playlist

Casino Hotel Opened Colorfully

Casino Hotel Opened Colorfully

A grand ceremony featuring the towns of Ethete and Arapahoe honor guards along with a Northern Arapaho drum circle marked a bright beginning last week for a new hotel attached to the Wind River Casino in Riverton, Wyoming. Marketing Director Jackie Dorothy spoke with us today about the addition of the hotel and its significance:

Wind River Hotel .mp4

The 90-room hotel also houses numerous Northern Arapaho cultural heritage displays. Journalists who want more information can contact Dorothy at: PH: 307-840-5348 or email: jldorothy@hotmail.com

Wondrous Winter in Yellowstone

Wyoming is blessed to be the home of one of the world's great wonders, especially in winter. Yellowstone National Park has opened for the winter season. For those who've not had the pleasure of visiting Yellowstone when it's blanketed in white, we offer for you now this Christmas treat courtesy of Yellowstone Park Lodges and the Wyoming Offfice of Tourism:

Yellowstone Winter .mp4

Our thanks to Rick Hoeninghausen of Xanterra Parks & Resorts and Mike McCrimmon of the state tourism office in Wyoming for bringing us those stunningingly surreal images of Yellowstone in winter. To plan your stay, go to: www.yellowstonenationalparklodges.com

Merlin's Hide Out

Mid-December through January is prime hide season for a small Thermopolis, Wyoming company that is making a big business out of buffalo:

Merlin's Hide Out.mp4

Merlin's Hideout offers public tours and there is a small retail operation on site next to the shop.

True West Picks ‘Best of the West’ for 2012

Billed as its tenth-annual guide to “everything western,” True West magazine has published the 2012 “Best of the West” issue with several Wyoming locations and businesses ranked at the top.

“We see a wide variety of Wyoming’s heritage represented in these findings and know that for every winning category there are dozens of other Wyoming locales worthy of recognition,” said Diane Shober, state tourism director.

Fort Bridger State Historic Site in southwestern Wyoming was chosen Best Preserved Fort. The magazine editors note recent upgrades to exhibits “help visitors understand the significance of this post that served overland emigrant travelers.”

Klondike Ranch near Buffalo, WY was deemed Best Guest Ranch of the West for inspiring guests to join in the chores on the working cattle ranch and keeping history alive.

There were two “Reader’s Choice” awards given to Wyoming businesses: Nagle-Warren Mansion in Cheyenne was named Best B&B and Cody’s Irma Hotel garnered recognition as the Best Historic 100 Years Business.

Western author and historian Candy Moulton of Encampment, WY served in a working group of contributing editors that assisted True West, based in Arizona, in making the 2012 compilations. “We write stories for the magazine throughout the year and they trust our judgment,” said Moulton who found the new additions at Fort Bridger “fascinating and fun.” Moulton nominated only the western U.S. locations she has visited.

The January 2012 issue of True West is also a source book for many western activities and attractions such as museums, events and adventures.

Media Contacts:

Candy Moulton, 307.329.8942

Diane Shober, 307.214.3741

Jackson Hole Garners National Attention

Despite a slow start to the season, Jackson Hole's coverage in national media is likely to boost numbers in the coming weeks, even days.

Forbes just ranked Jackson Hole number one on their "Top 5 Ski Resorts in the United States" list. Forbes is one of the nation's top news magazines with a print circulation of 930,000 and over 10 million unique visitors to their website on a monthly basis.

Diane Shober, Director of the Wyoming Office of Tourism, said "We are very grateful to have a world-class resort that receives this type of recognition. It speaks volumes to the quality of product and branding efforts that Jackson Hole has achieved over the years."

The New York Times Travel section on December 11, 2011 was reserved for their annual Ski Issue, highlighting the best of the best across the United States. Jackson Hole was honored in a piece about women in the world of skiing, "Taking Women Way Beyond the Snowplow". Freeride World Tour competitor Jess McMillan teaches Ski the Line and Stretch the Limits clinics at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort which helps women break into the world of extreme skiing.

On the Skiing by the Numbers page, Burton Stash Terrain Park gets a shout out for having 20 feautres carved by a chainsaw. The New York Times has a print circulation of 950,000 with 16.5 million unique visitors per month to their website.

In addition to receiving accolades from top news outlets, Jackson Hole continues to receive press for their stellar deals this season. The Los Angeles Times featured a package deal in their article on Your Money: Making the ski slopes more affordable. The LA Times has a print circulation of 615,000 with over 7 million monthly unique visitors.

Shober is elated to see this type of exposure promoting Wyoming as a winter destination, "We simply could not afford to buy this type of coverage. Our paid winter marketing budget is $600,000 and although it is coupled with extensive communications, social media and promotional efforts, it does not come close to the roughly 2 million in advertising equivalency that these articles produced."

Media Contact:

Diane Shober, Director
Wyoming Office of Tourism
diane.shober@wyo.gov
Phone: 307-777-2808     Cell: 307-214-3741

Wyoming’s Call of the Wild to Premiere December 31

Cheyenne—The Wyoming Game and Fish Department’s newest TV series—Wyoming’s Call of the Wild—will premiere on the Sportsman Channel on December 31. This 13-episode series focuses on getting kids and their families into Wyoming’s great outdoors.

“Across the nation, we have been experiencing a decline in the number of people participating in hunting and fishing,” said WGFD Public Information Officer Eric Keszler. “This show is one way we’re working to get people excited about getting outdoors and enjoying Wyoming’s wildlife. People who hunt and fish contribute more to conservation and management of wildlife than anyone else. So getting people off the couch and into the outdoors is vitally important for our outdoor heritage and for the future of our wildlife resources.”

Each episode of Wyoming’s Call of the Wild features a different youth hunter or angler on an outdoor adventure somewhere in Wyoming. Kids from all over the United States applied to be on the show, at one of several “casting calls” hosted around the country or via the internet.

“We had hundreds of applications from youngsters all over the country,” said Keszler. “It was very difficult to choose a handful of kids to participate in the show. We eventually picked kids both from within Wyoming and from other states to participate. We looked for kids who had interesting stories and who we felt would benefit from an experience in Wyoming’s great outdoors.”

The first episode features a turkey hunt in northeastern Wyoming, hosted by WGFD Game Warden Matt Withroder and Biologist Joe Sandrini. The guest on this episode is Jake Bullock, a teenager from Colorado who lost his father to cancer. Jake recently won his own battle with cancer, and is looking to the outdoors to help heal some of the scars accumulated during his young life.

The host of this groundbreaking series is nationally known author, lecturer, and teacher Craig Conrad. Known for his inspiring presentation “The Unstoppable You,” Conrad has devoted his career to helping youth reach their full potential.  Conrad’s innovative 26-year teaching career has earned him six nominations for the Who’s Who Best Teachers in America, the receipt of the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching from Colorado Governor Roy Romer, and the first-ever Tradition of Excellence Award.

The WGFD contracted with Orion Entertainment to produce this series. Orion is the country’s largest producer of outdoor adventure programming. “Wyoming is a state that clearly understands that to effectively manage fish and wildlife resources you must first have the support of conservation-minded anglers and hunters,” said Orion President Chris Dorsey. “And growing the ranks of sportsmen and women is vital to creating future conservation advocates.”

The Sportsman Channel reaches 27 million U.S. television households and is a part of the nation's largest multimedia company targeted exclusively to serving the information and entertainment needs of outdoors enthusiasts. For specific episode times, check your local listings or go to http://www.thesportsmanchannel.com/.
For more information on the show, visit callofthewildtv.com or at Wyoming’s Call of the Wild on Facebook.

Media Contact: Eric Keszler
eric.keszler@wgp.state.wy.us307-777-4594
Download Wyoming Game & Fish Press Release: WCOW_news_release_12-11[1].pdf