April 28, 2008

Son of a Gun from Ol' Wyoming


I love being from Wyoming, and hope someday to return. I would not trade my childhood there for anything in the world. I am proud to be a Chugwater High School graduate--proud to have graduated from the same school my dad did. I posted about Greeley last week, but I felt a bit convicted for neglecting my true home.


TEN THINGS THAT ARE WONDERFUL ABOUT WYOMING

10. University of Wyoming: While I didn't attend, other than a six-week summer program, I root for their sports teams in every sport, because UW is our professional sports team. I love the campus, having been there many times, and if I could, I'd get my masters here.
9. Yellowstone National Park: We may be a small state population-wise, but we have the best National Park. And the first. And it contains a giant volcano that will someday blow us all to bits. Yes, even those of us in Colorado.
8. Frontier Days: My first scary experience with clowns was during a Frontier Days parade, and I have many other firsts connected to Frontier Days: mass pancake eating, watching the Thunderbirds, seeing a big-time concert, and watching a rodeo. Part of my early childhood in Cheyenne--the Grandaddy of Them All!
7. I-25: Now that I usually drive in Colorado, I look forward with pleasure to driving north. Once I shake off the last dregs of traffic in Ft. Collins, I can put the ol' car on cruise control and enjoy the drive.
6. Wind: Soon to be making new energy barons in the west, the constant wind of Wyoming is becoming a positive, rather than a negative.
5. Laramie: My favorite college town of all time, with superior restaurants (Altitude, Grand Avenue Pizza, and much more!), cool campus atmosphere, and fun shops. I haven't been in a while, as my sister has matriculated, but I love it.
4. Ragtime Cowboy Joe: Simply the best school song ever. Sure, "On Wisconsin" is fairly good, and the academies have catchy ditties, but you can't beat UW's school song:
Oh, how he sings raggy music to his cattle
As he swings back and forward in his saddle
On his horse (a pretty good horse)
With a syncopated gaiter
And with such a funny meter
To the roar of his repeater
How they run (yes run!)
When they hear him come
'Cuz the western folks all know:
He's a hifalootin' , rootin'-tootin'
Son-of-a-gun from old Wyoming,
Ragtime cowboy (talk about your cowboy)
Ragtime cowboy Joe.

3. The Open A X Ranch: My family's ranch, in SE Wyoming, is one of the most beautiful spots on earth to me. We have an incredible cliff/creek vista, lovely old barns and houses, and history. As a lover of history, having a family with deep roots is a blessing.
2. Chugwater: My "hometown." Small, but sweet. I worked at most places in town you could get a job at, I've walked all its streets--things are different every time I return, but I will always love telling people where I'm from.
1. Alphabetical Order: Wyoming is always the last state in any alphabetical listing, which makes it incredibly easy to find. Checking for yarn shops in a knitting magazine? Just go to the back. Wyoming may be last in any list, in population, in national importance, but it will always be first in my heart.


2 comments:

Matty said...

Is it true that they teach you in school that Wyoming (the state, not the University) has a strict admissions policy and that the population is artificially kept under that of a medium-sized city? I get the impression that most people from your home state feel like all us outsiders would desperately love to live there if we could, but just can't manage it.

Actually I do like Wyoming more than most of Colorado's neighboring states, particularly the flat ones...Nebraska in particular. We should team up and invade the cornhusker state. Which makes me realize how pathetic they are. We don't have a potato-peeler state, a fish-gutter state, or an apple-corer state...why take so much pride in an annoying preliminary step of food processing?

Amanda said...

Hmm. In school we mostly learned about all the Equality State stuff, Ft. Laramie, Yellowstone, and native Americans. However, part of that is true--we do feel hardier than the average American. We do welcome anyone to come, but they must be prepared for lower-pay and higher wind. That keeps a lot of people out.

Hee. Hee. I had never thought about that aspect of the Cornhuskers. Beware, NE.