You may ask, who am I? Well, thank you, I'm Bill. I've worked for My Country and Townsquare Media for over seven years. Typically, I work behind the scenes to keep things running. Over the years, I've written many stories for our websites and taken photos at Beartrap Summer Festival, but this last year I've been hosting a show on Saturday mornings. It's been a nice change to troubleshooting automation or scheduling music. I get to share my weekends with you. This story is about the top-performing stories in 2022 I've written. Along the way, I'll share some behind the scene scoops about some of these articles.

My wife, Beth, and I have been married for 16 years and have two dogs, two cats, and a rabbit. We often go on "adventures" around the state and like to explore Wyoming in our camper. I'm an avid photo bug and love to take nature shots. A lot of these stories are inspired by those trips.

It is my goal to tell the story of Wyoming or Casper. People say, "if those walls could talk," that is what I want to write about. It doesn't have to be revolutionary and could be very ordinary yet significant or quirky. If it makes you go, "WOW, that's cool," or "I never knew about that," I know I've done my job.

Here are the top-performing articles in 2022 written by yours truly, Bill Schwamle.

10 - Hidden Wyoming Island Has Astonishing Suspension Bridge

Bill Schwamle, Townsquare Media / Canva
Bill Schwamle, Townsquare Media / Canva
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Beth and I found this gem of a place while exploring Saratoga. This park was just magical. The bridge did have a little pucker factor while walking across it, and it is worth checking out if you are in that area.

9 - The Best Doughnuts In Wyoming Are Found In The Middle of Nowhere

Bill Schwamle, Townsquare Media
Bill Schwamle, Townsquare Media
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Beth told me she had the inside scoop on some amazing doughnuts. We had to take a trip to Buffalo to verify and taste them, and it was worth it. What became was the story about an Amish doughnut run. So, so sweet and rewarding.

8 - Spectacular Wyoming Roadside Attractions That You Must See

Bill Schwamle, Townsquare Media / CANVA
Bill Schwamle, Townsquare Media / CANVA
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If you are a photographer, you know it is easy to collect a massive number of photos. Then you need to find a use for them. That's how this story started. I had some fantastic pictures of the Abe Lincoln Statue, but I thought it needed more. So, I found other interesting roadside attractions around the state. Then things just started coming together.

7 - Fascinating Laramie TikTok Star Bakes Tantalizing Vintage Cakes

B. Dylan Hollis via YouTube
B. Dylan Hollis via YouTube
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At the time, I hadn't jumped into the TicTok rabbit hole, but a friend informed me of B. Dylan Hollis making a name for himself on the platform. As a life-long student of marketing and content, this guy is doing all the right things. He made a niche and stuck to it. From a content marketing perspective, we can learn a lot from him.

6 - Hidden Order of Wyoming Monks Make Divine Coffee

Bill Schwamle, Townsquare Media
Bill Schwamle, Townsquare Media
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I've known about the monks for some time, and I didn't have a good spin on the story. So, I decided to brew up a good reason to talk about it. Then the coffee was good. Plus, it was fun to talk about coffee spiritually. It is something unique and exciting.

5 - Abandoned Pet Cemetery Near Casper Is Frightening and Fascinating

Bill Schwamle, Townsquare Media
Bill Schwamle, Townsquare Media
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While writing this story, I could not get the Ramones song Pet Cemetery out of my head. This location was another my wife and I discovered while exploring the Casper area. We happened to drive by, and the rusty gates caught my eye. I had to stop and take some photos. We had just lost a pet, so the place resonated with me. Plus, people seem to like abandoned places.

4 - How To Find The Official 7 Wonders of Casper

Bill Schwamle, Townsquare Media / Canva
Bill Schwamle, Townsquare Media / Canva
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One of the first things I learned about Casper is it had its own 7 Wonders. Donovan Short took me to Gravity Hill while interviewing for this job. It was overdue that I took photos of all or most of these locations, and I had a problem finding some of them. That made me think I should also inform people about how to find them. Bingo. The story wrote itself. The photos were a process, though.

3 - You Will Freak Out When You See This Monster On Casper Mountain

YouTube via Nuke's Top 5
YouTube via Nuke's Top 5
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I love the X-Files and cryptids. They fascinated me. I don't always believe, but, like Mulder, I want to believe. So, when I found a viral story about the Casper Crawler, a monster spotted on Casper Mountain, I had to write about it. In this story, I believe the guy found a true monster - a mountain lion. Why? The sound recording is the best proof. Google the sound of a mountain lion and compare it to the video. The image is doctored a little, and the brain always makes unknown shapes look human. It is why we see faces in clouds and Jesus in a piece of toast. Add to the fact that mountain lions are regularly seen in the area. It is the most likely case. Hey, maybe I'm wrong, and it was a monster.

2 - For The First Time, We Introduce The New 7 Wonders of Casper

Bill Schwamle, Townsquare Media
Bill Schwamle, Townsquare Media
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While looking into the "Official 7 Wonders of Casper," I thought some of these wonders weren't that wonderful. I took it upon myself to designate 7 new wonders that represented Casper better. Sadly, the book arch in the photo above collapsed shortly after this story was published.

1 - The Wyoming Man Who Killed A Grizzly Bear With His Hands and Teeth

Bill Schwamle, Townsquare Media
Bill Schwamle, Townsquare Media
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Initially published in 2018, this story has some lasting power. One thing that has helped this story live shareability of it. The comedian Nate Bargate on The Nateland Podcast talked about this story on his show. They called it bear noodling. Man, I wish I had thought of that.

Another fun anecdote about this post (because if you are reading now, you deserve a treat) is I had a typo on the headline when I published the story. The last letter of my title was cut off. So, it read that a man killed a bear with his "teet." Never before has there been a powerful nipple like that. Usually, I am embarrassed over mistakes, but this one was probably my favorite. Now for something completely different.

Thanks for reading, and thanks for sharing these stories from 2022. Let's make 2023 even better. Cheers!

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