Texans In Wyoming

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

First a recap of the events you’ve missed. Wyoming tried very hard, The Shining-style, to keep us locked in the hotel for all of Christmas break. First, my keys fell down a storm grate and it took two visits from both the fire department and the public works department and a trip to a local mechanic before the magic combination of a mirror, a flashlight and a telescoping magnet materialized:

Next, Lacy had the dead battery from hell. Then my little silver Honda had a flat tire the day we were supposed to load it onto the tow-dolly and pull it to Texas for Christmas. Speaking of the tow-dolly, Lacy and I had to beg the rental place for hot water and a hammer to free it from the mud some idiot had left the tongue of it to freeze into. The fun never stops in Wyoming.

Christmas was a blast and everyone enjoyed seeing friends and family, but with the New Year, Wyoming beckoned and we heeded its siren call.

Travis and I drove up during the Rose Bowl (for which I don’t think he has yet forgiven me). But we stopped at Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs on the way up, which was pretty:

By the way, in case you were wondering, Maggie loves the snow. She eats it, she lays in it, she goes out of her way to walk in it. When it all melts and goes away, she’ll be heartbroken:

Everyone got to Wyoming safely. The work is challenging, as are the working conditions:

But we have fun too.

Last week there was Mexican and Margaritas:

Last Friday we auditioned another bar for the new place to drink (still looking for the Conlons of the North). We found a good candidate – the College Inn. It’s right in downtown Douglas, an easy stumble back to the hotel. There are rules there though, and woe betide the person who doesn’t follow them. We were warned that it was a grave offense to use the “Play Mine First” option on the Internet Jukebox. A few shots later, we forgot all about that rule. It almost started a fistfight. Drinks had to be bought for the offended party. They chose Lemon Drops. Not the tough guy shot I expected.

Fistfight two was narrowly avoided with some sweet-talking by Winchester, who ended up with a new buddy and a job offer with the railroad. The guys shot some pool:

The dancing was wonderful. Winchester pulled out some good moves and whirled Lacy and Kelsey and I around the floor a few times. There was a guy that was a big fan of Kelsey’s. He asked her to dance a lot and got mad when it was time for her to go home. Fistfight three almost ensued.

At some point during the evening, we decided it would be a great idea to get up early and go see Mount Rushmore, a three and a half hour drive away. We agreed to meet in the lobby at 10am.

At 11:20, we rolled out of Douglas on our way to the Black Hills of South Dakota. As a side note, the black hills of South Dakota aren’t as black as they used to be. Apparently there’s a phenomenon called a mountain pine beetle that is devastating the forests in this part of the world. There are so many trees down that it looked like Mount St. Helens erupted in places. Over six million acres of forest have been lost in Colorado and Wyoming alone. [end informative lecture]

Here’s Mount Rushmore:

The goats were friendly. And stylish:

There was a baby goat:

There was crouching tiger, hidden goat:

A trail took us to some good spots to view the Prezes:

Travis, me, Kelsey and Dave:

Yesterday for most of the rest of the country was a federal holiday called Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Here, the Courthouse was closed for this holiday:

Tomorrow night is karaoke night at the bar in the Best Western. We might check it out. The fun never stops in Wyoming.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

December 12, 2010 – Katie and Kelsey Skulk to the Natural Bridge

The plan had been to meet up at 9 in the morning to hike up Laramie Peak - elevation: over 10,000 feet. Since the altitude is still throwing me for a loop (hiking up three flights of stairs leaves me a little winded), I checked out the hike on the Internet. At 10 miles and an estimated 7 hours round trip, I figured this should probably not be my first hike in Wyoming in December.

While Lacy, Josh, Moose and Amos were heading out to tackle Laramie Peak, Kelsey and I decided on a more modest goal: to finally see the Ayers Natural Bridge, conveniently located right in Converse County, which we've talked about doing every weekend since we got here. Cameras? Check. Coffee? Check. Any actual clue as to where we were going? No! But who cares! Luckily signage was good and we got there with no problem. And then this happened:

No matter. We came to see this bridge and we were going to see it. It's not our fault the website failed to have in big flashing letters "CLOSED UNTIL APRIL."

After a pleasant downhill walk (during which we saw mule deer and curious cows), we arrived at the natural bridge. Apparently, some wonders of nature can be held responsible for accidents. But not this one.

In the course of walking to the bridge, Kelsey noted the caretaker's cottage, with truck parked out front and smoke coming out of the chimney.

We immediately assumed skulking position. Unsure if the penalties of trespassing on park land would be a slap on the wrist or immediate hanging in these parts, we proceeded cautiously, wasting no time getting down to the bank of the river where we were at least somewhat out of sight.

Geology lesson:
“Over the course of millions of years, a bend in LaPrele Creek (originally known as Bridge Creek) wore away at a wall of solid rock, creating a natural opening. The creek eventually shifted course through the opening, forming a 30-foot (10 m) high and 50-foot (15 m) wide arch, today known as Ayres Natural Bridge.

Located about a mile (2 km) south of the Oregon Trail, the Natural Bridge was often visited by emigrants traveling west. It is considered one of Wyoming's first tourist attractions. In 1843, a pioneer described it as ‘a natural bridge of solid rock, over a rapid torrent, the arch being regular as tho' shaped by art.’"

While skulking, we saw deer, fox, and rabbit tracks. We arrived at the base of the bridge and there appeared to be a fairly simple climbing path to the top of the bridge. Unfortunately, we would definitely be seen if we tried it.

But adventure got the better of us and we knew we had to climb up on the bridge, despite the fact that it would bring us out into the open and closer to the cottage. This was definitely not the right day for me to have worn red.

Getting to the top of the bridge was the only way for us to see the other side without going up to the caretaker’s door and asking for a cup of hot chocolate, but the view was worth it.

Now practiced at trespassing and skulking, we made our way back to the Tahoe. On the way out of the park area, we met Ferdinand, the Bad Luck Bull, and honked at him to get him out of the road.

Just then, I realized my phone was probably back where we parked the car to sneak down to the bridge. D’oh! Since the nearest Sprint store is in Fort F’in Collins (sorry Zach, I mean beautiful Fort Collins, home to microbreweries and the University of Colorado), we turned around. We’ve already driven to Fort Collins once to replace my phone.

Of course, we got stuck. Ferdinand was watching us rev the engine and spin dirt and snow behind us. That’ll show us next time we think about honking at a bull.

Long story short: park invaded, bridge climbed, truck unstuck, phone found, mischief managed.