I’m loving the ever-changing weather here and how spring comes on fast. I sat outside this morning listening to thunder rumble and could see how much the big tree in the backyard has bloomed in the last two days. Three days ago you could barely see any buds now hundreds of leaves are bursting forth. Later in the afternoon the wind picked up and the rain poured down for about 15 minutes then cleared up.
In Wyoming you can’t buy alcohol in a grocery store, so I had to buy wine at the Albertson’s liquor store! They didn’t have a huge variety but there were wines from both California and Washington.
There has definitely been an increase in the number of planes flying in and out of the airport. I imagine it gets pretty busy during the summer. Luckily, it doesn’t seem to bother the horses.
Erin and I went out for crepes at a local café called The Station, it’s a an old gas station that’s been converted to a cafe. It’s light and bright with lots of garage signs and memorabilia. The crepes were gigantic and delicious. Afterwards, we wandered down the street and checked out a secondhand store, where I found a swimsuit to wear when I go to the Hot Springs next week. The building next door had some great old faded signs on the sides.
Later, I went to the Bill Cody Dam and learned about its history, which is a lot more interesting than I expected. When was it built in 1910 it was the highest dam in the world. Construction took five years and was overseen by three different companies, which were all wiped out financially because of enormous challenges in building the dam. Because of the water runoff from melting snow the dam had to be built between October and March each year in what ended up to be some of the coldest winters ever in Wyoming! I can’t imagine what it was like for those men building the dam, even constructing the road and tunnels was a crazy amount of work without any machines to assist. On the way there I pulled off at a climbing place and watched the woman making her way up a very steep cliffside. No thanks! You can see her in the first picture below.
Gun culture is very strong in Wyoming – on my way back from the dam, I passed a sign for a firing range and another for gun auctions. It makes sense since so much of the state is devoted to raising cattle and it’s important to keep them safe from predators. Still doesn’t make me want to go out and learn how to shoot a gun.
I’ve noticed lots of very colorful sculptures of bears and bison all over Cody. I’m guessing this may have been done as a fundraiser at some point.
