Laramie, WY
Elevation: 7,165 ft.

Driving down southeast South Dakota and western Wyoming was more or less farm fields, tractor trailers and cattle. But as I neared southwest Wyoming the repetitive landscape began to unravel into rolling hills. They came in hiccups at first and then became continuous as I neared Laramie. There was something about the wide open, misty prairies that captured my imagination. Not being pressed for time I would often pull over at truck turnarounds and gaze into their endlessness.

Arriving at Ellen’s home was a breath of fresh air and relief. Until seeing her I hadn’t realized how alone I had been this past week. We took a road trip down to Fort Collins, CO because a new Trader Joe’s had just opened up and she needed to gear up for her upcoming field season. I told her on the drive that this had been the first time in a week that I had talked this long with another person, with the exception of Jack in South Dakota.

Over the course of the two days I got to meet a number of her friends from her lab at University of Wyoming and I have to say it was so refreshing to meet so many cool, like-minded people. I had always felt like a black sheep in my hometown yet it only took a few minutes to feel right at home with her friends. Conservationists are truly a breed of their own. The first night was Sushi (surprisingly good) and the second was a vegetarian bar (also surprisingly good). During our downtime we watched Jiro Dreams of Sushi and I worked on my photos.

The good thing about having a temporary home base in Laramie was that I was able to explore the area more intimately. First off I stopped by Medicine Bow National Forest and visited the Turtle Rock camping/ hiking area. I have to say I have never seen so many beautiful rock formations and forests with such ease of access. They are really doing it right out here in the west. National Parks and Forests out here are well-kept, clean, wild and extremely accessible. It could have been because I am visiting in the off season but I have never had such a good time. The cold, misty rain was present as usual but I have really come to enjoy the cold loneliness of visiting these amazing places by myself. It makes for pure, peaceful moments and photographs.

It was still fairly early once I left Turtle Rock so I decided to wing it and drive down to Cheyenne (the state capitol) via a long country road named Highway 210. I will admit at first I was a little scared because the road drove along miles of private ranches and nearly every person passing me was giving me the eye. Doesn’t help that I’m asian driving a toyota from Virginia. But the rewarding views made it all worth it. The highway drives directly through the Turtle Rock section of Medicine Bow National Forest and passes by Curt Gowdy State Park, home of the beautiful Crystal reservoir, making it the perfect road if one is going to Cheyenne anyways. The road itself was a dirt road, so a mud road, and I loved every second of it. Mudding and off-roading has become more and more of a passion of mine - though I know how bad it is for the land, and also my gas guzzler is bad for the environment…But there are actually a number of conservationists that are into the truck world - I’m just trying to make myself feel better. Along the drive I stopped a few times to snap shots of the absolutely beautiful ranches and prairies.

At Cheyenne I visited the Wyoming State Museum and I will admit it was fascinating, albeit very depressing. Something I have realized about a lot of the mid-west and western states is that there is a deep deep history of Native American warfare, rancher warfare, coal and gold. Things I suppose we all already had an idea of in elementary school, but being in the area and seeing it is very different. During this trip I saw many firsts including my first Indian Reservations, massacre memorials and worst of all countless souvenir shops bastardizing the Native American culture and history. After getting depressed I headed back to Laramie to the University of Wyoming and to check out their Geological Museum as well as some local gear stores around the area. The campus was beautiful and had many of the Sherman Granite formations I had come to associate with the area as well as good number of old pines. Something that I was really excited about was that their geological museum had one of those interactive topo sandboxes. As soon as I realized what I was looking at I was both hands in creating mountains and lakes!

The last thing I did before heading back to home base for rest and photo editing was to visit the local gear shop, Atmosphere Mountainworks. I had heard from Ellen that they made their own bags and, being the gear fanatic that I am, I just had to see them. Local gear shops are far and few in between but ones that created their own gear, beyond just t-shirts, are quite a rarity from where I’m from. The store was quaint and packed to the brim with your usual assortment of camp gear but with the unique bonus of tribal wear, dance clothes and Grateful Dead stickers (sorry Lydia I didn’t get any but I will definitely find some in Oregon and you WILL get a care package). I ended up getting a shirt with their logo on it, per my tradition when visiting a new outdoor gear store, and it was reasonably priced at $8.95! I have been to places that charge upwards of $21 for their shirts! On the topic of prices, NoVa peeps get this, the price for craft beers and Guiness here is $3.95 - NOT HAPPY HOUR. I think I will just live here. All in all it was a wonderful two days in Laramie and I am so fortunate to have had Ellen take me in. I don’t think I would have explored eastern Wyoming at all if it wasn’t for your home and I really believe that would have been a shame. Tomorrow it is Colorado to see my friend Kevin and you best beleve I will be stopping by the flagship Denver REI as well as NEON, Inc. hq in Boulder. I have wanted to visit Colorado for a long long time and I am beyond psyked.

Until next time,

Chris