At Home in Wyoming

The Flu Blues

The view from the baseball field this morning...as you can see the mountains are finally 'greening up' as my husband says, but the mountain tops got a little bit of snow last night.

For those of you who have been wondering what happened to me this week, I was not able to blog due to the flu.  I was not able to do much of ANYTHING except run back and forth to the bathroom!  But this morning I got up and drank a cup of coffee and actually kept it down, so I think I am on the road to recovery...and will get back to a full week of blogging.  Thanks for your patience!!  DLB

A Walk at Beck Lake

I usually walk around the Braille Trail at Beck Lake once or twice a day for exercise...and for enjoyment.  I think the Braille Trail was built by the Lions Club for the visually impaired...the point-of-interest signs are in Braille.  I like it because it has twisty paths...reminding me of the cow paths I used to walk on when we lived on the farm.  So come along with me on my walk!

I startled a bunny along the path...who kindly posed so I could get this picture!  I often see wildlife on this trail...deer, birds, ducks on the lake, foxes...and even an occasional skunk that sprayed my dog.  We won't talk about that adventure, suffice it to say that I no longer bring my dogs on this particular walk!

I know a secret about these rock formations.  They are home to a fox...once when I walked past I was lucky enough to see a litter of baby foxes wrestling with each other right outside of their den.  No sign of them so far this year...but I keep watching!

At the beginning of the little Braille Trail there is a picnic area...which looks pretty bare now because there are still no leaves on the trees, but in the summer it is thick with a leaf canopy and quite cool on hot days.  We often celebrate 4th of July in this park...and I have happy memories of a Fall day spent in lawn chairs under this pavillion, drinking coffee, reading books and watching the leaves fall off of the trees. 

While I enjoyed the spring like temperatures yesterday, the view from my bedroom window this morning reminded me that winter is not over!  More snow...although it won't last long.  It is supposed to go back into the 50's today.

Please pardon my delay in posting the past few weeks.  I was experiencing technical difficulties (a screw loose in the operator...me, who didn't realize that all those emails from Yahoo were not junk mail to be deleted, but rather stuff about domains that I needed to pay attention to).  All is fixed now, and I have signed on for another year.  For all of you that have sent encouraging emails, I thank you!  DLB 

 

 

 

 

 

Whoops!

 

Remember my blog a day or so ago, about thinking that Spring had finally Sprung?  I should have known better...This is the way that my home in Cody, Wyoming looked early this morning...and it is a lot worse than that now, a few hours later!  But the good news is that I DIDN'T paint the front porch yesterday, so this is one time that being lazy, paid off!  DLB

View From the Drive Thru

These days I seem to spend a lot of time in the drive thru lane at the local credit union, taking money out instead of putting money in!  But the nice thing about living in Cody is that even mundane tasks aren't quite so mundane when you have beautiful scenery to look at...I happened to have my camera in the truck yesterday, so I finished my banking and snapped this picture which I will title, "The View from the Drive Thru".  Have a nice weekend!  DLB

When The Wind Blows...

When the wind blows in Wyoming, we all hunker down!  These deer are no exception...probably tired of getting blown off their hooves, they found a wind break in front of the house of a neighbor...and there they sat until it was safe to emerge!  DLB 

 

Still Alive...Just Not Well!

 Christmas tree graveyard...After Christmas, we can dump our trees here.  I think, but am not sure, that the Lion's Club mulches it for you, and you can go back later and get a bag of mulch for your garden...

All during the Christmas holidays I watched while everyone around me dropped like flies with the flu.  I kept expecting it, but Christmas came and went and I was fine. 

However, this week it was my turn, and I am down with the sniffles, aches, pains, chills...and a crushing fatigue.  I have tried several times to continue my little series on speech...but I am under the influence of cold medicine and my writing is as clear as mud. 

So, please bear with me while I do the chicken soup thing...and I will be back as soon as I can!  DLB

Old Trail Town

 Out a little way past Walmart, before you hit the rodeo grounds, stands a cluster of cabins called Old Trail Town.  Most of the cabins come from within 150 miles of Cody, torn down and reassembled here.  All have historic importance...from the Hole in the Wall gang's cabin, the River's Saloon (where bullet holes can still be seen in the door) to the Burlington Store.  One of the buildings houses a lot of Western artifacts.  I guess you would call this a museum of sorts, but it is better than that because you can actually touch things...all is not sealed away behind a wall of plexiglas.  As great as the Buffalo Bill Historical Center is, Old Trail Town really gives you the feel of the Old West. 

Most towns have a cemetery, and Old Trail Town is no exception.  Out in the sage there is a tiny cemetery that is home to the remains of Jeremiah Johnson and other colorful western characters.  I guess what I like about Old Trail Town is that it remains raw, not fancied up for the tourists.  Standing there taking this picture today, with the wind howling and the sagebrush blowing through, I could almost feel transported back to a different time...DLB

 

Trick or Treat in Cody, Wyoming

 One tradition in Cody, Wyoming is that each Halloween between 4 and 6 p.m. all the merchants on Main Street give out candy to the trick or treaters...this way it is still light enough to see all the costumes, and candy is safe, and the rest of us get to see all the children's costumes.  This year the Town Council decided to block off Main Street, so there was no traffic to worry about.  I saw dinasaurs, lions, princesses and a dairy cow (my grandson).  We had a lot of fun, and got to see people that we had not seen all summer.  I think I can vouch for the rest of Cody when I tell you that a good time was had by all!  DLB

The Poker Church

The Poker Church in Cody, Wyoming

It was an odd day today, weather wise.  It was relatively warm early this morning, and I decided to go shopping with my 6 month old grandson.  When I came out of Walmart, it was snowing and blowing...but I could see blue sky over Rattlesnake Mountain on the other side of the snow cloud.

My grandson was cranky, so I thought if I drove around town for a little while he MIGHT go to sleep in his car seat (an old grandmother trick for a little peace and quiet).  In a half hour the storm was over, but if you look closely at this picture you can see the snow that settled on top of the back wing of the church.  Which leads me to the reason for this post...I thought I would take some pictures of Cody, and post them over the next few weeks.  Some of you have never been out west, and are curious about it.  Today I wanted to show you the Poker Church.

The Poker Church, or the Little Church, is tucked under the trees next to the main building of Christ Episcopal Church in Cody.  It was the original building of Christ Church, built in 1902.  It has a unique place in the history of our town.

According to the plaque outside the building...

     "This little church building, the first in Cody, was funded in 1902 by the last hand of a famous poker game.  The players, including Buffalo Bill Cody, agreed that the pot was too large for any one man and should be given to the winner's church.  Cody's friend George Beck won and directed that the winnings be used to build this Episcopal Church.  Through a loving circle of friends and parishioners, it was furnished with the first pipe organ in Wyoming as well as stained glass windows and a belfry bell.  All who visit and come to pray with us are welcome."

I love this little church.  It is usually open in the summer, and it is a lovely place to steal a few moments of quiet when the sun turns those stained glass windows to ruby.  The church is still used in the summer, and for special services, weddings and whatnot.  If you visit Cody, take a peek inside...and when you are done, Dairy Queen is right across the street!  DLB