Casper Wyoming Temple
It’s 6 degrees right now in Casper, Wyoming. Tomorrow morning at 4 AM I will get up and head to Reagan National airport. My flight to Denver is $16. My rental car is $30. The drive from Denver to Casper is about 5 hours. I will drive up and back the same day.
The Casper Wyoming Temple is one of only two in the United States that I have not attended. The other one is in McAllen, Texas. I am going there on Saturday February 22. At that point I will have been to every operating temple in the U.S.!
Casper Wyoming Temple
The Casper Wyoming Temple is the second modular temple I’ve been to, the Helena Montana Temple being the other one. The Casper Wyoming Temple was announced in April of 2021. It was dedicated in November of 2024 by Elder Quentin L. Cook. It is the second temple in Wyoming, the other one being the Star Valley Wyoming Temple in Afton.
It’s 280 miles from the Denver airport to the Casper Wyoming Temple. The good news is it’s an 80 mile an hour speed limit most of the way. There’s not much to see enroute except lots of prairie land and small bluffs. But every once in a while, you see a buffalo or a cowboy up on top of the hill!
I always like to highlight some meal I have on these temple trips, and this trip is no exception! On the way to Casper, you passed through a small town of Chugwater, Wyoming. A billboard outside of town invites you to stop in and try their famous Chugwater Chili. I love chili, so I had to stop.
The town only has 175 residents! And the chili was fantastic, as was the huckleberry malt.
Casper Wyoming Temple Distribution Center
Since I got here early, I went over and said hi to the folks in the small distribution center next-door. The main lady there had a last name of Hepworth. She told me that the woman who is assigned to oversee the construction of this temple was sent here from Salt Lake City, and in the course of the months that she was here ended up marrying Sister Hepworth’s son! They were the first temple marriage performed in the Casper Wyoming Temple!
In about an hour I will be doing five initiatory names that my sister Lauren provided me last night. Just a few minutes ago I asked a lady to take the picture of me in front of the temple. Her name is Hardy and her daughter is serving a mission in McAllen Texas, which is where I will be attending my final US temple a week from Saturday! At that point, I will have done temple work in all of the United States temples that are operating!
What a joy to serve the Lord around the world in His wonderful temples, and meet the saintly people who work here.