Hell's Half Acre, located 44 miles north of Casper, once served as a bone yard, where Native Americans slaughtered herds and herds of bison, a history befitting the ominous name.

Some 180 feet below the fence posts where visitors have stuck their noses over for decades, rainwater collected in a small pool on the floor. Weathered antelope tracks led to the puddle, while wild rabbits darted across the landscape and a Magpie squawked from the spires above.

The 320-acre canyon, Wyoming's mini-Badlands, still has some life left down there.

Now it's up to Natrona County to determine if the area has enough life to attract visitors.

Just not overnight visitors.

The on-site motel will be demolished, and the fate of the now-closed diner is yet to be determined. Recently, the leaseholders of the property, which is owned by the county, gave up on the struggling motel, restaurant and gift shop to move to Laramie.

With no potential buyers on the horizon, county officials are left to decide what purpose the area can serve.

On Saturday, 30 people reasoned that it has a significant one.

Archeogeologist John Albanese led a group including area geology, archeology and history enthusiasts down to the base of Hell's Half Acre and around the rim. For most people, it was the first time they could travel beyond the picnic tables overlooking the canyon and drive down the one gravel road that's fenced-off by the county.

The trip also offered the opportunity to ask one county official about the future of Hell's Half Acre. Mike Haigler, Natrona County's road and bridge superintendent, and his wife Angela also accompanied the tour.

The canyon takes up a third of the 960 acres of land given to the county by the federal government in 1924. Some on the tour believed that either the federal or state government should acquire the land and convert it into a full-fledged park. A more feasible plan, and one that county officials are investigating, would focus on the educational qualities that Hell's Half Acre provides.

"It would be a great location for an archeological interpretative center," Stuart Mackenzie, a Casper-based archeologist said. "The whole area has potential for tremendous archeological investigation."

Mackenzie envisions the site, where visitors are still capable of unearthing anything from full bison bones to rocks reddened by tribal fires, as a field trip destination for Wyoming's school children. After working on the county's first and only survey of the landscape, he looked into taking over the restaurant and motel, but determined that the investment wouldn't pay off.

Mackenzie and several others on the tour approached Haigler with their theories on the park's future. Haigler told them that the county is still looking for a buyer. An abundance of iron in the area's water supply makes the area difficult to support. Last year, Natrona County spent $30,000 to transport water in from Casper.

Albanese, also chairman of the Natrona County Historic Preservation Society, reasoned that the land deserves an institution that would teach visitors about its unique aspects, and has passed that information along to Haigler, and Natrona County.

"I've been preaching gospel to the county commission," Albanese said.

Contact city reporter Cory Matteson at (307) 266-0589 or cory.matteson@casperstartribune.net.