Make a journal entry titled "Trick Or Treat Through J-Land"and copy these instructions so others can play along. Visit as many journals as you can with the "Trick or Treat Through J-Land" title and leave them your link. Hopefully all those who actively participate will get many trick or treaters and meet some new J-Land pals!
Happy Haunting!!!!
Just south and east of the Ames Monument is Remount Ranch. It was at the ranch that Mary O'Hara wrote "My Friend Flicka", "Thunderhead" and "The Green Grass of Wyoming" in the 1940's. Bea, I would definitely put this on a "must see" list when you finally visit the west. If you click on the link to the ranch, you will see the name "Tom Horn" mentioned. I will cover Tom in another post and my connection to him.
Laramie sits in a valley, a high plain located between two mountain ranges. The mountains to the east are conered by Ponderosa Pine. The mountains to the west and south are covered by Lodgepole Pine (used to make telephone poles). Northwest of Laramie are the small towns of Bosler, Rock River, Medicine Bow and Hanna. Medicine Bow is the location of "The Virginian" written by Owen Wister.
A drive to the west of Laramie will take you to Centennial (great skiing) and Woods Landing. I'll share a secret with you. Some of the best trout fishing in Wyoming can be found near Woods Landing. If you go south on highway 230 and cross the Wyoming / Colorado border, there is a dirt road that goes back into Wyoming. The forest hides the small streams. If you look hard enough, you will see some streams to the north of the dirt road. These are the headwaters of the North Platte river that flows into the Missouri River and then into the Mississippi River. The Brook trout are very tasty and they fit perfectly in the frying pan. Make sure you purchase a fishing license!
Here fishy, fishy!
OK, my best friend Chris, has reminded me that I forgot to mention Lake Marie, high atop the Snowy Range, west of Laramie. At over 10,000 feet above sea level, it's cold, very cold. There are still very deep snow drifts in early June. Yes, that is snow in the picture and it was taken in July.
Nate and Lake Marie, Wyoming
Just a quick note to log our 1st measurable snow fall this year. There is a blue jay and a downy headed wood pecker on the bird feeder. The wood pecker is hiding on the other side of the 2nd to the left feeder.
Milo does love to run and romp in the snow!
Old Fort Laramie Painting by Alfred J. Miller (1858)
The early pioneers that followed the Oregon Trail entered Wyoming along the banks of the North Platte River. Fort Laramie is located on the north side of the river. The old fort served may purposes while it was an active army post and contains much history. It was a thrill and an honor to participate in a flag ceremony at the fort in June of 1968. In the movies, you will see the wagon trains in a circle with the Indians attacking, riding around the circle. In all of my reading I can not find any instance when that actually happened! There is only one case where the Indians attacked a circle but they did not ride around in circles.
Modern day Fort Laramie
The northeast corner of the state was originally a very large Lakoda Souix Indian reservation. The discovery of gold in the Black Hills of South Dakota created a demand for land for the white man. The Indians did not give up their right to the land easily, as General George Custer found out. Crazy Horse and the united indian nations could only keep the white man out for a short time before the indian wars forced them to live as captives on their own land. I believe, as the native Americans did, that the land does not belong to man, man belongs to the land.
The Cheyenne / Deadwood stage trail follows the eastern Wyoming border. In the early days, before the railroad went north, the stage was the only way into the wild west town of Deadwood. Lusk is the last community to have a bordello. North of Douglas, in the Thunder Basin National Grasslands it the town of Bill, Wyoming. Bill is a very small town. It has one building that houses groceries, the post office, the jail and out front is a gas pump. It services all the ranches for miles around. When I was growing up, the mayor's name was Bill. He was also the constable, grocer and post master. Much to the surprise of many visitors, there is a parking meter in front of the building. Some "easterners" are often surprised when they failedto put a coin in this singular device and end up with a fine or even worse, jail.
Wyoming's State Capitol building. Notice the new cars!
I have traveled from Boston to Key West and out to the US Virgin Islands. Driven from Ocean City, Maryland to Seaside, Oregon. This is a beautiful country with landscapes as diverse as one can imagine. Ask anyone who has driven across Wyoming and a couple of thoughts will be universal. First, is how dry and desolate it is; there are more Pronghorn Antelope than there are people. Second, how big it is, almost 400 miles east to west. Third is the wind; it blows all the time (there's a joke in there about Idaho and Nebraska but I can't quite seem to remember what it is). It is difficult for me to explain several things about Wyoming.
The concept of space and distance are quite a bit different than what is experienced on the east coast of the US. I have been called a liar by folks in Baltimore when trying to explain how far you can see. On a clear day, you can sit just north of the Wyoming-Colorado border, just south of Cheyenne and see the top of Pikes Peak, 175 miles to the south. With this in mind, I have been perplexed on how to accurately describe Wyoming. Upon asking friends, I have been given two suggestions. The first was to read several books by Louis L'Amour. He has a way about describing the wide open spaces of the American west. Another friend suggested (and this is the truth) that there are places in Wyoming that you can stand and not see any sign of civilization, as far as you can see in any direction, north, south east or west. As a matter of fact, you won't see anything except blue sky and grass. No trees, no nothin' As funny as this may sound, there is a kind of beauty to it. When watching "Dances With Wolves", there is a scene when Kevin Cosner wakes up after sleeping under a wagon. As he stands up, the camera pans the country side. It almost took my breath away. I leaned over to Janice and said, "I can almost smell the air, the smell of the sage brush."
With that out of the way, Eastern Wyoming is mostly grass, prairie, farming and ranching. The two pictures in my last post were taken in eastern Wyoming. The capitol and largest city(? only 53,000) is Cheyenne, in the southeastern corner. Toward the northeastern corner is Devil's tower. Some where in the middle is Douglas, home of the Jackalope. They even have a statue of one in the middle of downtown, but then, that's another story. (I have mine mounted just above my bar) Now, keep in mind, most folks from Wyoming have a very strange sense of humor. At least I blame mine on the fact that I was born and raised in Wyo.
Oh...BTW....the character who plays Jack in "LOST" is also from Wyoming. I don't know him but I'll bet I know someone who does. You are only one person away from knowing most everyone born in the state. That's a story I'll share when we visit Yellowstone.
Southeastern Wyoming
A sure sign of the approaching winter is the increased bear activity. Almost everyone in Sunshine has see at least one bear, some have seen two or three. They sure are beautiful, and very graceful for their size. While Milo and I were on our walk last evening, our neighbor, Julie had a bear story for us. I'm kind of wishing winter would arrive and the bears would settle in for their long winter nap. That will come soon enough though. As for now, we have been enjoying a beautiful Indian summer.
The annual Sunshine Community Fest went well. For the first time, it was held somewhere other than the old firehouse (which burnt down..save the jokes, we've heard them all). The new firehouse served as a great setting for the dinner and auction. It's great to see the neighbors and often there is a surprise. This year the surprise was seeing our neighbor, Brian. He has spent the last two years in Africa serving in the Peace Corps. The turnout was somewhat dampened by the Great American Beerfest. A lot of the big spenders went to the beerfest and passed on the auction. We'll see that doesn't happen again next year.
I just finished reading Kates post and have been inspired. I love looking at pictures of places I want to visit and have not yet had a chance. Scotland is one of those places.
I have been thinking about doing a short travel series about my home state of Wyoming. As Kate has shared her home with us, I would like to share my corner of the world with you. I'll bet very few of you have ever met anyone born there. Of course, you know me!!!! There are some amazing, beautiful places in the state (and I'm not talking about Wamsutter..inside joke). I have some of my fathers pictures taken just after he returned from Korea and I'll try to share them. I also have a connection with the old west and the last person hung in Wyoming. It's a story about chasing Indians, cattle rustling, Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid, and if I keep going, I'll give it all away. So anyway, here's a picture of some of my friends. I was hesitant about posting the picture. My old girlfriend may demand equal time and I don't have any pictures of sheep.
