Thursday, July 24, 2008

Wyoming in the Summer (For Those Who Don't Know)






There isn't better place in the world to visit than Wyoming in the summer. I am not saying that it Wyoming is better than other places in the world, however it is equal to any vacation destinantion. I will tell you why.

In July, Wyoming is not too hot. The mornings and evenings are cool and crisp; the air is always fresh, sweet mountain air. Every morning is greeted purple, pink and blue sunrises as the stars creep away. Every evening the sun sets over "the purple mountians, majesty," (the rockies) in saturated hues of orange, red and yellow.

There is stillness all around. You can sit quiet and still and not hear the buzz of a computer, or hum of passing autos. It's just quiet. The only noise to disturb the silence is the hushed whistle of the wind across the golden prairies. Sometimes the silence is so great that you can actually feel it with your whole body and soul.

Since there is no snow blocking the roads in the summer, you can go into the mountian and enjoy quiet mountain lakes and streams. The wildlife comes out to play. There is rock climbing both challenging and elementary.

At the end of July, in the state's capital, Cheyenne, they have "The Daddy of Them All," Frontier Days Rodeo. It's one of the biggest in the nation. There are all sorts of events. All the best professional rodeo riders come and all the best music acts (not just country). They have a carnival and lots of community events.

All this being said, I grew up in Wyoming and dreamed of the day I would leave Wyoming and perhaps never return. There are a lot of drawbacks to Wyoming, specifically if you have to live there year round. Most people who live there are quite happy to live there. Now that I am a grown woman, I know that I could be happy living anywhere. I heard a great saying once, "If you are not happy where you are, you probably won't be happy anywhere." Of course, that is in reference to geographical location, not life situation. Now that I am older and wiser, I know that that is true. So this last weekend when I visited Wyoming I appreciated it for what it is. Honestly, I appreciated it when I lived there, but I also focused on the negatives of living in Wyoming. You definitely have to be a tougher person to live in such a place.

My trip was perfect. It was not too long. I would have only lengthened it by one day. Alexander was a perfect child and so much fun. He thought traveling was a blast. Because my family was holding the 2nd annual Adam Towler Memorial Run, all the people who are important to me came to it to run, walk or help. I was able to talk with them at lunch afterwards. I did not have to endure the tedium of calling people and arranging visits and preparing myself and child for such visits. A lot of people came to the race and it went relatively smoothly. Best of all, some of Adam's favorite charities will benefit and his humanitarianism will be passed on.

It was nice. I was given a bite size visit of Wyoming and was able to enjoy it. Those are all the postives of my visit.

1 comment:

anne said...

Sounds lovely! Glad you had such a good time!