Catherine Johnson Morris is a recent retiree, which she highly recommends.

Now she has more time to play.

Morris was a teacher of the blind and visually impaired for the Natrona County School District up until June.

You may know her as “the sandcastle lady,” which is her preferred medium.

But there’s not a whole lot of sand around right now, so Morris is making the best of the snowy situation.

She told K2Radio News she was out plowing snow when she decided that instead of blowing it into the grass, she’d pile it into the driveway.

The pile naturally took its own shape, which inspired her to make it into a fire pit.

“There’s a lot of it, and if you have to move it, you might as well play with it,” said Morris.

“Marshmallow anyone?” she teased in a recent social media caption of the photo.

The fiery sculpture is appropriately located in front of the former fire station no. 5 on 15th street near Wyoming Boulevard.

She started doing sand and snow castles on the rock a few years ago.

Catherine Johnson Morris Courtesy
Catherine Johnson Morris Courtesy
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Catherine Johnson Morris Courtesy
Catherine Johnson Morris Courtesy
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Morris said her hobby got started in 2019 when she went to the beach in Florida and made her first sand castle since she was a small child.

“I fell in love right away.”

She started hunting for places in Wyoming to practice and build sandcastles because she enjoyed it so much.

“There’s something about making the sand do something that you really think sand should not be able to do. To stack it into a tall column, that castle had arches that were 2’ across and to make sand hang in the air like that…”

Art, science, and a little magic.

Catherine Johnson Morris, Just Dig It, Facebook
Catherine Johnson Morris, Just Dig It, Facebook
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Catherine Johnson Morris, Just Dig It, Facebook
Catherine Johnson Morris, Just Dig It, Facebook
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She’s made sandcastles at Alcova, but really loves going to Glendo.

“It’s the best sand I’ve ever touched since I started sculpting,” said Morris.

Last summer she made one over 7’ tall as practice for a competition.

Morris has been competing around the country for a little while now.

Her first amateur event was at the two-day Texas Sandfest where she placed 3rd.

The next time she went to Texas she won 1st place; after that she was recommended for the semi-pros.

In August the winning sand-castle-expert went to Michigan where she turned literal tons of sand into a castle that was 9’5” (coming in 2nd place).

Catherine Johnson Morris Courtesy
"Frogwarts," Catherine Johnson Morris Courtesy
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"Frogwarts," Catherine Johnson Morris Courtesy
"Frogwarts," Catherine Johnson Morris Courtesy
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As soon as they finished, the clouds opened up and dumped, she laughed. “So that was kinda fun.”

“This chick from Wyoming shows up to this competition and throws 9 '5” into the air.”

Right now she’s getting ready for a competition in April.

If you’re from Casper, you’ve likely heard of her or seen her work.

In the summer of 2021 she created sandcastles at David Street Station as a fundraising event to help a student of hers who went blind suddenly.

Catherine Morris Johnson Courtesy
Catherine Morris Johnson Courtesy
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There was a QR code so people could tip digitally.

“I made the news when they kicked the castle in,” she told K2Radio News.

Despite the creations being wrecked, the fundraiser was a success.

Check out some of her work below! You can see more and keep up with all her sculptures by looking at the public Facebook page Just Dig It.

Casper Woman Stuns with Sand & Snow Sculptures

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