Around here early July 2020

Time for another Around Here post – just things happening, or have recently happened. Summer is such a busy time with so much to do and so many things to see. Love it!

This post contains affiliate links. That means that if you follow a link and make a purchase, I receive a small portion of that purchase at no extra cost to you.

AROUND HERE…it’s time to celebrate Wyoming.

Happy birthday, Wyoming! 130 years ago today (July 10, 1890), Wyoming became a state. While I grew up in Colorado, I was brought up knowing Wyoming was home as much as Colorado. Dad grew up here in Cody and Mom from the Torrington area. I still have a deep appreciation for my grandparents’ decision to move to this area in 1940. When I was five or six, my grandfather’s cousin, Ruthie, taught at the two-room schoolhouse in Wapiti. She took my sister and me to see the school and then have lunch at Wapiti Lodge. I probably ordered a grilled cheese sandwich. I remember looking out at Jim Mountain and marveling at the beauty. Ruthie said I should see it in the spring when it looks like green velvet. I thought about that and then just said what I knew…I want to live here someday.

Driving across the state to visit relatives, it took me a few years to fully appreciate the beauty of this vast land. But once I saw it, I realized that yes, I love this land. I had my time in the mountains that also feel like home, but I can feel that way in most mountains. Wyoming can’t be found elsewhere.

But it’s not just the land, it’s the people. There’s an easiness that just doesn’t exist elsewhere. That was exemplified during the Fourth of July Parade. Not as many people this year, by far, but it was still the 4th in Cody. There were horses, tractors, firefighters, guns, clowns, the regulars, and one band – the Cody High School band was the only one to show up this year.

AROUND HERE…the bison are getting ready for the rut.

The other day while in Hayden Valley, I was in the perfect bison jam. It was a large herd on the move – so none of them wanted to stand in the middle of the road just to block traffic. As they passed by, I could see their coats from last winter are mostly gone now – except for those hard-to-reach-spots. They’ll continue to roll in the dust and rub against trees to get the last bits off. In just another week or two, they’ll start to get a bit more feisty, and the rut will be on by the last week in July.

That means what looked like quiet, docile animals will suddenly become much more touchy and aggressive. This is a particularly important time of year to remember to keep your distance (25 yards).

AROUND HERE…Steamboat Geyser is still going strong.

I spent Wednesday over there, in hopes of an eruption with no such luck. Maybe next week, my schedule will work with it. Just the fact that I can say that is astounding. With decades of basic quiet to now know that the world’s tallest geyser is erupting once, and sometimes twice a week – and having that feel normal – is mind-boggling.

Be Outside • Take Notes