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.