Alright, I would call this picture some MAJOR foreshadowing. It was taken a couple of years ago when we went to visit my sister in Casper after she had her first baby. I had been to Wyoming before, but it was when I was a kid and truthfully, my recollection of it was not that wonderful. I remember feeling sorry for my sister when she said she was moving there. So, after she had the baby and we set off for this adventure, I wasn't expecting much. I actually wasn't expecting to have any sort of opinions about Wyoming at all. But, this particular trip was the first time seeing Wyoming through adult eyes and with Steve and the kids. It was a fun adventure, surprisingly, and I enjoyed seeing such dramatically different landscape compared to our own. It seemed we had to hop out of the car and take a picture by anything interesting we saw; the road sign, the random buffalo, any lush green hillside that caught our fancy. It was one of my favorite road trips with the kids (they were both older and easy to travel with) and everything we did was spontaneous and fun! I think this picture captures that essence!
As we drove along and took in all the scenery, I remember thinking it was sooooo rugged but beautiful. So green, yet so dusty. Everything about it seemed simple and no nonsense. A real "Home on the Range" type of place! A place fit for a cowboy, a definite step back in time. There were windmills, oil derricks, Union Pacific cars and railroad tracks around every bend. I saw mailboxes painted in loud colors perched along the highway and I kept thinking, "people actually LIVE here, along this highway and walk to these mailboxes everyday to get their mail." This was such a crazy concept for me, someone from the thick of true suburbia. Everything about Wyoming seemed so OLD SCHOOL, so retro, compared to my cushy little existence in St. George. I remember Steve veering off the side of the road several times because he was in awe of yet ANOTHER majestic antelope or moose or elk he spied off in the distance along the hills. I kept thinking, "Geez, if you've seen one antelope, you've seen them all!" I mean, I appreciate wildlife as much as the next girl, but that is just it, I AM A GIRL. Wyoming seems like the PERFECT place for a BOY to live out his life! There isn't any amazing shopping. There are no spas. There are plenty of wide open spaces and horses and trucks. Really, if you step back and look at it all, Wyoming is the perfect back drop for a household full of growing boys. There are lakes, streams, mountains, things to hunt, horses to ride, slopes to ski on etc. etc.
So, imagine my surprise when Steve announced to me, back in March, that he accepted a job there! What?! I was IMMEDIATELY taken back to all of my visions of Wyoming through the memory of this little road trip we took two years ago. I imagined us living in a little shack off the side of the highway and chasing Brayden down the dirt road in his diaper and cowboy boots. I saw the dust. I felt the surge of fear as Steve veered off the road to see that elk. I saw a completely different world, the world for boys, and now, SUDDENLY, I was being asked to find a way to fit into that.
Well, here I am now. In WYOMING! Living a simpler life. A life without air conditioning, outdoor swimming pools and Target. I live in a town where everyone knows everyone. Where the sheriff came to offer his help in unloading our U-HAUL, and where the town hot spot boasts road side views of giant elk and moose.
I am excited about our LONG term adventure here. It has already been fun to see the boys actually PLAYING outside, riding their bikes in the mid afternoon and not dying of 112 degree temperatures! We have no cable T.V. and we can't get our Wi Fi to work on our P.C. but we are still, some how, totally busy and engaged and enjoying our first summer here. Aside from Steve's lap top, that I have access to at night, I feel like I have stepped back into the 1990's! It's refreshing and annoying all at the same time.
If you would have asked me, two years ago how I felt about moving to Wyoming (heck, if you even asked me two weeks ago) I would have given an enthusiastic "HECK NO!" But, there is something special about this little place. The people here are super nice, curiously nice actually. They have some sort of secret to life. Something only "Home on the Range" can offer I guess. I am excited to see what all that is. Looks like I'll have PLENTY of time to figure it all out, 'cause INDEED, we are here, IN WYOMING, and it isn't just a road trip this time:)
If you're ever up for a great road trip yourself, stop by and visit us. Like the sign says, Wyoming ALWAYS welcomes you!
