Wyoming Breezes

Staircase at Cheyenne Regional Medical Center Cheyenne, WY

Golden Cottonwood trees 21st and Reynolds Laramie, WY Last Wednesday, I stopped to snap a quick photo of these golden trees. I knew the leaves would probably all be down after the snow storm, and I was correct. Wyoming doesn't have too many trees with russet, orange, or red leaves this time of year, but the golden ones do put on a spectacular show.  Soon, we will be entering days surrounded by brown, gray, and white, but for a short time before Winter settles in, Nature fills our community with gold.

October 12, 2023 photo "borrowed" online from Downtown Laramie Alliance As predicted, Thursday/Friday's storm dropped about three inches of snow on the area, and by Saturday it had all melted because the ground and streets were so warm. Even with that, Interstate 80 was closed for winter conditions Thursday night. It seems like people forget how to drive in snow/ice, and it takes them a while to remember.  It's pretty typical for this area to have a mid-October snow storm and then another around Halloween. I'm thrilled that this storm was here and gone in a couple of days.

Cheyenne National Cemetery  Cheyenne, WY Wyoming’s first national cemetery was dedicated in October 2020

April 2023 Every year Tiger Salamanders migrate to a large pond in a local park - LaBonte Park. Locals have called the pond "Stink Lake" for years for good reason. Volunteers gather to help the amphibians cross busy streets during migration.  The University of Wyoming Biodiversity Institute states on their web page: Each spring, volunteers show up at LaBonte Park on potential migration nights to patrol 9th and Canby streets. Salamanders are picked up off the roads as they cross and brought safely to the edge of LaBonte Pond. Volunteers spend however long they’d like helping to protect and conserve this population of salamanders. Are you interested in volunteering to help Laramie’s salamanders safely complete their annual migration? Children 8 years and above are welcome to become a volunteer if accompanied by an adult. Friday and Saturday were wet days with snow falling almost all day - good migration conditions for the salamanders.  The Tiger Salamander is Wyoming's sta...

The Architecture of Civility by David Reif (2015) located in a courtyard north of Albany County Courthouse 2022 I seriously do not have a clue about this sculpture. It's interesting and has a LOT of things to see and to ponder. I'll let you decide what you think about it.  What are your thoughts?

Bond's Brewing Mural in the alley behind Bond's Brewing (Second Street) painted by Dan Toro Laramie, WY September 2022 This colorful mural was painted this summer and is definitely one of my favorites. I love the bright colors and the image.  The mural was painted by Dan Toro. You can read about him and the other mural artists here .  Isn't the blue sky amazing! This is the first summer in years that wildfire smoke hasn't clogged the sky in Wyoming.

vertical garden  between First andSecond Streets on Garfield  Laramie, WY August 2022 Parts of the garden have done better than others this summer. The garden has vegetables and flowers tucked in between the slits in the metal columns. It adds a bit of green to downtown Laramie.  violas and lettuce flourishing side by side

Waiting Room Spectacles painted by Favian Hernandez north wall of Laramie Vision Clinic South Second Street, Laramie, WY August 2022 This new mural is in an area called Laradise Lane on South Second Street. This open area between two buildings was created when a fire destroyed the building that stood there. The space contains picnic tables (many with umbrellas), large outdoor games (Connect Four and Jenga), and large wooden planters with flowers that separate the area into private spaces.  The mural was commissioned by Laramie Eye Clinic (whose building on which the mural is painted) and the Laramie Public Art Coalition.

spotted in Cheyenne, WY August 2022

Brenda and Marilyn Prairie Museum of Art and History Colby, KS 2015 A couple of weeks ago, I shared a post about playing Jacks at recess , and several readers also remembered playing the game with their friends. Another game that I played often as a child, both at school with friends and at home by myself was Hopscotch.  The diagram painted on the sidewalk leading to the prairie school at the museum in Kansas was quite different to the one that my friends and I played. The diagram we used was like the one below, but with much larger blocks.  Our diagram was not painted on the sidewalk: we drew it in the dirt with a stick. We didn't number the boxes because everyone knew the sequence.  I remember have some favorite stones for playing hopscotch. The perfect stone was flat and about the size of a fifty cent piece. Anything bigger would probably not reach the upper blocks.  We would practically fly through the boxes after we picked up our stones, turned, and hopped ...

Giant Jacks and Ball sculpture  by Christopher Weed Douglas County Library Parker, CO I have fond memories of playing Jacks at recess and lunch during my elementary school years. The giant jacks and ball in front of the Parker Library triggered those memories.  Do you remember playing Jacks?

Saint Matthew's Cathedral  Laramie, WY Most of the doors on St. Matthew's are bright red, and I love them! To me, the color of the doors is welcoming.  When I lived in Riverton, I painted my front door Kelly Green, but I also considered painting it Lemon Yellow.  If you could paint your exterior door any color, what would it be?

stained glass window  Ivinson Mansion Laramie, WY                           •  there is light                           •  there is hope                           •  there is help May is Mental Health Awareness month Here is some helpful information from the National Council for Mental Wellbeing about mental health and substance use in America: 1 in 5 adults (52.9 million adults) in the U.S. experienced mental illness in 2020. 40.3 million people aged 12 or over had a substance use disorder in 2020. 32.1% of U.S. adults with mental illness also experienced a substance use disorder in 2020. Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among people aged 10-34. 1 in 3 young adults (aged 18-25) in the U.S. experienced mental illness in 2020. 1 in 6 adolescents (aged 12-17)...

bronze bust of Abraham Lincoln sculpted by Robert I. Russin I-80 Sherman Summit east of Laramie, WY The bronze bust of Lincoln is 12 feet tall and weighs 4,500 pounds. It originally stood at the highest point on the original Lincoln Highway (America's first transcontinental highway) but was eventually moved to Sherman Summit, the highest point on Interstate 80.  Lincoln bust atop a 30 foot granite pedestal Lincoln Highway markers on display at  Sherman Summit on Interstate 80 east of Laramie, WY

Laramie, WY March 6, 2022 On Friday, the ground was bare thanks to Chinook winds and warmer temperatures last week; however, Friday night and most of the day Saturday, the snow fell. What's unusual about this scene is the snow on the tree boughs and the lilac bush branches. The winter wind blows a LOT in Laramie, and typically, the trees shake off their snow coverings. I love seeing this unusual winter scene outside my patio doors. 

Blue Grass Ranch September 2022 I spotted this tree when my nephew was giving my sister, my brother-in-law and me a tour of the ranch that he manages, and I asked him to stop so I could snap a photo.  The large rock at the base of the lone tree looked like a large bull resting in the sunshine.  Do you see what I see?

One of my teeth has been giving me problems — achy, sensitive to cold, sensitive to exhaling cold air. From experience, I know how difficult it is to get treatment close to the holidays. I made an appointment with my regular dentist, and after he ran some tests, he recommended I see an Endodontist for a root canal. Not a problem unless, said Endodontist is in a neighboring town and . . . this happens.  Yep, the Interstate and secondary roads to Cheyenne were closed from Friday to Sunday.  WYDOT had snow plows working, but the wind was horrendous and delayed the opening again and again.  Trucks and private vehicles were lined up in all the major towns, waiting for the green light. Sunday morning I noticed that the interstate was open between Laramie and Cheyenne for eastbound traffic. I knew it probably wouldn’t be too long before all the gates would be open, so I made plans to leave and hopefully be ahead of the impatient truckers and travelers who had been stranded since...