After Idaho, Wyoming is my favorite state.
This happened way back when I was twelve and we first drove through the whole state on our way home from Ohio. My first glimpse of the Tetons, with the clouds surrounding them, backlit by the sun, was unforgettable. I think it was then that I decided I was going to live at the foot of the Tetons, have 12 boys, send them on horseback rides before a hearty breakfast of oatmeal, and live a happy life.
Fast forward to graduate school. Mr. Bechtel decided to go to University of Wyoming in Laramie. As I read the brochures describing the school, all of my previous dreams came back. The brochure said Laramie was nestled in a beautiful mountain valley. Of course I imagined Jackson. Mistake! I imagined my days would be filled with excitement and adventure. I would sent Mr. Bechtel off to school, put little Braeburn in my baby carrier and head off to the hills. When we first visited Laramie I looked for the mountains and I was disappointed. (very mild word choice). All I remember from that first trip was all the old tires on the roofs of the trailers by the freeway. That and it was Memorial Day and I thought all the trees in the whole area were dead because there were NO LEAVES.
After we'd lived there for several years, my sister-in-law (who is now living in Italy) sent me this picture after they'd visited.
On the back she wrote "Wyoming - beer, ice, groceries, and antelope - gotta love it!"
I admit, that Rawlins is a place I never grew to love. Rawlins, and Red Desert, and Wamsutter, etc. But there is a wild freedom in Wyoming that is addictive. We used to go on Sunday drives and we would find places where you could see for a hundred miles in every direction and you felt like you were on top of the world.
All this came back to me this week as I saw in the news that Wyoming people ranked number 3 in overall happiness compared to all the other states. Utah (don't understand that), and Hawaii (do understand that) were the only states that ranked higher. Utahn's loved family, Hawaiians loved their weather, but the citizens of the great state of Wyoming loved the "rugged west".
Amen.
As Helen Mettle, age 15, wrote as her last entry in her dairy in 1923,"God bless Wyoming, and keep it Wild".
5 comments:
Actually, Utah ranks so high on the happiness scale because its citizens lead the nation in online subscription to ...mmm "unsavory materials."
Either that or because Guv Huntsman is, like, the best governor EVER.
Or it could be chemically induced, as Utah leads the nation in per capita anti-depressant prescriptions.
Let's see, I have no subscriptions, no prescriptions, don't believe in political contradictions... No wonder I don't fit in with my neighbors. I need to move to "The last, best place."
I'm sure Wyoming is wonderful, but I still think I prefer the "last frontier".
wooooooohooooooooooooooooooo. YEEEEEEEEEEEEEHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA. I love Wyoming!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11
You are crackin' me up! I love that you still have that picture. I have to admit I only have a few memories of Wyoming- the nothingness of that picture, a terrifying car accident while driving alone and 8 months pregnant... perhaps I need to visit again!
Anyway, I am honored to have made your blog though I am disappointed that I didn't get a code name. Because that is seriously one of my favorite things ever. Can't I be Roma, please?
After living there for 15 years and also living in Idaho, Utah and Arizona. I'll have to say, Wyoming does total rock....
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