National Museum of Military Vehicles 2026

 Our good friends, Bob and Lynne McCrainie told us about an amazing museum that they had been to in Dubois, Wyoming.  It is the National Museum of Military Vehicles that displays over 500 restored military vehicles. It was built at a cost of $100 million dollars, all privately funded so that the government couldn't tell them what to do or how to do it.  

 

The vehicles have been immaculately restored and look brand new. Almost all of them still run.The museum also had many different firearm displays as well as numerous uniforms and equipment displays.

 There was a huge collection of firearms located inside a giant safe. 

It is absolutely incredible that the very first shot fired at the Battle of Bunker Hill came from this rifle and it is in beautiful condition!

This is a machine gun inside of a briefcase.  The trigger is in the handle of the briefcase and the bullets exit the side of the briefcase.  I am not sure this would really work because I don't see any way for the spent cartridges to be ejected.  It still looks cool and I bet they could make it work in the movies.

There were way too many firearms to show in this Blog and still leve room for the main event . . . . the vehicles. As we left the firearms vault, we moved into a large room and the vehicle display began.

There were a very large number of vehicles in this museum and all of them were beautifully restored. They looked brand new, even the tires on the wheeled vehicles 

and the treads on the tracked vehicles.  All of these vehicles were different models and I have no idea where they were able to find parts.

There was room after room of vehicles of all types, and it was interesting trying to imagine what the men that operated these vehicles must have gone through. Words can't really describe what we saw so I will let the pictures do the talking.

We got to the museum right when it opened at 9:30 in the morning. As we continued to examine all of the vehicles in the museum, we finally realized we were hungry and that it was already lunchtime. We left the museum and went next door to the conference center where they also had a very nice snack bar. Suzie got a little child size cheeseburger and I got a regular size hamburger and we were surprised at how expensive the final bill was. We got over it when we saw the amount of food that they served us and feel that we got a really good bang for our buck.

After our lunch, we continued our trek through the museum.  This was a full size model of the first atomic bomb dropped on Japan. It's amazing how small it was. The placard beside it says that they estimate that it killed 80,000 people but they're not sure on the count because they believe that many were vaporized.

This placard was next to a display of a German railroad cannon that was used against the Russians. This cannon fired a total of 48 rounds, and they are said to be the largest artillery rounds ever fired.  Doesn't look too impressive on the following picture.

 

This is a model of the artillery piece. It was so large that it had to be transported on double sets of railroad tracks and you can get a feel for how big it was by looking at the model trucks that are also displayed in this diorama.

 

This is what the projectile looks like that that gun fired.

These are examples of what the projectiles look like that were fired out of the 16 inch naval guns that were mounted on US battleships during World War II. (That is World War 2, not World War eleven) 

 

The displays just went on and on.

I keep repeating how beautifully restored each of these vehicles is and that is because they had one vehicle to compare to.

 

This is an M60-A1 main battle tank that is in absolutely like new condition, at least on the outside. This is what I trained on and served on for six years while I was in the California National Guard.

We finally got to the end of all of the vehicles inside of the museum and thought we were through. We were wrong and found that there were a whole bunch more waiting to be restored outside. They were all under a covered shed.

There were many more vehicles than we were able to share with you, but I think you probably get a feel for what it is that's located at the National Museum of Military Vehicles. It's too bad that this place is so far out in the sticks because if it was in a large metropolitan area, it would absolutely be a must see.  It's located way out in the middle of nowhere in Wyoming, but if you're ever in the area of Yellowstone, you might deviate south  into Wyoming about 100 miles, and you will have a treat visiting this museum.

I will be starting on the next leg of our adventure soon.  Please feel free to share any of these chapters with anyone that you think might enjoy them.

Tom & Suzie 

 

Road trip, Richfield, Utah to Lander, Wyoming 2026

 When we left Richfield, Utah, we headed toward the small town of Silt, Colorado.  We have stayed at the RV park there on numerous occasions because it is the closest RV park to Glenwood Springs that can accommodate an RV our size. 

The drive across Utah is beautiful and there's not much to do along the drive except stop at each rest area and marvel at the changes in scenery from one rest stop to the next.

The terrain changes constantly, and each time we would stop the view was amazing. There's not really much to say except enjoy the pictures.

After leaving Utah, we crossed into Colorado and drove through Grand Junction. Leaving Grand Junction we followed the Colorado river as it winds through canyons after exiting the Rocky Mountains.

Even though it was the end of April, the weather still thought it was winter.

We got set up in our RV park in Silt and had a nice evening with intermittent rain showers.

The next day, we drove to Glenwood Springs Colorado, where we enjoyed the Yampa Spa.  

When I was flying as an Air Attack, fighting forest fires, I spent quite a few summers flying out of Grand Junction. On my very first summer there, after working 12 days in a row, I was required to take two days off. I had made many friends with the tanker base staff, and several of them told me that I had to go to Glenwood Springs to the Yampa spa to relax after 12 busy days of flying. I went there and had a very enjoyable afternoon, and ever since then, every time we were near Glenwood Springs, we would go to the spa.

The spa complex is built around a cave that goes down into the mountain. Down at the bottom of the cave are small rooms that are heated by steaming water that emerges from the cracks in the rock.  This steaming hot water heats all of the rooms that are carved out of the mountain. Each of the rooms has large, smooth marble like slabs that form benches and tables that you can lie on.  The benches are all heated to the same temperature as the rest of the room and as you lie on them, the heat just soaks up into your body while the steamy atmosphere warms the rest of your body. The effect is amazing.

We did not want to take our phones down into the steamy mist, and so I have gotten some photos from the Internet that show what it is that you experience.  The cave is actually much darker than these photos.

It was very hot and steamy in the vapor caves, and we only lasted about 15 minutes. Then, you'd climb back up the stairs and go out onto the patio to cool off.

Even though it was quite chilly on the day that we were there on this trip, you are so hot and sweaty from the cave, that it felt great to just sit outside and cool off a little bit. When we have gone in the past, it has even been snowing, and the little snow flakes striking your skin was amazing. On this trip, there was no rain or snow while we were on the patio. After a few minutes on the patio benches, we would go back down into the cave for another round. We made three trips down into the cave, and after that, you take a shower and then put on the robe that they supply, and then go to the solarium to continue the relaxation process.

 The big white thing in the middle of the room was a giant crystal that they claim helps center your energy. I'm not sure if that works but sitting in the solarium was very relaxing after visiting the cave and this is where we waited until the appointed time, when our masseuses came and took us for our massage. After the massage, we were barely able to walk out to the car for the short, drive back to our motorhome. 

The next day, we continued our trip north out of Colorado, and into Wyoming. The drive through northern Colorado and southern Wyoming was spectacular.  The terrain varies but the overall big picture is of a huge, wide open space with stark contrast between lush greenery and dry high desert.

While we were driving, while out in the middle of nowhere, we passed a sign cautioning us to be on the lookout for wild horses.  Shortly, after seeing that sign, we saw the only wild horse for miles around, and Suzie happened to get it squarely in the middle of her picture.

It was a long, lonely highway traveling through Wyoming.

It was cold and windy on this drive, and you can only imagine what it would be like in the middle of winter in a snow storm.

Speaking of winter snows, it was amazing to see snow fence.

These are 14 foot high fences that are built back from the highway. They are designed to slow the snow and cause it to swirl and fall into a drift before reaching the highway. The drift continues to build, causing the wind to blow the snow over the top of the highway helping to keep it clear. They must work because they look very expensive and they go on for miles and miles.

Our final destination that day was Lander, Wyoming, where we spent two nights.  Our goal on this leg of the trip was to be in position to visit what we were told is an amazing museum.

That will be the next blog and if you thought this one had a lot of pictures, I was just getting warmed up.

I hope you are enjoying the blog and if you have any suggestions for us, please let us know.

We will keep you posted on our travels and we hope that you get a chance to get out here and see some of this amazing country.

Tom & Suzie