June 30 to July 5, 2011
My mom decided she had to take a trip out to Wyoming to visit my cousins and their kids, even if she could only stay a few days, and even if she had just adopted a dog from the pound two days ago. So with Betsy Ross curled up in the backseat, we headed out across the plains.
Betsy Ross, the traveling dog!
My cousin Ed is a pilot, and his brother Matt went to the Art Institute. They grew up in the Chicago suburbs like I did, and their dad, my Uncle Red, was a chemical company executive. Now they all live on Hecht Creek Ranch in Centennial Valley, Wyoming, and raise grass-fed cattle with their families and their dogs. Ed especially looks like he’s been a cowboy his whole life!
Guess which one is my cousin, Ed.
I love visiting them there, and I would love to spend a few months there sometime. Matt and Gina’s kids are still quite small, but Moxie and Gus, Ed and Harmony’s kids, are confident, capable and curious. They’re self-reliant, responsible, strong, and generally make your typical “city kid” look helpless by comparison. Gus leads me on hikes around the property. Moxie shows off the chickens she raises and explains how she sells their eggs at the farmer’s market in town. She describes the dogsled business plan she is working on.
AJ is still little, but he’s ready to fix things, too!
Ed took me out on horseback to check on the cattle. Moxie’s gentle horse got ornery when she realized her rider didn’t know what the heck she was doing. She kept trying to stomp in puddles and splash me, and turn around and go back to the barn. I learned to pull harder on the reins, and I also noticed that Ed rode with his toes turned out, while mine were turned in. What a difference that made! With my toes turned out, I didn’t bounce nearly as hard in the saddle, and I didn’t feel like I was going to be thrown off going up or down hills, either! If this was the only thing my years of practicing yoga and noticing tiny differences in body position got me, it would be enough for me!
We spent the fourth of July at the ranch. Festivities in Wyoming, with a population density of roughly one person per square mile, are different than many places I’ve lived. Everyone gathered on the (only) road through Centennial for a do it yourself fireworks show. There was nothing organized about it. Kids and adults alike lit off bottle rockets and fire crackers large and small. Most went up in the air. Some whistled past the gas pumps. Neighbors asked each other if anyone had seen their kids. Fire fighters stood ready. It was chaos and it was great.
Another highlight of this trip was visiting Jay Eick in Denver. I met Jay when I joined the Gamma Phi Circus in college. He boasted he could teach anyone to juggle in half an hour. I haven’t progressed much since he first taught me, but I can still juggle because of him. Jay had gotten out of the newspaper business a few years back, and is now a full-time working musician. He belongs to five bands and hosts several open mic nights around town. I got to meet his girlfriend, Shannon, who’s terrific. Jay was just as kind, silly and gracious as when I knew him in college. He’s a big advocate for Denver, and I could happily relocate to be near him. Plus, he played the Circus Song he and Bob Carroll wrote for Gamma Phi! I cried through the whole thing.
Circus friends!
Still, I returned to Chicago as planned. My mom and I drove straight through, which was kind of grueling, but satisfying.
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