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A journal entry capturing my first visit to Wyoming and the wonders of the wild west. |
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In 1990 a good friend convinced me to spend a week with her at a Dude Ranch outside of Jackson Hole, Wyoming adjacent to the Grand Teton Mountains and Yellowstone National Park. I'd never spent that much time in the great outdoors and the thought of a week at a ranch with no swimming pool, no television, no telephones didn't particularly appeal to me. However, she was a good friend who claimed to know me well and convinced me that I would have the time of my life. She was right. |
| Okay! I have restablished my account with writing.com because I can no longer not write. I have to do it. I have so much material in a single day it's unbelievable. Let's take yesterday for example. I started the day with phone calls from G (the ex.) about Maddie being sick and she couldn't send her to school for the 3rd day blah, blah, blah. G is on vacation so it's been a 3 day play date with Mommy and her mom has claimed illness - BS! Anyway, after several phone calls with G (that's what I'll call her) I got Em off to school and started researching soccer equipment for girls I found out the night before that Emily was signed up for soccer and her first practice was today. So I went to Dick's, got what I thought she'd need, and met her after Brownie's. She'd already had a full day as the school had gone to the Taft Theater for the day. While driving to practice, Em is asking me all kinds of questions about what to expect and I don't know. I never played soccer and it's the only sport I really know nothing about other than people run around a lot and David Beckham plays. There was some other famous guy back in the 80's -Pele I think? As we're driving my cellphone rings and it's J, where are you, where are you going, how do I get there, while Dad is ringing in to say hey to Emily and make sure we got there okay and he was really proud of her, etc. I'm thinking, we're going to soccer practice, right? We didn't just win the Olympics(guess you had to be there). Em refused to wear the shorts that I'd gotten her and played in her blue jeans and gym shoes. She looked like white lightening with her white blond hair and speed. She jumped right in and got on in. Of course, we didn't have the right equipment and she ran to the sidelines to tell me the first chance she got. But, she did well. J managed to find the place, dressed up like a cute little executive and I found myself sitting on the side lines with 4 women I'm pretty sure I don't want to be friends with and one other that seemed almost normal. It was amazing to find myself becoming a "soccer mom" this late in life. It's crazy. And, another thing that's crazy is that old J Waldron is running the entire league and chastised me just like he used to at P&G because apparently I had not filled out the paperwork to enroll the girls correctly. Of course, this was after I filled out paperwork and never got a response and THEN went on line and signed them up again. AND, this all was happening for the two weeks we had a different phone number because the cable people and phone people are freaking idiots! But, that's another story. Back to soccer, we survived, Em was exhausted but I think she was proud of herself and other than a little whining she was great when we got home. Of course, she didn't want to go to school today because her legs hurt. Well, no kidding! You run for 40 minutes straight, yeah those muscles are going to be a little sore and chocolate milk probably won't help. But, if you won't to go shopping after school for the stuff you need for soccer, you have to go to school. So off she went! I don't play that "I'm sick, no school: gig. Amazing, I'm such a tyrant. |
| This is a journal entry from my visit to Wyoming in the early 1990's. There are more entries to come. |
| In 1990 I traveled to Jackson Hole, Wyoming to spend a week at a Dude Ranch. Not knowing quite what to expect, I went with reluctance and trepidation. I returned a changed women. Here's my story. I'm back to reality and not happy to be here! I long to be back in Wyoming surrounded by the mountains, the clear blue skies, the starry nights and the abundance of nature. I wish I was back at the Tri-Angle X ranch in that safe, clean, beautiful place with only the sun to wake me, the stars to tell me goodnight, mountains to ride and explore, new friends to be made, and a horse to take me wherever I might want to go. I have that same sad feeling that used to overwhelm me when I came back from camp as a child. That was probably the only time it never felt good to be back home. In Wyoming, I got close to the people there and the simple, slow pace of life in the mountains. What a joy to meet new friends that would last a lifetime and a place where smiles were real, hearts were true, classicism did not exist, age was not a barrier, and everyone was equal as I am sure God intended us to be. I am now left with that old feeling that arises when the heart aches for something that was and is no more and the question arises "was it better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all?" That same feeling applies to my experience in Wyoming. I am quite sure that I would not have wanted to miss the days spent at the ranch, but it hurts just the same because those days are no more. I know there are more days to come and I will go back to Wyoming and those friends and the natural beauty of the mountains. There will be more magic moments to be made. I know that as the days pass this ache will begin to subside and I will reluctantly crawl back into reality, looking back over my shoulder and longing for the great outdoors. Tears begin to stream from my eyes and my heart as I think about the peace I left behind. I wish I could put all the beauty that I experienced into a bottle and take a long, cool drink whenever I need a reminder that there is more to life than the day-in, day-out chaos where I spend most of my time. I'd lie to lay out on the green lawn with the smell of sagebrush surrounding me and look up at the night, view the Milky Way, and wish upon the shooting stars that are in abundance. I'd like to feel the wind blowing through my hair and and inhale the smells of the mountains as I watch the Snake River winding through the Tetons. The "crunch crunch" sound of footsteps on the gravel drive and real laughter coming from adults and children alike is something that my heart yearns to hear. I long to leave my doors wide open with no fear of loss -- no fear at all! I 'd like to watch the young wranglers on their horses as they ride with the grace of a dancer, so in tune with the rhythm of their steed that you can't tell where the Wrangler ends and the horse begins. I'd like to see them raise their hats high in the air and hear the pounding of the hoofs as they herd the horses down to the Snake River and watch them all disappear in a cloud of dust. I'd like to dance at the Cowboy Bar where they dance in a way that looks so smooth and graceful that it appears there is one person instead of two moving across the floor. I'd like to be held close as an old country love song is played, to dance the two-step, to lay out on a blanket in the middle of a field and look at the Tetons and the color of the night shining on their snowy tops. There are so many things I long for in Wyoming and so many memories have been made, never to be erased. I am thankful for the experience and I claim it as a special gift from God. He gave me all that I asked for and so much more. I feel like I've been baptized in the pure, true, and simple life that God wants all of us to experience. He gave me the opportunity to take a look at the complex world we live in and then look again at the real beauty surrounding us all. My focus has changed from my career, fancy cars, beautiful clothes, and always a desire for more. Life can be so simple, but it's so hard to keep focused on what's important when you're being bombarded each moment of every day by the material world where most of our time is spent. I hope I can carry some of the feelings that I've uncovered during my time at the ranch into my everyday life. I want the experience to be with me always as I continue my journey through life. I thought I was too old and jaded to experience the pure and simple form of life that I'd only glimpsed as a child. I was wrong!! |
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Your trip to Wyoming sounds fascinating! 
I live on the East Coast of the USA but have never had the opportunity to go farther West. If I do get to go eventually, Wyoming will be on my list!