Beware of Wyoming’s Strangest Creatures
Who knows what strange creatures are lurking across Wyoming?
Hiding in the grass of the plains.
Creep crawling in our mountains and swimming in our rivers and lakes.
Unknow and weird creatures are referred to as Cryptids.
In most cases, they are animals that we know of but were seen in a way that confused people into thinking they were seeing something else.
Let's take a look at the cryptids that might be calling Wyoming, HOME!
Bigfoot
Sorry to say there are not many documented bigfoot sightings in Wyoming.
The creature seems to like to live in areas that have more trees.
But that doesn't mean that there have been no sightings.
Shunka Warakin
The who-da-what-a? This is Montana's to claim, but it has been reported in northern Wyoming.
The Shunka Warakin is supposed to be an extra large wolf-like animal, similar to Dire Wolves that went extinct thousands of years ago.
DeSmet Lake Monster
Like the Lock Ness Monster "Nessie?" But in Lake DeSmet in Johnson County. "Smetty," a lake monster with sightings all the way back as far as the early 1800s.
"Local ranchers often told stories about seeing a 30 to 40 foot long looking like a “long telephone pole with a lard bucket attached.”
Other recorded physical characteristics include a “bony ridge along the back, with a resemblance to a horse’s head coming out of the water in a swimming motion.” "
Jackalope
Don't repeat this to anyone who is not a Wyoming resident, but the Jackalope was created in Douglas back in the 1930s.
This publicity stunt is loved to this day.
The San Pedro Mountains Mummy
A cryptid lost to history. It was found in Carbon County in 1932.
While it appeared to be a fully grown human male. It's only a foot tall.
Many believed it was a hoax, but others noted the similarity to the Nimergar — a Shoshone legend of hostile miniature humans from the region.
The Lake Alcova Monster
This one is lurking in shallow water for everybody to see.
You just need to know where to look.
Have a look at the image below and tell me what you see.
There I was, standing on a high point looking down on the Alcova Reservoir.
A moment ago there was a family camping by the water, enjoying their weekend.
But now they were gone.
Where did they go?
Down below, in the shallow water, I saw this astounding sight.
Does this look like a lake creature to you?
Because I think it ate that family.
I see a head on the left side.
Then the body, with dorsal fins.
Below that is an extended tail.
At the far end is its back flipper that looks like it belongs to a dolphin or something.
Dinosaur bones, evidence of massive sea creatures, and even prehistoric crocodiles have been found in and around Alcova.
Is this a leftover monster from that long ago age?
A photo doesn't do it justice.
To see if for yourself, drive to the east side of the Alcova Reservoir.
From the town of Alcova take Highway 407 to Cottonwood Creek Road. That's the campground by the same name.
Drive all the way to the water and look up to your right, you see a red roof on some red cliffs. Drive up there.
This link is a satellite photo of the end of the road, where you want to be.
The photo is so old it doesn't show the red roof of the picnic area, nor does it show the creature in the lake.
But you can go up there, look down, and see what is in that photo.
It seems to enjoy sleeping there.
The next morning, as a breeze crossed the cove, a strange calm spot appeared.
This calm in the breeze was the same size and shape as the photo taken the day before.
So, just a pile of rocks underwater?
WHO THE HECK CARES?
Let's start an Alcova Lake monster story.
We need a lake monster just like the Loch Ness Monster.
Let's call her ALI the Alcova Reservoir Monster.
Share this story and help spread the story so we can get this thing going.
Exploring Wyoming's Alcova River Canyon
Gallery Credit: Glenn Woods
Alcova On Ice
Gallery Credit: Glenn Woods
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