Mystery of the Desert ‘Boathenge’ and Its Defiant Creator

Drivers along U.S. Highway 310 near the tiny Wyoming town of Frannie often do a double take. There, rising from a barren bentonite hillside, stands a row of twelve power boats, half-buried vertically with their sterns in the dirt. The sight is so peculiar that passersby have nicknamed it “Boathenge.” But its official name is “Hull’s Half Acre: A Dozen Dinghys in the Desert,” and its creator has a blunt message for critics: “Go to hell.”

The man behind the spectacle is Riley Cooke, a former Frannie resident who now lives in Billings, Montana, and works under the artistic alias Greg Wyoming. He installed the boats in 2020 as a way to put the struggling, nearly forgotten town on the map. “Frannie is just another little know-nothing Wyoming town,” Cooke says. “They closed the school. They’ve mostly closed the post office. There’s no reason to even slow down.”

Cooke chose a “boring bentonite hill” he owned, rounded up a dozen old power boats, and enlisted a friend with a backhoe. He sought no permits and asked no permission. The result is an evolving open-air gallery he calls the Skyline Gallery, which now includes vintage vehicles and original poetry displayed on large panels. Visitors can drive a small dirt road right up to each piece without ever stepping into sagebrush.

One installation features a vintage Cadillac hauling a trailer, honoring cattle buyers who once used such cars before modern pickups. Nearby, two fire trucks stand as a tribute to 9/11 victims and first responders, accompanied by Cooke’s personal poem about that day. Tractors honor farm families, and a growing collection of old trucks will soon celebrate the trucking industry. “Everything we touch comes in a truck,” Cooke notes.

While some call his work roadside junk, Cooke dismisses the criticism. He points out that the surrounding landscape is hardly pristine wilderness, just bentonite hills. He is most irritated by people who offer opinions without stopping to read the signs. “Don’t give me an opinion if you haven’t walked in my shoes,” he says. For Cooke, Hull’s Half Acre is not really about boats—it is about finishing what you start, honoring forgotten workers, and spending time with family and friends. Love it or hate it, this desert art installation is here to stay.