I’ve quickly come to realize that there’s no way I will keep a chronological blog of this road trip. I’m already hopelessly behind, and was never good at keeping a diary.
So instead of a place-by-place travelogue, I’ll share what draws my attention as I cross this incredibly vast country. People draw my attention. Here are some of the folks that I’ve met so far.
Teri works at the Stardust Motel in Wallace, Idaho.
When I mentioned I had a boxer in the car, she told me about her Dad, who used to raise white boxers with pink eyes.
It was Teri’s job to hold the puppies while her dad docked their tails. She assured me the newborn pups never felt a thing, and never whimpered or cried. I think I believe her.
Jimmy is a veteran who rides an ATV around town. Actually, there are quite a few veterans in Wallace, and many of the locals use ATVs for transportation.
Jimmy is also writing a novel with animals as the main characters. He told me about the wolf pups he raised, and invited me to come and see the two he kept, who are now full grown.
I declined the invitation, and he hopped on his ATV to go watch the high school football game.
I did accept the invitation extended by Don, to see the house he is restoring, bit by bit. It was built in Wallace in 1885.
Don is also a veteran, and spent 26 years in the army before he lost much of his hearing from two many loud blasts, too nearby.
Don told me that Wallace was once a party town for miners, who would come from and wide to hit the bars and seek the company of ladies who had company to sell.
If you are ever in Wallace, Idaho, the pink house on Cyprus Street is not hard to find. You’ll see some amazing artifacts from an earlier time, and hear some great stories as well.
I was in Wallace for less than 24 hours, but it’s a darn friendly place.
Tyson seems quite serious for one so young. But then, he’s worried about the wildfires. Smoke had settled in the hills around town (as they have in just about every place I’ve been so far!) He prays for the firefighters every day.
Tyson joined me on a walk about town, riding circles around me on his incredibly heavy bike. He pointed out the local attractions: who lives where and where I could get supplies if I needed them.
When we parted, he solemnly and carefully put my card into his wallet, and told me that if I ran into any fires, I should come back here to be safe.
Mina is from Romania. So, too, are the six other college students she works with in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Apparently, it’s easy to get a visa to work a few months here if you are a student, and impossible if you are not.
Before returning to Romania, the group has a month to travel in America. What part of America do they want to see? Miami!
I saw these guys walking along a Wyoming road toward a pull-out, so I pulled over myself and waited for them, hoping they would let me take their photo.
They had been hunting for deer and elk in the valley below. The valley was full of smoke blowing in from wildfires.
I asked if the smoke bothered them, and they said it did, a little. But frankly, it was hard to imagine much of anything bothering these two.
Gentlemen, if you happen to see this, please email me and tell me your names. I should have asked!
I met Larry when I knocked on the door of his RV to ask if the beautiful campground I had stumbled into was really open.
No one was there but he and his wife, Florence. We were just a few miles from the Togwotee Pass, and when the temperature dropped into the 30s that night, I realized why nobody else was camping there in a tent!
Larry and Florence are a delightful couple from Bar Nun, Wyoming, just outside of Casper. His job is testing truck drivers for their commercial licenses. Florence grew up just outside of Philadelphia, and they lived there until fairly recently. She likes Wyoming, but misses having good places to shop. Or, really, any place to shop.
Will and Pierce are on a road trip of their own. They go to college in Suanee, a town in Tennessee that sounds like a candidate for my “Tiny Towns” series. (Tiny Town #1 – Metaline Falls, Tiny Town #2 – Wallace, Idaho. Looking around Wyoming for #3.)
They’ve been rock climbing in the West, and are in Lander, Wyoming because of the great climbing here. Due to a recent injury, though, they’re thinking of going back to Jackson Hole to get jobs in the ski industry.
Now you’re assuming Pierce hurt his arm climbing, right? I did. But not so. It happened playing volleyball. It seems to be on the mend, and he thinks he’ll be able to ski. Sounds like my boys, whom I missed a lot when talking with these two.
I met Troy today, when I was not-so-subtly trying to get shots of a few of the many cattle packed inside his parked trailer. He walked up and opened the door for me to get a better shot of them. Those really didn’t turn out – way too dark in there — but this one did. He paused long enough to let me take it, and then was back on the road again.
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