Choosing Wyoming

Over and over I kept thinking about what Zack said to me the first night I met him, "This beer will change your life". I mean, come on! Who says that about a crappy tasting beer!? I've always looked for signs from "the universe", and no matter what I did, I kept circling back to what he said. I had left Pennsylvania with the ultimate goal to find where I was supposed to be in life. I knew it wasn't Pennsylvania, and I certainly didn't think it was supposed to be Wyoming, but how could I know if I didn't give it a chance? I was happy at my perfect spot on the summit, and was in no real rush, so I started applying to jobs in Laramie and in the bigger city of Cheyenne.


On some nights I would spend time with Dianna and JL, my neighbors in the other camper. JL was a great musician, who could play almost any instrument, and had them with him too! Their camper had previously had a bunkroom, which they replaced and turned into a storage closet for all of his instruments. He played mostly old time country, like Johnny Cash, and had a really great country voice. We couldn't really have a fire because it was extremely windy, but the view of the town was enough. The wild fires in Montana and Idaho had finally brought smoke into Wyoming, and while during the day it made everything appear hazy, it turned the sunsets into brilliant oranges, and the moon glowed a blood red on the horizon.


JL loved playing his guitar, and would sing song after song. On one of the last nights they were there, he sang "Take me home, country roads" by John Denver, which had me choking back the tears that had built up from being so homesick. Right after, he introduced the next song by saying, "this one is for your obsession with the Rocky Mountains", and told me that he had learned it over the last 2 days so that he could play it for me. He then sang "Rocky Mountain High", also by John Denver. I had never heard the song before, and sitting under the red moon, knowing the Rockies were just off in the distance, those homesick tears went back into hiding, leaving a wide grin on my face. It was another one of those moments that had become so frequent, where I was beside myself in happiness, goose bumps covering my body, filled by the magic of knowing I was where I should be.


One of the days following, I received a call back from a bank that I had applied to in Cheyenne. I was woken up from the phone call, and when the man on the phone invited me for a phone interview at Starbucks for the next day, I honestly agreed solely on how good coffee sounded in that moment. I had already accepted a job as a temporary nanny in Cheyenne until November, and really had no interest in staying any longer than that. I had heard from many people how cold and terrible the winters were, and how it could snow at any minute, so when I had found the nanny job I figured it was the perfect opportunity to make some money and then get the hell out before winter came!


The next day I almost chose to miss the interview. I already had a job, why should I drive 45 minutes to interview for a teller position? But I got myself up and dressed as professional as I could with just having my road trip clothes, and met Kaare at Starbucks. Almost immediately he told me he wouldn't be hiring me as a teller, but that there was a Personal Banking Manager position open that he wanted me to have. It was better pay than the nanny job, and better looking on a resume, but of course not a temporary position. Once again, I chose to let the universe decide for me. I told him that if I found somewhere to live in Cheyenne, I would take the job. I had been looking pretty actively as it was, and so far had had no luck. Either the campsites were full, or they were closed for the winter. Or my personal favorite, they didn't allow Pitbulls 😒


After leaving Starbucks I drove to Terry Bison Ranch, one of the last places I had to check on. When I arrived, the woman at the desk said they had a waiting list with about 15 names on it, and wished me good luck. I asked how long that list would take to get a spot, and explained my new job riding on having a place to live. She then handed me a rental agreement and a pen, and said, "I did not let you cut the line". When I walked out I immediately called my god father to check in and make sure I wasn't loosing my mind. I mean, I was only supposed to stay in Wyoming one night, and here I am signing a rental agreement and accepting a bank job!? It seemed absolutely crazy, but then again, a lot of things had become crazy since leaving Pennsylvania, and everything felt just right.


For whatever reason, I was meant to be in Wyoming right then. And that is why I chose to stay.

Week 7

August 23rd left the Teton Mountains, cutting back across Wyoming. I was bored the first drive across and after adding into that the annoyance of back tracking, and having been used to not driving for a week, I was seriously irritated with the whole situation.
Eventually I got to a little RV park in Glenrock, Wyoming, and was super excited to have air conditioning, electricity, and TV again! I pumped in the cool air, and happily used the microwave to heat up leftovers. It's kind of funny how much I used to hate leftovers, and have learned to love them just from the appreciation of electricity and the power of a microwave 😂
The next morning I left to finish the drive to South Dakota. I arrived at America's Mailbox and was not really impressed. It was pretty much a gravel parking lot, made into camping spots, but I didn't really care. The only reason I was staying was to get my residency, so the comfort and convenience didn't matter much. The people working inside were helpful with getting my mailbox set up, and even gave me a map to the DMV (It was a straight shot, 3 minutes down the road). Later on that day I found a $5 deal for 3 slices of steak at the grocery store, and "celebrated" my new residency with a nice steak and asparagus dinner.
On the 25th I got up super early so that I could beat the line at the DMV. Little did I know that I wasn't going to a typical DMV that I was used to on the East Coast; even on a Friday morning, I was the only person there! I was in and out with a new license in 5 minutes! Unfortunately, they made me surrender my Pennsylvania license, but my new one turned out pretty well. I also had a tan for the second time in my entire life, and now it was documented on a legal ID! I may be pale, but I can tan! (If I'm outside for the entire summer)
At this point I knew it was too late in the year to head to Alaska, and I was seriously getting broke. I didn't really have a plan, except to head south and find a job somewhere warm for the winter. After leaving the DMV, I packed up the camper and headed back into Wyoming, stopping in a town called Laramie for the night. Or so I thought... I've mentioned this campsite in a previous blog, and have also mentioned that I haven't left Wyoming yet. Well, this campsite was the turning point of my trip..
It was off a dirt road on the summit of I-80, looking over Laramie. It took me awhile to get my camper leveled, but once I did, I had the perfect spot. You could see the town in the valley, and on the other side was the Snowy Mountain range, which did of course have snow. There was another camper parked further down the road, just barely in view, but otherwise I was completely alone. And it felt amazing. I was able to lay outside in the sun and not have a care in the world for who was around me. I had planned on staying one night, but immediately fell in love with the solitude. I had groceries, I had a full tank of water. Why rush?
Two days later a couple moved in with their camper, taking away my solitude. I was not pleased, but they were nice. They had recently moved into their camper, and had just sold their house in Laramie. The husband had recently graduated from Law school and was waiting until October for his swearing in. Otherwise, they were ready to hit the road to becoming full time RVers. He had a huge satellite set up for his internet, and worked on court cases from the road.
That afternoon they invited me to go to a bar nearby called the Bunkhouse for an open jam session he was playing at. I love live music, so I decided to go check it out. It was a pretty neat bar, off of a road called 'Happy Jack Road", and had a true Western feel to it. There were mounted deer and elk heads all around, and little nicnacs hanging from the exposed beams. The bar had coins and different bills sealed underneath, with old pictures of people in the bar. I sat down among a group of loud drunks, and soon the bartender came over.
Now this bartender is one person that I would like to leave out of this story completely. Not for events that would happen on this day, but how things would play out in the future. I suppose that's why it has taken me so long to write past my arrival in this small town - it's become my life. I'm no longer traveling, I am just simply living, and I am still unsure how to write about it. I'm still unsure if I even want to!
Anyways, I suppose he deserves a little piece, because at this point I was still traveling. I hadn't decided to stay yet, and was still in the 'awestruck', wide eyed, adventurous mindset that I had adapted over the past month.
The bartenders name was Zack, with blonde hair, blue eyes, and a shy hint of mystery. He had a sly smile and that's all I'm going to say. He was hot, ok? Actually when leaving I'm pretty sure I described him on the phone to my sister as "the hottest guy I've ever met". Certainly an over exaggeration, but the hottest guy I've ever met to give me their number! Alright, moving on. He has to be in this story, because he is the reason I still haven't left Wyoming. Well, what he said to me at least.
At this point, I've been far away from familiar beers for a long time, and have been starting to try new beers. So after him telling me they have the typical water beers (Bud light, Coors light, etc.), he told me that he had a beer that would change my life, and if it didn't, he would pay for it. I laughed and figured it had to be good for someone to say that about a beer, and all I had to lose was a free beer! Well... it wasn't that good, but wasn't bad enough for me to say anything about it either, so I sat drinking this strange beer, listening to the music, flirting with Zack, and talking to the drunks at the bar. Overall it was a really nice night, and for the first time since I had left Pennsylvania I actually felt like I belonged there.
The next few days I continued to go back to the bar and drink that odd beer, talking to Zack about the area and meeting other locals and getting a good feel for the lifestyle. I met the owners of the bar, and made acquaintances with the other customers. I quickly noticed what was so welcoming about this place - everyone would give you the shirt off their back, a place to sleep, a meal to eat, all without even knowing your name. They didn't care who you were, where you were from, or when you were leaving; you were just as welcome as their life long friends. It was that community feel that is really what drew me in.
When I wasn't spending time at the bar, I was out exploring beautiful Wyoming! There were a few parks close to where I was camping that had great hiking spots, as well as reservoirs to kayak in. There was also a park named Vedauwoo (actually pronounce Veda-Voo) which had the strangest rock formations. Just huge, smooth boulders, piled on top of each other. Some even balancing so precisely that it looked like they would surely fall over in the wind, making you wonder how on Earth they came to stand like that.
In the valley where Laramie was, there were a series of lakes called the Plains Lakes. Most of them were not very big, but they were interesting to explore. Passing by the lakes, you would head up the mountains of the Snowy Range. One day I drove up to find a place to hike, stopping at the visitor center on the way up. I could see the snow on the mountains from my campsite on the summit, and was determined to find a spot where I could touch snow. I mean come on, snow, in August!? I had to! The woman at the visitor center showed me some lakes and trails that I could go to, but warned me that I would need a lot of water due to the elevation. I had one bottle with me, and figured that was enough..
Even as I was driving up the mountain I could feel the elevation bringing on a headache, but when I got to Mirror Lake, I saw snow not far off in the distance and got so excited I pushed the feeling away and jumped out of my truck. Of course there was no trail to the snow; instead it was more of a boulder field. It took a very long time climbing through, and the elevation certainly took a toll. The one bottle of water that I had was not enough and I found myself having to stop almost once a minute to catch my breathe. It was truly a unique hiking experience, one that I was not prepared for! Finally I made it to the snow, sweating in the 80 degree sun, laughing as I picked up a handful of it. It was the coolest thing. On my way back to the parking I was moving much faster through the rocks, collecting little ones as I went. Just to clarify on this picture - I had on flimsy tennis shoes, not my hiking boots, was carrying a water bottle in one hand and my phone in the other, with my pockets full of rocks as I climbed up and over these huge boulders. Totally not prepared.
After that trip, I decided to go to Walmart and get a hydration back pack, and then took on a lot more hikes in the area! The mountains were so big, towering over you as you hiked along the trails. They were at such a high elevation that you could clearly see the tree line, and tell where it got too windy and harsh for plant life to survive. To be at such a high elevation, that literally took your breathe away, was an entirely new experience. Another big difference was the lack of people. Even when you are hiking alone on the east coast, you know there will most likely be other people on the trails with you. Here, there was no one. Just you and nature. And clouds. The clouds were so close, it was intimidating really, knowing that the weather could change at any moment. I caught myself looking for places to take cover if a thunderstorm broke out! It was truly a new type of nature that I had never really been alone in. As I walked along the trail, gaining and dropping elevation as it wound through the last of the trees, I would come along nature "surprises". A stream through one patch of trees, and then a pond around the next bend. I had no idea where I was, I had read nothing on the area, and was just in awe with every sight I saw.


Everything about the area made me want to stay and see more.