My town is known as the City of Bronze because of the many bronze statues located throughout, produced by the
local bronze foundry (one of the finest foundries in the world). The best known landmark, however, is the mill that stands behind the bronze elk in the photo (it's actually across the street).
The story behind the elk is this: a local motel owner and his wife were out in the Wyoming wilderness and became lost. They wandered around until it started to get dark, when the husband decided to try to find help. He settled his wife beside a large tree and reassured her he would be back as soon as he could. She sat there, cold and scared, alone in what could certainly be considered a potentially dangerous situation. She drifted off to sleep and awoke with a start sometime later to find a huge elk standing over her. She was frightened, but strangely, the animal stayed close to her and she eventually got used to his being there. She dozed throughout the night, but each time she looked, she found the elk still there, and she felt comforted. When she awoke in the morning, the elk was gone, and her husband soon showed up with help to get them off the mountain. They had the bronze elk made in tribute to the elk that kept the wife company through a very long night.
