My Wyoming Road Trip, May 2007

[Chuhhuniban]

To begin with, great write up. Wyoming deserves it and more. I love the "oh my God, the winters are rough" comments. There's a current thread going about a guy (I guess a guy, maybe not though) who wants to leave Connecticut and move to Arizona. That one has the complementary "oh my God, the summers are rough" comments.

Eugene Manlove Rhodes, the finest Western writer who ever lived (it's my opinion, I'm stickin' to it, don't bother to argue) noted in one of his stories that, "if the Pilgrims and the Jamestown folks had landed at Santa Barbara, everything north and east of Missouri would be an undeveloped wilderness." Who would go there? And why?

 

[flynlr]

joey, After that base at Meriden was abandoned, about 50 hippies moved in there. There has always been a big mystery about how it happened, but one night about a 100 rattlers decided they wanted to live there too.. They all crawled down a vent pipe. The hippies decided the snakes wanted the place more than they did....

someone owes me some beer. I lost a mouthful on my monitor.

 

[Battlespace]

Native Son

Travis -

I sure miss the wide open spaces of my native state. I was born and reared between Cheyenne and Casper. Lived in Wheatland for 19 years and then dad and mom moved to Casper. I enlisted in the Army soon after and have only been back to visit since. Dad and mom are now both with God, but I still like to get back there for a once a year trip.

I was last there in November 2006 and things have sure changed. What you saw and what I remember are almost two seperate worlds. I can remember driving the 180 miles (each way) to Denver for a Sturday afternoon of shopping. I remember I-25 going in. Did you notice the power plant outside of Wheatland? IMHO it was one of the worst things to happen to the community. The population soared from 2350 to 10,000 and then back to 2450 in a matter of a couple of years. With it came all the crime, etc.

So much for my bitter sweet. I would say 99% of what I remember are great. I remember my dad taking three or four or five of us up in to the mountains on a Saturday, dropping us off with sleeping bags, a tent (maybe), fishing gear and a .22 rifle or two. He would tell us to be careful and that he would be back Sunday. We would live on Coke, potato chips and brook trout. Maybe plink at chipmonks and have a great time.

One fall when I could "legally" drive a couple of us were heading out for a deer hunt. We saw a couple of guys sitting on rocks in the middle of a pasture. They were "out of staters" and had been told by the rancher who leased the land that they would get a deer there. There weren't deer within miles! We all knew where each mulie within 50 miles lived. We told them to follow us and took them to a nice little valley, we never hunted there as it was too pretty to spoil, but we figured to help them out. Within an hour they both had nice bucks, I am sorry I don't remember the size, and were headed back to town.

We never worried about getting a deer on opening day as we knew where to go. I don't remember my dad ever not getting a deer. We were there when the pronghorn poulation dwindled and hunting was restricted, but even then, we had antelope (we called them goats) in the freezer every year.

We constantly had more fish than we could eat, and in the fall there were pheasnts and then winter led to ducks and a goose or two. One of my buddies and I killed more ducks in one afternoon than we should have and dad made us stay up and pluck and dress each and every one, wrap them and get them in the freezer. Then he would not let us hunt again until we gave them away to get our possession limit back to legal. It seemed like my relatives ate lots of duck that winter.

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to share. If you are the same Travis McGee, we miss you on FR. I don't post there often any more, but lurk around. You knew me as SLB.

 

[schloe]

Stop hating on Colorado, you're just jealous. I would consider living there if I didn't enjoy civilization and I didn't need to work.

I like Wyoming, but seriously, why is it so freakin' windy? I've been up there probably 10 times in my life, all over the state, and every time it is just miserably windy.

 

[Iggy]

Re: Windy Wyoming.. That wind in Wyoming is gonna solve a portion of Colorado's recently enacted green power requirements.

It also diverts the Denver brown cloud, that hangs in under the front range, east at the state line and sends it to Nebraska and Kansas.


You can always tell a Wyomingite down in Ft. Collins or Denver. He's the guy walking with a 45 degree list!!



Then there is the theory that the wind doesn't blow in Wyoming, Nebraska sucks!

Sorry Nebraska, the devil made me do it!!

 

[Battlespace]

You can always tell a Wyomingite down in Ft. Collins or Denver. He's the guy walking

I moved from Wyomng 38 years ago and still have a 45 degree list to the right.

 

[Joey]

Had to pick myself up off the floor after reading that, would have loved to have been a fly on the wall

After that base at Meriden was abandoned, about 50 hippies moved in there. There has always been a big mystery about how it happened, but one night about a 100 rattlers decided they wanted to live there too.. They all crawled down a vent pipe. The hippies decided the snakes wanted the place more than they did....

Always wondered about that!!

 

[sacp81170a]

I like Wyoming, but seriously, why is it so freakin' windy?

If you must know, it's because the other states around it suck.

(Just jokin'... except to all the greenies)

I was stationed at good ol' F.E. Burn 'em back in the 80's, with a couple years overseas for GLCM over in Belgium. Worked for the Dept. of Admin and Info, State Engineer's Office and the Wyoming Supreme Court as a computer geek until '97, when I moved back down here to Arkansas(family stuff). I'm goin' back as soon as I get my financial affairs in order. Man, I can hardly wait.

 

[langenc]

Recall tryng to have a picnic at Osage some years ago. Had to hold the paper plate on the table with one hand and try to hold the chips on the plate with the other.

 

[Iggy]

Had to pick myself up off the floor after reading that, would have loved to have been a fly on the wall


I know nuthing!!!

 

[Hanzerik]

The wind wasn't too strong this morning, but it did make the upwind leg of my Physical Fitness Test run a pain.

I was worried about this test as it was my first since arriving in WY, I tested last year before I moved from NJ because I knew I wouldn't pass due to acclimation. And this year they are changing the USAF enlisted performance reports to add PT scores. you fail, you get a referral EPR (For those that are familiar with the EPR system know this hurts you really bad for promotions).

 

[xdoctor]

I live in Casper, Wyoming. Due to an ongoing feud I have with my boss letting me have Saturdays off, I don't belong to the WSSA.

Interesting point of fact though, the OP mentioned he was surprised to see antelope. 90% of the world's pronghorn antelope population is within 100 miles of Casper, Wyoming.

Also, please from now on write something bad in the review like 'and then I was raped by a polar bear while a jackalope held me down and emptied my wallet.' Otherwise we get too many people migrating here.

 

[Joey]

The wind wasn't too strong this morning, but it did make the upwind leg of my Physical Fitness Test run a pain.

I was worried about this test as it was my first since arriving in WY, I tested last year before I moved from NJ because I knew I wouldn't pass due to acclimation. And this year they are changing the USAF enlisted performance reports to add PT scores. you fail, you get a referral EPR (For those that are familiar with the EPR system know this hurts you really bad for promotions).

What a crock of pooo pooo, till the AF pulls their head out of their buttox and goes to an Army style PT test and mandates PT as a minimum 3 times a week in formation like the Army they are going to have problems. I've always said the AF needed to mandate a PT program, not a "run" or a "war fit" program that was worthless (mandatory basketball, or softball as an example) & set lots of people up to fail, but a real PT program that mimicked the Army's program with set exercises & such.

Putting your PT score in your EPR is like back in the old days when they had a block about belonging to the club, you could not get a 9 if you were not a member of the club.

ARGH!!!!!!!!!!! the more things change, the more they stay the same

We now return you to your regularly scheduled thread

 

[Battlespace]

Does the Air Force do PT? Go ARMY!

 

[Travis McGee]

Battlespace/SLB
Wow, your post simply blows me away. Yes, I'm the TM from FR. Now I post a lot on libertypost.org.

You must have had the best Dad EVER. I really envy your upbringing, realizing it was not all campouts and hunting. Guiding the city hunters to their deer, great moment.

I am in awe that this simple road trip to Wyoming post has gone to 5 pages of replies. Clearly, I have accidentally tapped into something of real value, something magical. I have got to go back, and I will.

Travis McGee/Matt Bracken

 

[Travis McGee]

Xdoctor: Don't worry about too many folks migrating to WY. They can't handle it. If they come in the summer and just drop a lot of money, I don't see the downside. If they can hack the winters, they'll earn their right to stay.

 

[Hanzerik]

Xdoctor: Don't worry about too many folks migrating to WY. They can't handle it. If they come in the summer and just drop a lot of money, I don't see the downside. If they can hack the winters, they'll earn their right to stay.

True, I live just down the street from the truck stops there on I-25 in Cheyenne. Lots of weekend traffic (Camper trailers), and out of state plates heading north and west for the weekend. Sunday afternoon they'll all be heading back south and east.

 

[Joey]

True, I live just down the street from the truck stops there on I-25 in Cheyenne. Lots of weekend traffic (Camper trailers), and out of state plates heading north and west for the weekend. Sunday afternoon they'll all be heading back south and east.

I hate all the traffic & Greenies flying North on 25 at warp speed for the weekend, ya would think they would stay in Colorado, but nooooooo they have got to make a trek to Wyoming for some reason

Need to put diesel in the truck, but no way in hades will I make it down to Love's till after the weekend.

 

[sierrabravo45]

Wyoming Sucks. I have heard Montana and Idaho are even worse places to live.

If anyone is thinking about moving I have heard Virginia and West Virginia are nice places to move to.

 

[Travis McGee]

Hanzerik: If you live near there, then you know I wasn't kidding about an long row of tractor trailer containers being blown right off of about 20 flatbed rail cars. I was pretty amazed. This was just on the way into Cheyenne, off of 25.

 

[Joey]

Hanzerik: If you live near there, then you know I wasn't kidding about an long row of tractor trailer containers being blown right off of about 20 flatbed rail cars. I was pretty amazed. This was just on the way into Cheyenne, off of 25.

Wife drove right past em less than 10 min after they were blown over going to the Taco Johns Events center & never gave it much thought

We live off of I25 Exit 13 (Vandehei) and while it blew a tad, it was no big deal up here

Paper had an article about it the next day being a micro burst ifin I remember right.

Every now and again ya see a semi blown over on I80 or I25 & don't give much thought to it as the wind always seems to blow

 

[sacp81170a]

Bordeaux Road area on I-25 between Cheyenne and Wheatland is where I've seen the most semis at one time blown over. I was driving north on my way to the county court in Sheridan one fine breezy morning (sustained winds 80-85 mph, gust to 106). Passing through Chugwater I saw one semi that had just blown off on the east side of the northbound lane. Came around the corner there before the Bordeaux exit and saw 5 semis on their sides that were northbound and 6 in the median that had been southbound.

I turned around and went back home. That wind off Laramie peak gets funneled down through the canyons and across the highway right there. I've also had tumbleweeds pass me doing 75 on my way back from Rawlins on I-80 in the Elk Mountain area. Funny, it always seemed to take about a half tank of gas to get to Rawlins, but only a quarter tank to get back.

Oh yeah, and I had a polar bear try to rape me while a jackalope went for my wallet, but the wind blew a rock that hit the polar bear in the head allowing me to escape. (Wouldn't want the riff-raff to migrate in, ya know...)

I'm Cheyenne bound in a couple more years.

(Hurricane? Nah, it's just a stiff breeze.)

 

[Travis McGee]

Those mountain "wind funnels" can be wicked. They make some very famous winds in the Pacific off of Mexico and Costa Rica in a few spots. The wind can go from 15 to 60 in a few minutes as you sail into a river of high wind, then it goes down again when (if) you sail out on the other side a few hours later.

 

[CB900F]

Fella's;

I wonder if any of those old bumper stickers are still around?

My favorite was: Casper Wyoming, Cast Iron Kite Flying Capitol Of The World.
Then: Wyoming Wind Festival, Jan 01 - Dec 31 annually

The Wind River is not named for the water. Find pictures of the flag trees & you'll see what it's named for. That wind river exits the mountains, flowing from NW to SE & spreads over the plains until it hits Casper Mountain at about a 45 degree angle. Then this huge mass of air just boils, that's about the only way I can describe it. The sound is like a high speed freight train & a 747 taking off combined. And it goes on for literally hours.

900F

 

[sacp81170a]

Cool guys, keep it up. The worse people think the weather is there, the fewer will want to move in, thus keeping Wyoming the low population paradise that it is. Hey, everybody reading this, Wyoming really does suck. Stay away, it's terrible. No, really....