OF ONE OF AMERICA'S MOST BREATHTAKING STATES...
A PLACE WHOSE VOLCANIC WONDERS WILL ALWAYS BOGGLE THE MIND.
ALL THIS IN WYOMING.
IN THE MID-1880s A GROUP OF PROSPECTORS
CAME TO THE UNMAPPED MOUNTAINS OF NORTHWEST WYOMING
IN SEARCH OF GOLD.
THEY FOUND SOMETHING THEY DIDN'T EXPECT INSTEAD,
SOMETHING THAT LEFT THEM SCRATCHING THEIR HEADS
AND REMAINS A MYSTERY TO SCIENTISTS TODAY--
A GIANT ROCK CIRCLE
KNOWN AS THE BIGHORN MEDICINE WHEEL.
ITS 28 SPOKES SEEM TO MATCH THE LUNAR AND SOLAR CYCLES.
BUT THERE ARE NO CLUES AS TO WHO BUILT IT OR WHY.
CARBON DATING SUGGESTS THAT CONSTRUCTION OF THE RING
BEGAN AS RECENTLY AS 500 YEARS AGO.
BY THEN, HUMANS HAD ALREADY BEEN LIVING IN WYOMING
FOR OVER 11,000 YEARS.
A STONE AGE TRIBE SCIENTISTS CALL THE CLOVIS PEOPLE
WERE AMONG THE FIRST TO ARRIVE.
THEY WERE KNOWN TO HUNT BIG GAME.
OTHER GROUPS FOLLOWED,
INCLUDING THE FOLSOM AND THE EDEN VALLEY.
ABOUT 500 YEARS AGO,
THE ANCESTORS OF TODAY'S NATIVE AMERICANS
BEGAN SWEEPING INTO THE REGION
IN A COMPETITIVE SEARCH FOR LAND AND FOOD.
THE SHOSHONE CAME FIRST, IN THE 1600s,
MOVING UP FROM WHAT IS NOW NEVADA.
A HUNDRED YEARS LATER, IN THE 1700s,
THE ARAPAHO, CROW, CHEYENNE, AND LAKOTA SIOUX
STARTED MUSCLING IN ON THE SHOSHONE'S NEW TERRITORY
FROM THE NORTH AND EAST.
BUT IN THE EARLY 1800s,
MEMBERS OF THE MOST AGGRESSIVE AND WELL-ARMED TRIBE YET
STARTED FANNING OUT ACROSS WYOMING--
EUROPEAN AMERICANS,
STARTING WITH PROSPECTORS
LIKE THOSE WHO DISCOVERED THE MEDICINE WHEEL.
THE MOST LEGENDARY OF THEM ALL
WAS A MOUNTAIN MAN NAMED JIM BRIDGER.
BRIDGER WAS THE FIRST WHITE MAN TO SEE UTAH'S GREAT SALT LAKE
AND ONE OF THE FIRST TO VISIT
WHAT IS NOW YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK.
BUT HE EARNED HIS FAME
AS ONE OF THE GREATEST GUIDES ON THE WYOMING FRONTIER.
BRIDGER'S ADVENTURES BEGAN IN 1822,
WHEN HE JOINED A PARTY OF 100 TRAPPERS
ON A TRIP UP THE MISSOURI RIVER
AND ONTO THE LAND THAT'S NOW WYOMING.
HE AND HIS COMPANIONS TRAVELED WYOMING'S WATERWAYS
IN SEARCH OF BEAVER PELTS TO SELL BACK EAST.
BUT THEY AND HUNDREDS OF OTHER HUNTERS
HELPED NEARLY WIPE THE BEAVERS OUT,
AND SOON BRIDGER WAS FORCED TO SEEK ANOTHER LINE OF WORK.
IN THE 1840s,
WAGON TRAINS WERE CARRYING THOUSANDS OF PIONEERS WEST,
RIGHT ACROSS THE LAND THAT'S NOW WYOMING.
IN 1843, HOPING TO CASH IN ON THIS MASS MIGRATION,
BRIDGER AND HIS PARTNER LUIS VASQUEZ
OPENED A TRADING POST
IN A BEAUTIFUL VALLEY OF TREES, MEADOWS, AND STREAMS,
INCLUDING ONE KNOWN AS BLACK'S FORK.
FOR A DECADE THEY PROSPERED AS THEIR PRIMITIVE STOCKADE GREW
INTO A KEY STOP ON THE OREGON AND MORMON TRAILS.
BUT IN 1853,
LOCAL MORMON SETTLERS ACCUSED BRIDGER
OF ILLEGALLY SELLING LIQUOR AND GUNS TO THE INDIANS.
WHEN THEY CAME TO GET HIM,
BRIDGER FLED TO THE MOUNTAINS FOR SAFETY.
THE MORMONS SEIZED THE POST AND TURNED IT INTO A FORT
DURING A CONFLICT WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
OVER THEIR PRACTICE OF POLYGAMY,
A CONFLICT KNOWN AS THE MORMON WARS.
WHEN THE U.S. ARMY CAME TO DRIVE THEM OUT,
THEY BURNED THEIR FORT TO THE GROUND AND FLED.
TODAY, ALL THAT REMAINS IS THIS SMALL PIECE OF CHARRED WALL.
TO REASSERT FEDERAL AUTHORITY IN THE REGION,
THE ARMY BUILT A FORT OF ITS OWN ON THE SITE
AND NAMED IT FORT BRIDGER,
WITH BARRACKS FOR UP TO 350 MEN,
A SCHOOL,
AND THIS ELEGANT RESIDENCE FOR THE COMMANDING OFFICER.
THE BASE REMAINED A CENTER OF PIONEER LIFE
FOR THE NEXT THREE DECADES,
AS THOUSANDS MORE POURED THROUGH WYOMING
ON THE WAY WEST TO OREGON AND CALIFORNIA.
NEAR THIS RIDGE, KNOWN AS THE OREGON BUTTES,
THEY FINALLY PASSED OVER THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE.
FROM HERE, EVERY RIVER FLOWED WEST,
AND SO DID THE PIONEERS,
RIDING INTO THE SUNSET IN SEARCH OF A DREAM.
FOR MANY MORMON TRAVELERS,
THEIR DREAM WAS TO REACH THE GREAT SALT LAKE IN UTAH.
BUT ON THE WAY,
THIS ROCKY FORMATION KNOWN AS CHURCH BUTTES
KNOCKED MORE THAN ONE DEVOUT TRAVELER TO THEIR KNEES.
THE BUTTES' STEEPLE-LIKE NEEDLES
AND ERODED 75-FOOT SANDSTONE CLIFFS
REMINDED THEM OF THE HOUSES OF WORSHIP
THEY HAD LEFT BEHIND BACK EAST.
THE SIGHT CAUSED MANY OF THE SETTLERS
TO STOP, DROP, AND PRAY
AND EVEN INSPIRED BRIGHAM YOUNG
TO HOLD THE FIRST MORMON SERVICE IN WYOMING HERE
ON HIS WAY TO UTAH IN 1847.
BUT WHILE MOST WESTBOUND PIONEERS
PASSED RIGHT THROUGH WYOMING,
SOME DECIDED TO STAY AND TRY TO MAKE A GO OF IT.
IN 1897, 27 MORMON FAMILIES CAME TO THIS VALLEY
TO EXTEND THEIR NEW FAITH INTO NEW LANDS.
THEY BUILT HOMES AND BARNS ON THE VALLEY FLOOR
AND BEGAN TO FARM.
THE SANDY SOIL SOON PROVED TO BE LESS FERTILE
THAN THEY HAD HOPED,
BUT THEY SHOULDERED ON,
WORKING FOR DECADES TO REALIZE THEIR DREAM
OF A NEW UTOPIA IN THE WILDERNESS.
FARMER THOMAS MOULTON SPENT 30 YEARS
JUST BUILDING THIS ONE BARN.
TODAY IT STILL STANDS
AS A REMINDER OF THE MORMONS' STRUGGLE TO SURVIVE HERE.
IT'S ALSO ONE OF WYOMING'S MOST PHOTOGRAPHED SITES,
THANKS IN PART TO THE FACT THAT THE BARN'S BACKDROP
IS ONE OF THE MOST DRAMATIC IN THE AMERICAN WEST:
THE GREAT, JAGGED, ICY PEAKS OF THE TETONS.
THE SHOSHONE PEOPLE
WHO LIVED IN NORTHWEST WYOMING BEFORE EUROPEANS ARRIVED
HAD A DEEPLY SPIRITUAL RELATIONSHIP WITH THIS LAND.
THEY LIVED IN THE SHADOWS OF A STRING OF DRAMATIC PEAKS
THAT THEY CALLED THE TEEWINOT,
WHICH THEY CONSIDERED ANCIENT ANCESTORS
TO BE RESPECTED AND REVERED.
BUT IN THE 1700s,
WHEN LONELY FRENCH TRAPPERS ARRIVED IN PRESENT-DAY WYOMING,
THEY SAW SOMETHING ELSE IN THESE PEAKS
AND GAVE THEN THE NAME TETONS, OR "TETONS,"
WHICH WAS FRENCH FOR ***,
AND RESERVED THE NAME GRAND TETON
FOR THE HIGHEST PEAK IN THE RANGE--
A SURPRISINGLY SALACIOUS NAME THAT SURVIVES TO THIS DAY,
PERHAPS BECAUSE MOST ENGLISH SPEAKERS
HAVE NO IDEA WHAT "TETONS" ACTUALLY MEANS.
AS SOME OF THE YOUNGEST PEAKS IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN RANGE,
THEY NOW SERVE AS THE CENTERPIECE
OF GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK.
THESE MOUNTAINS WERE CREATED BY UPLIFT,
WHEN TWO SECTIONS OF THE EARTH'S CRUST COLLIDED, DEEP BELOW,
PUSHING THE GROUND UPWARD.
THANKS TO THEIR YOUTH,
THE TETONS ARE RELATIVELY UNTOUCHED BY EROSION AND TIME,
STILL JAGGED AND STEEP,
UNLIKE MANY OTHER ROCKY MOUNTAIN PEAKS.
THE SHOSHONE, BLACKFOOT, CROW, NEZ PERCE,
AND OTHER NATIVE PEOPLES CAME HERE IN SPRING
TO HUNT, GATHER PLANTS,
AND COLLECT MINERALS DURING THE WARM MONTHS.
WHEN WINTER CAME, THEY RETURNED TO LOWER, LESS WINTRY LANDS.
THE TALLEST PEAK IN THE RANGE, GRAND TETON,
REACHES TO 13,775 FEET ABOVE SEA LEVEL
AND IS STILL GROWING AT A FAST CLIP,
AT LEAST IN GEOLOGICAL TERMS:
UP TO A FOOT EVERY THREE OR FOUR HUNDRED YEARS...
AS THE BASIN TO THE EAST DROPS AWAY.
IN 1829, EVEN BEFORE THE MORMONS ARRIVED,
A TRAPPER NAMED DAVID JACKSON MADE HIS CAMP HERE,
AND THE AREA WAS NAMED JACKSON HOLE,
PROSPECTOR SLANG FOR "VALLEY."
IT STRETCHES ALONG THE BASE OF THE TETONS FOR 40 MILES.
DURING THE ICE AGE,
A SERIES OF GLACIERS SHAPED ITS FLOOR,
CARVING BASINS FOR A CHAIN OF ALPINE LAKES
THAT MIRROR THE MOUNTAINS AND DAZZLE THE EYE.
JUST AS THIS VIEW ACROSS PHELPS LAKE
DAZZLED MILLIONAIRE JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER, JR.,
IN 1926, WHEN HE CAME HERE FOR THE FIRST TIME.
ROCKEFELLER WAS STUNNED BY THE BEAUTY OF JACKSON HOLE.
HE WAS ALSO DISMAYED TO SEE
THAT THIS UNIQUE CROSSROADS OF EARTH, WATER, AND SKY
WASN'T BEING PROTECTED OR PRESERVED.
SO HE BEGAN SECRETLY BUYING AS MUCH LAND HERE AS HE COULD--
OVER 30,000 ACRES IN ALL BY THE EARLY 1940s.
HE EVEN BOUGHT OUT FARMS AND BARNS
FROM THE VALLEY'S MORMON PIONEERS.
"THIS I DID," ROCKEFELLER LATER EXPLAINED,
"IN ORDER TO PROVIDE WINTER-FEEDING
FOR THE GREAT QUANTITIES OF GAME...
AND TO PRESERVE THE SUPERLATIVE SCENERY
OF THE GRAND TETON APPROACHES."
ROCKEFELLER'S PLAN WAS TO GIVE MOST OF THE LAND
TO THE U.S. GOVERNMENT FOR A NEW NATIONAL PARK.
BUT LOCAL RANCHERS HOWLED WHEN THEY FOUND OUT WHAT HE WAS UP TO
AND LAUNCHED A CAMPAIGN TO STOP HIM.
IN 1943, THEY EVEN GOT CONGRESS
TO TURN DOWN ROCKEFELLER'S GIFT OF THE LAND.
WHEN THE MILLIONAIRE THREATENED TO TURN AROUND
AND SELL IT ON THE OPEN MARKET,
PRESIDENT FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT
SAVED THE DAY.
USING A LOOPHOLE IN FEDERAL LAW,
HE ACCEPTED THE GIFT,
BUT DECLARED THE LAND A NATIONAL MONUMENT, NOT A PARK.
IN 1950,
PRESIDENT HARRY S. TRUMAN SIGNED A BILL ENLARGING THE AREA
AND MAKING THE MONUMENT INTO THE GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK.
ALMOST 600,000 PEOPLE VISITED THE VERY NEXT YEAR,
ONLY TO DISCOVER
THERE WERE VERY FEW PLACES IN THE VALLEY TO STAY.
SO ROCKEFELLER CHOSE A SITE ALONG THE SHORES OF JACKSON LAKE
WITH ONE OF HIS FAVORITE VIEWS OF THE TETONS
AND BUILT A HOTEL.
HIS JACKSON LAKE LODGE,
WITH WALLS OF GLASS TO SHOWCASE THE MOUNTAIN VISTAS,
HAS BEEN WELCOMING VISITORS SINCE 1955,
ROCKEFELLER STYLE.
BUT ROCKEFELLER GOT SOME STIFF COMPETITION IN 1965,
WHEN A GROUP OF SKIING INVESTORS
OPENED THE JACKSON HOLE MOUNTAIN RESORT.
IT'S NESTLED AT THE EDGE OF THE VALLEY, IN TETON VILLAGE.
TODAY IT'S ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR WINTER DESTINATIONS
IN THE U.S.
AFTER RIDING THE AERIAL TRAMS TO THE TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN,
SKIERS CAN HURTLE BACK DOWN
ON ONE OF THE LONGEST VERTICAL DROPS IN THE NATION--
MORE 4,000 FEET IN ALL.
AND TODAY, TRAPPER JACKSON WOULD PROBABLY HAVE A HARD TIME
RECOGNIZING MUCH OF THE VALLEY THAT BEARS HIS NAME...
ESPECIALLY IF HE PADDLED DOWN THE SNAKE RIVER,
PAST A STRETCH OF VAST LUXURY HOMES
KNOWN AS BILLIONAIRES' ROW.
PART-TIME RESIDENTS HERE INCLUDE A PRESIDENT OF THE WORLD BANK,
A FORMER CEO OF COLUMBIA PICTURES,
A WAL-MART HEIRESS WHO'S ALSO THE RICHEST WOMAN IN AMERICA,
AND MANY OTHER MEMBERS OF THE 1% OF THE 1%.
NOT TO MENTION JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER IV.
THE REAL ESTATE WARS HERE
HAVE TRANSFORMED THIS ONCE-QUIET VALLEY
INTO THE MOST EXPENSIVE RANCHLAND IN THE U.S.,
LEADING SOME TO JOKE THAT ALL THE MERE MILLIONAIRES
ARE GETTING PRICED RIGHT OUT OF THE MARKET.
BUT THERE'S ONE RELATIVELY MODEST HOUSE HERE
THAT STANDS OUT AMONG THE MEGA-MANSIONS,
PERHAPS BECAUSE IT WAS PARTIALLY HAND-BUILT BY ITS OWNER,
ACTOR HARRISON FORD,
A FORMER CARPENTER WHO BOUGHT 800 ACRES HERE IN 1985.
IN THE YEARS SINCE,
FORD HAS COMMITTED HIMSELF TO PRESERVING AND PROTECTING
HIS SHARE OF THIS BEAUTIFUL VALLEY.
THE PEOPLE WHO ACTUALLY WORK AND LIVE HERE FULL-TIME
STAKE THEIR CLAIM TO ANOTHER CORNER OF JACKSON HOLE,
THE TOWN OF JACKSON.
IT LIES ON THE SOUTHEASTERN SIDE OF THE JACKSON HOLE VALLEY,
NEAR THE RUSHING WATERS OF THE SNAKE RIVER.
IT WAS FOUNDED AND RUN BY WORKING MEN
AND BY WORKING WOMEN.
POSTMISTRESS MAGGIE SIMPSON NAMED JACKSON IN 1894.
FUTURE MAYOR GRACE MILLER
LAID OUT THE STREETS THREE YEARS LATER,
SETTING ASIDE SPACE FOR AN OLD-FASHIONED TOWN SQUARE
NOW FAMOUS FOR THE ELK ANTLER ARCHES
OVER ITS CORNER GATES--
A CHARMING CENTERPIECE TO A TOWN THAT GAINED FAME
AS THE FIRST IN AMERICA RUN ENTIRELY BY WOMEN,
AFTER MILLER AND AN ALL-FEMALE SLATE OF CANDIDATES
SWEPT THE CITY ELECTIONS IN 1920.
BUT EVEN IF THE TOWN'S MEN
DIDN'T ALWAYS FEEL WELCOME AT CITY HALL,
THEY WERE ALWAYS WELCOME HERE,
JACKSON'S MILLION DOLLAR COWBOY BAR.
IT WAS GRANTED WYOMING'S FIRST POST-PROHIBITION LIQUOR LICENSE.
EVER SINCE,
LOCALS AND TOURISTS HAVE BEEN SADDLING UP TO THE BAR,
WITH ITS FAMOUS SADDLE-STYLE BAR STOOLS,
FOR A DRINK.
IN 1953, ITS OWNER ADDED A DISTINCTIVE NEON SIGN
THAT STANDS OVER THE NEW JACKSON AS AN ENDURING SYMBOL
OF AN OLD WAY OF LIFE IN WYOMING...
THE LIFE OF THE WORKING COWBOY--
MEN AND WOMEN
WHO PERFORM DIFFICULT AND DANGEROUS TASKS EVERY DAY,
USING SKILLS THEY GET TO SHOW OFF ONCE A YEAR,
IN THE LITTLE TOWN OF SHERIDAN, AT THE SHERIDAN RODEO.
HERE, BRONCO BUSTERS RISK THEIR SPINES
TO PROVE THEY'VE GOT WHAT IT TAKES TO TAME A HORSE,
OR AT LEAST HANG ON
FOR THE EIGHT SECONDS REQUIRED BY THE RODEO'S RULES.
BUT THERE'S ONE TRICK THAT MAY BE THE TOUGHEST TO PULL OFF:
DUAL CALF ROPING.
TO MAKE IT WORK, ONE COWBOY HAS TO ROPE THE CALF'S HEAD;
THE OTHER THE FEET...
AND DO IT WITH PERFECT TIMING...
THRILLING THE CROWD
AND PROVING THEY'VE GOT WHAT IT TAKES TO MAKE IT
IN THIS "COWBOY STATE."
HERE IN WYOMING,
COWS OUTNUMBER HUMANS TWO TO ONE
AND PUT WORKING COWBOYS TO THE TEST EVERY DAY.
THE STATE'S HERDS GOT THEIR START
FROM CATTLE ABANDONED BY SETTLERS ON THEIR WAY WEST.
WHEN THEIR OFFSPRING FLOURISHED, RANCHING IN WYOMING TOOK OFF.
BY 1870,
THERE WERE OVER 8,000 HEAD OF CATTLE IN THE TERRITORY,
AND MORE WERE FLOODING IN,
ALONG WITH THE COWBOYS TO KEEP THEM MOVING.
TODAY LIVESTOCK IS WYOMING'S BIGGEST AGRICULTURAL COMMODITY.
BUT COWBOYS AREN'T THE ONLY ONES OUT WORKING ON THE RANGE.
HERE IN SHERIDAN COUNTY AND ACROSS THE STATE,
FARMERS GROW HAY, BARLEY, WHEAT, AND MORE,
GIVING WYOMING MORE THAN EIGHT TIMES AS MUCH AGRICULTURAL LAND
AS MOST AMERICAN STATES.
BUT THERE'S ONE BUSINESS IN WYOMING
THAT'S BIGGER THAN RANCHING AND FARMING COMBINED--
MUCH BIGGER.
AND IT GOT TO NUMBER ONE
NOT BY REAPING ENORMOUS PROFITS FROM WHAT'S ON THE LAND,
BUT FROM WHAT'S UNDER IT--
COAL.
THIS FOSSIL FUEL GOT ITS START MILLIONS OF YEARS AGO,
WHEN SOGGY MASSES OF VEGETATION WERE COVERED BY LAYERS OF SOIL.
AS THE SOIL'S WEIGHT SQUEEZED THE WATER OUT,
ENERGY-GENERATING CARBON WAS LEFT BEHIND--
CARBON IN THE FORM OF COAL.
SO MUCH COAL
THAT IT TAKES SOME OF THE LARGEST MACHINES IN THE WORLD,
DIGGING SOME OF THE BIGGEST MINES IN THE WORLD,
TO STRIP IT FROM THE LAND.
TO GET TO THE DARK VEINS, HUGE EXCAVATORS WORK 24/7.
THESE MACHINES ARE CALLED DRAGLINES
BECAUSE THEIR GIANT SHOVELS ARE DRAGGED ACROSS THE MINE
ON THICK STEEL CABLES,
TO STRIP AWAY THE SOIL ABOVE,
KNOWN AS THE OVERBURDEN.
THEN IT'S HAULED OFF AND DUMPED OUT OF THE WAY,
ALLOWING THE HARVESTING OF THE COAL ITSELF TO BEGIN.
OVER 100 MILLION TONS WERE EXTRACTED HERE
AT THE NORTH ANTELOPE ROCHELLE MINE
IN 2012 ALONE,
MAKING THIS THE MOST PRODUCTIVE COALMINE IN THE U.S.
AND THE OUTPUT HERE AND ACROSS WYOMING
IS ON THE WAY UP
SINCE COAL IS ONE OF THE WORLD'S HOTTEST COMMODITIES.
THERE'S SO MUCH COAL IN WYOMING,
IT REQUIRES MINING EQUIPMENT SO BIG AND SO POWERFUL,
IT BOGGLES THE MIND...
LIKE THIS DRAGLINE AT THE BLACK THUNDER COAL MINE.
ITS 360-FOOT BOOM,
240-TON BUCKET,
AND CAB THE SIZE OF AN APARTMENT
EARNED IT THE TITLE URSA MAJOR,
OR "BIG BEAR."
IT COST $50 MILLION
AND TOOK THREE YEARS JUST TO ASSEMBLE HERE ON SITE.
THE RAW POWER OF URSA MAJOR IS ASTOUNDING.
THANKS TO ITS BOOM,
IT CAN SWING HUNDREDS OF TONS OF EARTH HUNDREDS OF FEET
IN SECONDS.
ITS LONG DRAGLINE CABLES ENABLE IT TO SCOOP UP OVERBURDEN
THAT'S 200 FEET BELOW THE DRAGLINE ITSELF.
AND THIS ONE MACHINE IS OPERATED BY JUST A SINGLE PERSON.
URSA MAJOR'S POWER TO TEAR THROUGH THE EARTH
GIVES HEADACHES TO ENVIRONMENTALISTS,
BUT ALSO POWERS AN INDUSTRY THAT PROVIDES THOUSANDS OF JOBS.
MOST COAL IN WYOMING IS EXTRACTED FROM THE EARTH
IN GIANT SURFACE MINES LIKE THESE.
BUT DIG MUCH DEEPER IN THIS STATE,
AND THERE'S EVEN MORE TREASURE TO BE FOUND--
VAST OCEANS OF CRUDE OIL THOUSANDS OF FEET UNDERGROUND.
IT LIES BELOW A LANDSCAPE THAT'S UNLIKE ANY OTHER IN WYOMING.
NEARLY 35 SQUARE MILES OF LAND
COVERED BY ALMOST NOTHING BUT OIL WELLS.
THIS IS THE SALT CREEK FIELD,
ONE OF THE LONGEST CONTINUOUSLY PRODUCING OIL FIELDS
IN THE WORLD.
IN THE 1920s
THE MIDWEST OIL COMPANY BUILT A TOWN FOR ITS WORKERS.
IT WAS ONCE HOME TO 10,000 RESIDENTS.
TODAY, MIDWEST HAS LESS THAN 500.
AND SOME OF THOSE LIVE LITERALLY IN THE OIL FIELDS,
IN A NEIGHBORHOOD OF JUST A FEW SQUARE BLOCKS,
SURROUNDED BY PUMP JACKS.
ONE REASON THE SALT CREEK FIELD CAN STILL PRODUCE OIL TODAY
IS BECAUSE COMPANIES HERE ARE USING NEW TECHNOLOGIES
TO FORCE WHAT REMAINS OUT OF THE GROUND.
CREWS ARE BUSY DRILLING NEW WELLS
THAT USE CARBON DIOXIDE INJECTION.
AS THE CARBON DIOXIDE IS PUMPED INTO THE EARTH,
IT FORCES THE OIL OUT...
AND A CONTROVERSIAL SIDE PRODUCT COMMON TO MANY WELLS--
NATURAL GAS THE OIL COMPANIES DON'T WANT,
AND MERELY BURN AWAY IN FLAMES THAT DOT THE LANDSCAPE--
A PRACTICE MANY DECRY AS A WASTE.
PROPONENTS OF CARBON DIOXIDE INJECTION
CLAIM THE NEW TECHNOLOGY
PROVIDES SAFE AND INNOVATIVE WAYS
TO TAP A VITAL NATURAL RESOURCE.
FOES WARN THAT IT COULD CONTRIBUTE TO GLOBAL WARMING
AND POISON WYOMING'S DRINKING WATER.
DURING ITS BIG BOOM,
ALL THE OIL THAT FLOWED OUT OF SALT CREEK
MADE ITS WAY SOUTH TO CASPER,
A CITY THAT GOT ITS START
WHEN MORMON SETTLERS BUILT A FERRY CROSSING
OVER THE PLATTE RIVER IN 1847.
THOUSANDS OF PIONEERS RODE ACROSS IN THE FOLLOWING DECADES.
WHEN THE TRAINS ARRIVED, THE CROSSING BECAME A TOWN.
THE DISCOVERY OF OIL AT SALT CREEK IN THE 1890s
TRANSFORMED IT INTO THE OIL CAPITAL OF THE ROCKIES--
A TRANSFORMATION CELEBRATED HERE,
WITH THIS RECREATED WOODEN DERRICK,
PART OF A NEW BLACK GOLD BYWAY STATE PARK.
TODAY CASPER IS WYOMING'S SECOND LARGEST CITY,
WITH A POPULATION OF OVER 55,000 RESIDENTS.
AND IT STILL HAS A GIANT TANK FARM
TO HOLD THE OIL BEING FORCED OUT OF SALT CREEK.
PEOPLE IN WYOMING HAVE SPENT MORE THAN A HUNDRED YEARS
AND BILLIONS OF DOLLARS
TRYING TO FIND WAYS TO GET ENERGY OUT OF THE GROUND.
BUT THERE'S ONE PLACE IN THIS STATE
WHERE THE POWER DEEP BELOW EXPLODES TO THE SURFACE,
ALL ON ITS OWN,
WITH TERRIFYING FORCE,
IN ONE OF THE MOST VOLATILE VOLCANIC HOTSPOTS IN THE WORLD.
SOMETIMES THE TRUTH SEEMS TOO FANTASTIC TO BE TRUE.
IN THE EARLY 1800s,
SCOUTS AND TRAPPERS STARTED COMING BACK
FROM THE MOUNTAINS OF NORTHWESTERN WYOMING
WITH TALES OF A LAND CALLED YELLOWSTONE,
A LAND UNLIKE ANY THEY'D EVER SEEN BEFORE...
A PLACE SO FANTASTIC
THAT PEOPLE WHO HEARD THE STORIES
WERE CONVINCED THEY WERE FICTION.
FRONTIERSMAN JIM BRIDGER TOLD OF FINDING A CANYON THERE SO DEEP
THAT A MAN COULD SHOUT "GOOD NIGHT!" INTO IT
AND BE AWAKENED BY HIS ECHO AT DAWN.
PEOPLE JUST ACCUSED HIM OF SPINNING TALL TALES.
A GROUP OF PROSPECTORS WROTE A BOOK
ABOUT WHAT THEY'D SEEN BEYOND THE CANYON.
THEIR NEW YORK PUBLISHER REJECTED IT AS FICTION.
BUT MORE AND MORE EXPLORERS KEPT COMING BACK WITH SIMILAR TALES.
SO FERDINAND V. HAYDEN,
HEAD OF THE U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE TERRITORIES,
ASSEMBLED THE FIRST FEDERALLY FUNDED SURVEY TEAM
TO EXPLORE THE AREA
AND SET OUT TO SEE THIS STRANGE LAND FOR HIMSELF.
IN 1871,
HAYDEN LED A 32-MAN TEAM INTO THIS VALLEY.
THEY INCLUDED A ZOOLOGIST, A BOTANIST, A MINERALOGIST,
AND A GROUP OF MAPMAKERS.
BUT THE TWO WHO WOULD HAVE THE BIGGEST IMPACT
ON THE AMERICAN PUBLIC
WERE PHOTOGRAPHER WILLIAM HENRY JACKSON
AND PAINTER THOMAS MORAN.
HAYDEN AND HIS MEN KNEW
THAT YELLOWSTONE WAS HOME TO VOLCANIC HOTSPOTS,
BUT WHAT THEY DIDN'T KNOW
WAS THAT THEY WERE ACTUALLY STANDING
IN A GIANT COLLAPSED CRATER OF A SUPER VOLCANO,
AND ONE THAT HAD ERUPTED WITH CATASTROPHIC FORCE
640,000 YEARS AGO,
WHEN 250 CUBIC MILES OF HEATED MAGMA AND OTHER MATERIAL
EXPLODED INTO THE AIR,
CREATING AN ASH CLOUD
THAT'S BEEN TRACED FROM CANADA TO MEXICO TO LOUISIANA.
BASED ON PAST EVENTS,
SCIENTISTS SAY YELLOWSTONE IS OVERDUE
FOR ANOTHER MAJOR ERUPTION,
BUT WARN THAT IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO PREDICT
WHEN EXACTLY THAT WILL HAPPEN.
IN THE MEANTIME, ITS STRANGE VOLCANIC LANDSCAPE
DRAWS HUGE CROWDS TO YELLOWSTONE TODAY.
IN 1871, HAYDEN AND HIS PARTY HAD NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT
AND WERE EAGER TO SEE MORE.
ON JULY 28th
THEY REACHED THE SHORES OF YELLOWSTONE LAKE,
AMERICA'S LARGEST HIGH-ELEVATION LAKE,
AND SET UP THEIR BASE CAMP.
BY THEN, THEY WERE ALREADY SUSPECTING
THAT EVERYTHING THEY'D HEARD ABOUT THIS PLACE
WAS ACTUALLY TRUE.
FROM HERE, THEY SET OUT TO EXPLORE YELLOWSTONE
AND DOCUMENT ITS EVERY FEATURE
IN MAPS, PHOTOGRAPHS, PAINTINGS, AND STATISTICS,
STARTING WITH YELLOWSTONE LAKE ITSELF.
THEY WERE CAREFUL TO AVOID THE FATE OF TRUMAN EVERT,
AN EXPLORER WHO SPENT 37 DAYS LOST IN YELLOWSTONE IN 1870,
WITHOUT A HORSE OR SUPPLIES.
WHEN A SEARCH PARTY FINALLY FOUND EVERT
STUMBLING THROUGH THE WILDERNESS HERE ON THE BANKS OF HEART LAKE,
HE WAS DELIRIOUS AND NEAR DEATH.
HE WEIGHED JUST 90 POUNDS AND WAS SO DIRTY,
HIS RESCUERS MISTOOK HIM FOR A WOUNDED BEAR.
HAYDEN'S MEN FARED BETTER
AS THEY TRACED THE COURSE OF THE YELLOWSTONE RIVER
THROUGH THE CANYON JIM BRIDGER HAD DESCRIBED.
THEY FOUND IT TO BE JUST ABOUT AS BIG AS HE HAD PROMISED.
NOW KNOWN AS THE GRAND CANYON OF THE YELLOWSTONE,
IT WINDS THROUGH A PLATEAU CREATED BY LAVA
FROM THE VOLCANO'S BIG ***.
MODERN SCIENTISTS KNOW
THE EXTREME HEAT OF THE BLAST WEAKENED THE LAVA,
MAKING IT EASIER FOR GLACIERS AND WATER
TO CUT THROUGH THE COLORFUL STONE
THAT GIVES THIS REGION ITS NAME.
THE EXPLORERS' STORIES
OF THE AMAZING THINGS THEY DISCOVERED HERE
FASCINATED THE AMERICAN PUBLIC.
BUT IT WAS THE PAINTINGS AND PHOTOGRAPHS
OF YELLOWSTONE'S GEYSERS
THAT REALLY BLEW PEOPLE AWAY.
YELLOWSTONE HAS HALF OF ALL THE KNOWN GEYSERS IN THE WORLD,
AROUND 300 IN ALL.
HERE, AT THE CLEPSYDRA GEYSER,
COLD WATER FLOWS INTO TIGHT CREVICES
IN YELLOWSTONE'S MOLTEN CORE
AND EXPLODES INTO STEAM.
CLEPSYDRA'S BEEN ERUPTING ALMOST CONTINUOUSLY SINCE 1959.
ITS PLUMES OF WATER CAN REACH UP TO 40 FEET,
MAKING IT ONE OF YELLOWSTONE'S
MOST RELIABLE AND PHOTOGRAPHED SITES.
BUT THE MEETING OF WATER AND HOT STONE HERE
DOESN'T ALWAYS BRING SUCH EXPLOSIVE RESULTS.
NEARBY, THE CALM WATERS OF THE EXCELSIOR CRATER
SEEM TO INVITE THE UNWARY FOR A SWIM.
BUT DON'T BE FOOLED.
THAT BEAUTIFUL BLUE COLOR MEANS THE WATER IS SO HOT,
NOT EVEN THE HARDIEST BACTERIA CAN SURVIVE.
THIS SAME DEADLY BLUE LIES AT THE CENTER
OF WHAT IS, WITHOUT DOUBT,
ONE OF NATURE'S MOST AMAZING SIGHTS...
A PLACE THAT ALONE
LURES THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE FROM AROUND THE WORLD
TO YELLOWSTONE.
IT'S KNOWN AS THE GRAND PRISMATIC SPRING.
THIS IS LARGEST HOT SPRING IN THE U.S.
AND THE THIRD LARGEST IN THE WORLD.
ITS BLUE CORE MAY BE DEADLY,
BUT THE COLORFUL, COOLER BANDS AT ITS EDGES
ARE EVIDENCE THAT THE GRAND PRISMATIC
IS ALSO HOME TO PLENTY OF LIFE.
EACH BAND SUPPORTS A UNIQUE BACTERIA OR ALGAE
THAT CREATES A COLOR OF ITS OWN.
WHEN VISITORS ON THE BOARDWALK OF THE GRAND PRISMATIC
CROSS PATTERNS THAT LOOK LIKE GIANT FLAMES,
THEY ARE STEPPING OVER DESCENDANTS
OF SOME OF THE EARLIEST FORMS OF LIFE ON EARTH.
THESE MICROBES,
CALLED "THERMOPHILES," OR "HEAT-LOVERS,"
THRIVE IN EXTREME ENVIRONMENTS
LIKE THE WATERS OF GRAND PRISMATIC SPRING.
THERE ARE LITERALLY BILLIONS
OF THESE TINY ORANGE-COLORED MICROBES HERE--
SO MANY, THEY CREATE DRAMATIC FLAME-LIKE PATTERNS
THAT LOOK LIKE A WORK OF ART
THAT WAS PAINTED BY MOTHER NATURE HERSELF.
GETTING A CHANCE TO EXPERIENCE THIS COLORFUL STEAMING CAULDRON
IS WHY MANY COME TO YELLOWSTONE IN THE FIRST PLACE.
BUT THERE'S NOTHING LIKE SEEING IT ALL FROM THE AIR.
IN 1872,
IT WAS THOMAS MORAN'S PAINTINGS OF THE GRAND PRISMATIC SPRING
THAT HELPED INSPIRE CONGRESS AND PRESIDENT ULYSSES S. GRANT
TO DECLARE YELLOWSTONE THE WORLD'S FIRST NATIONAL PARK,
PRESERVING ALL ITS GEOLOGICAL WONDERS FOR GENERATIONS TO COME.
IT ALSO PROTECTS
SOME OF THE LAST REMAINS OF THE GREAT HERDS OF ELK
THAT USED TO WANDER ACROSS THE AMERICAN HEARTLAND.
SO MUCH PROTECTION
THAT AN ELK POPULATION EXPLOSION
ONCE THREATENED TO OVERWHELM THE PARK.
THE REINTRODUCTION OF WOLVES IN 1995
BROUGHT THE ELK EXPLOSION TO AN END,
EITHER RESTORING A NATURAL BALANCE
OR ENDANGERING THE ELK'S SURVIVAL,
DEPENDING ON WHOM YOU ASK.
ONE OF THE BEST PLACES TO SEE THE ELK THAT REMAIN HERE
IS HAYDEN VALLEY.
IT'S ALSO THE BEST PLACE TO SEE AN ANIMAL
THAT IS AN ICON OF BOTH THE PARK AND THE AMERICAN WEST:
AMERICAN BISON, OR BUFFALO.
MORE THAN 4,000 OF THESE MASSIVE HERBIVORES
ROAM FREE HERE.
FAVORITE TIMES TO SEE THEM ARE IN MAY,
WHEN THE CALVES ARE BORN,
AND AUGUST, WHEN HAYDEN VALLEY HOSTS
THE LARGEST FREE-ROAMING BISON RUT, OR BUFFALO ***,
IN NORTH AMERICA.
TODAY'S HERDS ARE DESCENDED
FROM THE PARK'S ORIGINAL MOUNTAIN BISON
AND FROM 21 PLAINS BISON BROUGHT HERE IN 1902.
THE GOAL WAS TO PROVIDE VITAL BREEDING STOCK
FOR A ONCE-VAST BISON POPULATION
THAT HAD BEEN REDUCED TO JUST 25 ANIMALS.
THE HERD'S REVIVAL IS A YELLOWSTONE SUCCESS STORY,
WHILE THE STORY OF THE SLAUGHTER
THAT BROUGHT THE BISON TO THE EDGE OF EXTINCTION,
HERE AND ACROSS NORTH AMERICA,
IS A PART OF WESTERN LORE,
THANKS IN LARGE PART TO A SELF-PROMOTING SHARPSHOOTER
WHO CALLED WYOMING HOME.
IN SOUTHERN WYOMING,
IN WHAT SEEMS TO BE THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE,
A MYSTERIOUS FORM LOOMS UPON THE HORIZON.
A STRANGE GRANITE PYRAMID
THRUSTING ITSELF 60 FEET INTO THE SKY.
ARCHITECT HENRY HOBSON
DESIGNED AND BUILT THIS LONELY MONUMENT IN 1882.
SUPERSTAR SCULPTOR AUGUSTUS SAINT-GAUDENS
CREATED ITS MEMORIAL PLAQUES THAT FEW PEOPLE EVER SEE,
ALL TO HONOR THE ROLE PLAYED
BY MASSACHUSETTS BROTHERS OAKES AND OLIVER AMES
IN ONE OF 19th-CENTURY AMERICA'S GREATEST ACHIEVEMENTS:
THE BUILDING OF THE FIRST TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD.
CONGRESS AUTHORIZED
THE CENTRAL PACIFIC AND UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD COMPANIES
TO START BUILDING THE CROSS-COUNTRY LINE IN 1862.
FOR SEVEN YEARS,
TEAMS FROM THE RIVAL FIRMS RACED TOWARDS EACH OTHER.
RAILROAD TYCOON OLIVER AMES AND HIS CONGRESSMAN BROTHER OAKES
PLAYED A KEY ROLE IN THE UNION PACIFIC SIDE OF THE RACE.
AFTER THEIR DEATHS,
THE COMPANY BUILT THEM THIS MEMORIAL HERE IN WYOMING,
AT WHAT WAS ONCE THE LINE'S HIGHEST POINT.
BUT THE UNION PACIFIC DID MORE
THAN BUILD RAILROADS AND MEMORIALS IN WYOMING;
IT TRANSFORMED THIS REMOTE STATE
BY BRINGING THE WORLD TO ITS DOOR...
THANKS TO THIS IMPOSING NEW TRAIN STATION
HERE IN THE CITY OF CHEYENNE,
WHICH WAS FOUNDED BY THE RAILWAY ITSELF.
IN 1867, THE UNION PACIFIC RAILWAY COMPANY
WAS SEARCHING FOR A PLACE TO ESTABLISH A NEW RAILROAD HUB.
THEY CHOSE THE SITE OF A U.S. ARMY CAMP
AT THE CROSSING OF CROW CREEK
AND NAMED IT CHEYENNE,
AFTER ONE OF THE REGION'S NATIVE AMERICAN TRIBES.
TODAY, WITH 60,000 RESIDENTS,
IT'S THE MOST POPULATED CITY IN THE ENTIRE STATE
AND HOME TO THE WYOMING STATE CAPITOL,
THE TALLEST BUILDING IN TOWN,
WHICH WAS BUILT STARTING IN 1886.
THAT SAME YEAR, THE UNION PACIFIC BEGAN WORK
ON AN IMPRESSIVE RAILROAD DEPOT FOR THE NEW CAPITAL.
IT'S ONE OF MANY DESIGNED BY ARCHITECT HENRY VAN BRUNT,
BUT ONE OF JUST TWO STILL STANDING.
VAN BRUNT DESIGNED IT IN A SOLID ROMANESQUE STYLE
AND GAVE IT AN IMPOSING CLOCK TOWER
TO SYMBOLIZE UNION PACIFIC'S IMPORTANCE TO THE FUTURE STATE.
THE DEPOT CEMENTED CHEYENNE'S STATUS
AS AN IMPORTANT CROSSROADS
FOR FREIGHT TRAINS FULL OF SHEEP, CATTLE,
AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS, AND MINERALS...
AND FOR PASSENGER TRAINS
FULL OF PEOPLE EAGER TO EXPLORE THE NEWLY OPENED WEST.
TODAY, FREIGHT TRAINS CONTINUE TO STOP HERE,
BUT PASSENGER SERVICE ENDED IN 1983.
UNION PACIFIC FINALLY MOVED THE LAST OF ITS OFFICES
OUT OF THE DEPOT IN 1990.
OUT BACK, A ONCE-MASSIVE ROUND HOUSE
BUILT IN 1931 TO HOUSE AND REPAIR TRAINS
HAS BEEN REDUCED FROM 48 STALLS TO 7.
BUT THE GIANT ROTATING TRACK,
BUILT TO FUNNEL TRAINS
IN AND OUT OF THE FAN-LIKE STORAGE YARD,
STILL SPINS,
DELIVERING THE DOWNSIZED ROUND HOUSE'S NEW TENANTS:
ANTIQUE RAIL CARS AND LOCOMOTIVES
FROM THE UNION PACIFIC'S GOLDEN AGE,
A TIME THAT TRANSFORMED WYOMING
AND TURNED A YOUNG MAN NAMED WILLIAM CODY
INTO ONE OF THE WORLD'S FIRST WESTERN STARS.
IN 1867, A CALL WENT OUT FOR RIFLEMEN TO HUNT BUFFALO
FOR MEAT TO FEED THE CUSTOMERS AND CREWS
THE RAILROADS WERE BRINGING INTO THE WEST.
BILL CODY,
A 21-YEAR-OLD FRONTIER SCOUT, PONY EXPRESS RIDER, PROSPECTOR,
AND UNION SOLDIER IN THE CIVIL WAR,
WAS ONE OF THE MANY WHO ANSWERED THE CALL.
OVER THE NEXT 18 MONTHS,
THE SHARPSHOOTING CODY KILLED OVER 4,200 BUFFALO
FOR THE RAILROAD--
ONE OF THE LARGEST SHARES IN A LEGENDARY SLAUGHTER
THAT ALMOST BROUGHT THE BUFFALO TO AN END...
BUT STARTED WILLIAM CODY ON A SURPRISING JOURNEY
TO WORLDWIDE FAME AS BUFFALO BILL.
A DIME NOVELIST TURNED BUFFALO BILL INTO THE HERO
OF A SERIES OF HIGHLY FICTIONALIZED STORIES AND PLAYS
BASED ON HIS EXPLOITS.
HE SPENT THE REST OF HIS LIFE PLAYING BUFFALO BILL
IN PLAYS AND WILD WEST SHOWS.
BUT IT WASN'T ALL MAKE-BELIEVE.
AS AN EXPERIENCED FRONTIER SCOUT,
CODY KNEW THE WEST AS WELL AS ANY MAN
AND WAS DETERMINED TO CLAIM HIS SHARE OF THE WEALTH IT OFFERED,
EVEN IN CORNERS OF WYOMING
WHERE OTHERS SAW NOTHING BUT DRY AND DUSTY PLAINS...
PLACES WHERE THE ROCKIES HOLD BACK THE RAIN,
DESERTS SPREAD ACROSS THE STATE FROM SOUTH TO EAST,
AND SOME OF AMERICA'S MOST SURREAL LANDSCAPES UNFOLD--
LANDSCAPES LIKE THE KILLPECKER SAND DUNES,
WHERE THESE SINUOUS RIDGES WIND THROUGH THE HEART
OF NORTH AMERICA'S LARGEST ACTIVE DUNE ECOSYSTEM.
OVER A HUNDRED MILES LONG AND UP TO 150 FEET HIGH,
THE DUNES DRIFT ACROSS
THE BOTTOM OF A VANISHED PREHISTORIC LAKE,
SEEMING LIKE A LANDSCAPE IMPORTED FROM THE SAHARA,
OR THE MOON.
STRANGE YET PEACEFUL,
THEY SEEM READY MADE FOR A DESERT RETREAT
OR A REMAKE OF "LAWRENCE OF ARABIA."
BUT THINGS HAVEN'T ALWAYS BEEN SO QUIET HERE.
THIS PART OF WYOMING, LIKE MOST OF THE STATE,
HAS A VIOLENT VOLCANIC PAST...
A PAST THAT HAS ALMOST BEEN ERASED BY THE DUNES,
EXCEPT HERE,
WHERE BOAR'S TUSK ERUPTS FROM THE SAND.
THIS 400-FOOT SPIRE
BEGAN FORMING LESS THAN THREE MILLION YEARS AGO,
WHEN A VOLCANO LEFT THIS CORE OF HARDENED LAVA BEHIND.
AS EROSION STRIPPED AWAY MUCH OF THE VOLCANO'S SIDES,
ITS TUSK-LIKE FORM WAS EXPOSED,
REVEALING A NATURAL MONUMENT TO WYOMING'S VOLCANIC PAST
THAT LOOMS OVER THE DESERT
AND OFFERED SHELTER
TO SOME OF THE REGION'S FIRST HUMAN INHABITANTS.
BOAR'S TUSK CAME TO BE SACRED TO THOSE FIRST PEOPLE.
IT STILL IS TO THEIR DESCENDANTS TODAY.
BUT THEN, AS NOW,
ANY NATIVE AMERICAN ON A VISION QUEST
MIGHT DECIDE TO PASS BOAR'S TUSK BY,
CHOOSING TO HEAD NORTH INSTEAD
TO A SPOT THAT MAY BE THE MOST SACRED IN THE STATE--
ANOTHER PILLAR OF ANCIENT LAVA KNOWN AS DEVIL'S TOWER.
MILLIONS OF MOVIEGOERS KNOW THIS STRANGE MOUNTAIN
AS THE ALIEN LANDING SITE
IN STEVEN SPIELBERG'S 1977 BLOCKBUSTER,
"CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND."
BUT THIS MYSTERIOUS
1,000-FOOT, 50-MILLION-YEAR-OLD COLUMN OF LAVA
WAS CENTRAL TO LIFE HERE
LONG BEFORE THE WHITE MAN ENTERED THE PICTURE.
OVER 20 NATIVE AMERICAN TRIBES
STILL PRACTICE SPIRITUAL RITES HERE TO THIS DAY.
THEIR ANCESTORS TOLD OF HOW ITS DISTINCTIVE VERTICAL CLEFTS
HAD BEEN CARVED BY A GIANT BEAR'S MASSIVE CLAWS.
THEY CALLED IT MATEO TEPEE, OR GRIZZLY BEAR LODGE.
A CONFUSED U.S. GEOLOGIST
MISTRANSLATED THE NAME AS DEVIL'S TOWER IN THE 1870s.
LOCAL INDIANS CALLED IT AN INSULT TO A SACRED PLACE.
BUT THE NAME STUCK.
IN THE LATE 1800s,
PRESERVATIONISTS BEGAN ASKING CONGRESS
TO MAKE IT A NATIONAL PARK LIKE YELLOWSTONE.
WHEN CONGRESS DRAGGED ITS FEET,
PRESIDENT THEODORE ROOSEVELT STEPPED IN
AND DECLARED THAT DEVIL'S TOWER
WOULD BECOME THE NATION'S FIRST NATIONAL MONUMENT INSTEAD.
IT NOW DRAWS OVER 400,000 VISITORS A YEAR--
JUST PART OF A NEVER-ENDING FLOOD OF TOURISTS
BUFFALO BILL CODY SAW COMING LONG BEFORE IT ARRIVED.
CODY SPENT YEARS GUIDING EVERYONE
FROM EAST COAST MILLIONAIRES TO RUSSIAN CZARS
AROUND SOME OF WYOMING'S MOST SCENIC AND DRIEST SPOTS.
THE TRAINS BROUGHT IN EVEN MORE CURIOUS SIGHTSEERS,
ALONG WITH PERMANENT SETTLERS.
MANY OF THEM CAME WITHOUT KNOWING
THAT MUCH OF WYOMING WAS DESERT-DRY.
CODY SAW HIS CHANCE TO MAKE A FORTUNE
BY SUPPLYING THE WATER THEY WOULD NEED TO SURVIVE--
WATER FROM THE SHOSHONE RIVER.
IN 1895, HE AND TWO PARTNERS
ESTABLISHED THE SHOSHONE LAND AND IRRIGATION COMPANY
ON THE RIVER'S BANKS.
THE TOWN THAT GREW UP NEARBY BECAME KNOWN AS CODY.
ITS DUAL ROLE AS BOTH A CENTER FOR LOCALS
AND A STOP-OFF FOR TOURISTS
HAS GIVEN IT A BIT OF A SPLIT PERSONALITY EVER SINCE.
IN 1895, HE AND HIS PARTNERS STARTED BUILDING A DAM HERE
WHERE THE SHOSHONE RIVER ONCE TUMBLED THROUGH
THIS NARROW PASS.
WHEN IT WAS FINISHED IN 1910,
IT WAS THE HIGHEST DAM IN THE WORLD.
THE WIDE CANYON BEHIND IT
ALLOWED CODY'S IRRIGATION COMPANY
TO CAPTURE AND STORE THE WATER IT NEEDED--
MORE THAN 500,000 ACRE-FEET IN ALL...
WATER WYOMING'S NEW FARMS AND COMMUNITIES NEEDED TO GROW.
AFTER CODY'S DEATH IN 1917,
THE DAM AND RESERVOIR WERE RENAMED IN HIS HONOR.
CODY BUILT HIS OWN HOME
ALONG THE SHORES OF THIS NEARBY MOUNTAIN LAKE
THAT HE NAMED AFTER HIS DAUGHTER, IRMA.
IT'S NOW A SPRAWLING RETREAT
FOR THE FAMILY OF BILLIONAIRE BILL GATES,
WHO ALSO MADE HIS FORTUNE IN THE WEST, AS A PIONEER.
FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS,
THE ANCESTORS OF TODAY'S NATIVE AMERICANS
COOKED THEIR FOOD AND BUILT THEIR HOMES
WITH WOOD HARVESTED IN WYOMING'S FORESTS.
THEY HUNTED ANTELOPE, ELK, BUFFALO,
AND OTHER WILDLIFE ON ITS PLAINS,
AND FISHED ITS RIVERS,
TRAVELING ON FOOT WHEREVER THEY WENT.
BUT THE ARRIVAL OF EUROPEANS
TRANSFORMED THIS ANCIENT WAY OF LIFE,
STARTING WITH THE HORSES THE EUROPEANS BROUGHT WITH THEM.
MODERN HORSES ORIGINALLY EVOLVED IN AMERICA
FOUR MILLION YEARS AGO,
THEN SPREAD TO ASIA AND EUROPE
OVER A LONG-GONE LAND BRIDGE OVER THE BERING STRAIT.
ONCE EUROPEANS BROUGHT THEM BACK,
STRAYS AND STOLEN STEEDS
SOON MADE THEIR WAY INTO NATIVE HANDS.
HORSES BECAME PART OF THEIR WAY OF LIFE
AND OF THE RITUALIZED WARFARE THEY USED
TO DEFEND THEIR HOMELANDS FROM RIVAL TRIBES.
THE SHOSHONE CLAIMED MOST OF WESTERN WYOMING,
INCLUDING MANY OF THE LAKES, MOUNTAINS, AND CANYONS
THE STATE IS MOST FAMOUS FOR.
THE EAST, WITH ITS PLAINS,
WAS HOME TO THE CHEYENNE.
THE NORTH,
FROM THE BIGHORN MOUNTAINS TO THE EAST,
BELONGED TO THE CROW...
WHILE THE UTE AND ARAPAHO LIVED SIDE BY SIDE IN THE SOUTH.
THESE HOMELANDS WERE CENTRAL TO THEIR CULTURE,
RELIGIOUS LIFE, AND IDENTITY.
BUT THE EUROPEAN-AMERICANS WHO BEGAN ARRIVING HERE IN THE 1800s
SEEMED TO THINK THE LAND WAS THEIRS FOR THE TAKING.
AS THE TRICKLE OF SETTLERS BECAME A FLOOD,
THE TRIBES BEGAN A BLOODY CAMPAIGN
TO DEFEND THEIR ANCIENT HOMELANDS
AND KEEP THE NEWCOMERS OUT.
SO THE U.S. GOVERNMENT SENT IN THE CAVALRY
TO PROTECT THE SETTLERS FROM ATTACK.
IN 1849, THE ARMY ESTABLISHED FORT LARAMIE
ON THE SITE OF AN OLD TRADING POST
TO SERVE AS ITS BASE.
IT BUILT THIS HEADQUARTERS AND BARRACKS THAT SAME YEAR.
CAROUSING AND WILD PARTIES
SOON EARNED IT THE NICKNAME "OLD BEDLAM,"
AFTER LONDON'S BEDLAM INSANE ASYLUM.
FROM HERE, THE OFTEN HUNG-OVER SOLDIERS
RODE OUT TO WAGE SOME OF MOST DECISIVE BATTLES
OF THE INDIAN WARS.
THE WOUNDED RODE BACK
TO GET STITCHED UP IN THIS BASE HOSPITAL,
WHILE MANY NEVER MADE IT BACK AT ALL.
FINALLY, THE BATTERED ARMY WAS FORCED TO GIVE UP.
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, DESPERATE TO END
THE MOST SUCCESSFUL WAR AGAINST THE UNITED STATES
EVER FOUGHT BY AN INDIAN NATION,
SUED FOR PEACE.
IN 1868, THE GREAT SIOUX CHIEF RED CLOUD
CAME TO FORT LARAMIE TO SIGN A PEACE TREATY
AND END THE WARS.
IN RETURN, THE SIOUX AND OTHER TRIBES
WERE PROMISED RIGHTS TO THEIR HOMELAND
"FOR AS LONG AS THE GRASS SHALL GROW
AND THE BUFFALO SHALL ROAM."
BUT THE WHITE MEN BROKE THEIR WORD
AS SOON AS GOLD WAS FOUND IN SOUTH DAKOTA'S BLACK HILLS.
THE INDIANS WERE FORCED OFF THE LAND THEY HAD BEEN PROMISED
AND ONTO RESERVATIONS--
A BETRAYAL THAT WOULD GO DOWN IN HISTORY
AS ONE OF AMERICA'S DARKEST MOMENTS.
BUT IT WASN'T THE LAST TIME WYOMING PLAYED HOST
TO MAN'S INHUMANITY TO MAN.
IN EARLY OCTOBER 1998,
A MOUNTAIN BIKER SPOTTED SOMETHING
ALONG THIS ROAD NEAR LARAMIE
HE COULDN'T QUITE MAKE OUT.
HE TOOK A CLOSER LOOK
AND DISCOVERED A YOUNG MAN WHO HAD BEEN BEATEN,
TIED TO A FENCE, AND LEFT TO DIE IN THE FREEZING COLD.
THE WORLD SOON LEARNED
THAT THE YOUNG MAN'S NAME WAS MATTHEW SHEPARD,
AND THAT THE TWO OTHER YOUNG MEN HAD APPARENTLY DONE THIS TO HIM
BECAUSE HE WAS GAY.
AFTER SHEPARD DIED A FEW DAYS LATER,
HIS CASE BECAME A RALLYING CRY FOR GAY RIGHTS.
IN OCTOBER 2009,
CONGRESS RESPONDED BY PASSING A NEW HATE CRIMES PREVENTION ACT
BEARING MATTHEW'S NAME.
BY THEN, HIS KILLERS HAD ALREADY BEEN SENTENCED
TO LIFE BEHIND BARS.
FOR THEIR PROTECTION,
THEIR EXACT LOCATION IS KEPT UNDER LOCK AND KEY.
IF THEY'D COMMITTED THEIR CRIME IN THE 1800s,
U.S. MARSHALS MIGHT HAVE BROUGHT THEM HERE,
TO LARAMIE'S WYOMING TERRITORIAL PRISON.
IT WAS THE MARSHALS' JOB TO ROUND UP THE BAD GUYS
AND BRING THEM TO JUSTICE.
BETWEEN 1872 AND 1903,
"EVIL DOERS OF ALL CLASSES AND KINDS"
PAID FOR THEIR CRIMES BEHIND THESE BARS--
1,063 IN ALL,
INCLUDING BUTCH CASSIDY,
BUT NOT THE SUNDANCE KID,
WHO CASSIDY MET SOON AFTER HIS RELEASE.
FIFTY MILES TO THE EAST,
THIS VERY DIFFERENT TOWER STANDS GUARD
OVER THOSE ELECTED TO MAKE, NOT BREAK,
THE LAWS OF THE STATE,
HERE AT THE WYOMING STATE CAPITOL BUILDING
IN CHEYENNE.
THE CORNERSTONE FOR THE CAPITOL
WAS LAID WITH GREAT FANFARE IN 1887.
THIRTY YEARS LATER,
WORK ON THE 146-FOOT DOME AND MASSIVE WINGS
FINALLY CAME TO AN END.
BUT WYOMING'S GREATEST LEGISLATIVE MOMENT
MAY HAVE COME IN 1870,
LONG BEFORE CONSTRUCTION OF THE CAPITOL BEGAN,
WHEN THE TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENT
GAVE AMERICAN WOMEN THE RIGHT TO VOTE
FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME.
THE U.S. CONGRESS THREATENED TO DERAIL WYOMING'S STATEHOOD
UNLESS THE RIGHT WAS REVOKED.
BUT WYOMING REFUSED TO BACK DOWN.
IN 1890, IT ENTERED THE UNION AS THE FIRST STATE
TO ALLOW WOMEN TO CAST THEIR OWN BALLOTS,
EARNING FAME AS "THE EQUALITY STATE"
AND PROVING THAT FOLKS IN WYOMING AREN'T AFRAID
TO STAND UP FOR OPPORTUNITY, FREEDOM, AND JUSTICE
WHEN IT COUNTS...
PERHAPS BECAUSE THEY KNOW
THAT THEIR STATE'S AWE-INSPIRING SCENERY
IS THERE TO BE SHARED BY ALL.
FROM THE GREAT WEATHERED SPIRES OF LAVA
THAT SOAR INTO THE SKY...
OVER RIBBONS OF SAND
THAT SEEM TO STRETCH ON FOR ETERNITY...
FROM STEAMING VALLEYS
THAT TELL OF THE TERRIFYING FORCES THAT LIE BELOW...
TO THE WILD CREATURES THAT COME HERE TO ITS GRASSLANDS
TO ROAM...
AND THE COWBOYS
THAT RIDE THE RANGE TO DRIVE THEIR HERDS HOME...
THIS IS THE SPIRIT OF THE LAND CALLED WYOMING.