77 More Sleeps....

77 more sleeps. I cannot wait!

I was actually considering going to Great Falls on May long weekend so I can free up a night on my big trip and take more time at the Russell Museum as I won't really have for than a few hours to spend there if I go while I am on vacation.

Here are a few photos from the drive into Wyoming last summer! Enjoy!

Long Time, No Blog....

Hello!
It has been nearly 2 and a half months since I have posted!
I have been busy I guess! Busy with work, sleeping, man hating and winter hating!

Finally looks like this long and miserable winter is on it's way out the door!


I was lucky to get to take my horse out to 2 sleigh rallies within the last 2 months... one I won the poker hand and I bought myself a nice Western Rawhide saddle with the money... then the next weekend I found a vintage Western rawhide roping saddle that I fell in love with... and bought. It fits Reno well... So I am banned from buying saddles now. Hahaha! Here they are:

I didn't take my camera to the first rally - but I did to the second. Here are a few snaps from it:

 



So - I have started to plan my summer road trip... Barring any issues that cost me a fortune... or a HUGE jump in gas prices or drop in the Canadian dollar, I will be going to Great Falls to the Russell museum since I missed seeing it last year, Casper WY, Deadwood SD, Cody WY and a few other small stops along the way. 11 days of soaking up as much old west history and art and culture as I can find! The Cody Stampede is on my hit list... and I plan to spend the 4th of July there. If the gas and the dollar are bad, I am just gonna go straight to Cody and hunker down there for the whole time. Either way... this KINDA what I am thinking....

 

 

I am HOPING to see Mt. Rushmore... and I think I am going to have time to go meandering through Yellowstone again after Cody. I MIGHT cut through Nebraska but there really isn't much in that top western corner of it. I am very excited to return to Cody and I HOPE I can find accommodations there since it is going to be a busy week, but I am taking some camping gear just in case. I am really excited for Deadwood though.

 

Funny thing - I really wasn't aware of it until I saw it on an episode of The Bachelor. I started to look into it and HAD to go! I bought the TV series and am working my way through it now. I am excited to see where Wild Bill was killed AND where he is buried - along with all of the other little pieces of history I can see and experience!

 

I often feel like I am trapped in the wrong century. Last year when I started to explore, I felt such an incredible sense of "home" out there. Thee connection to that area was overwhelming as is the urge to go back and continue to explore and learn. Is it weird that my idea of a vacation doesn't include a beach, laziness and booze? 

 

ALSO - one of my idols  Ann Hanson - lives in Shell WY, and I contacted her and I am possibly going to meet her when I am passing through there on my way to Cody! So far she doesn't have anything going on out of town at that time and she said I was welcome to stop by. I emailed her years ago expressing my adoration of her work before I "knew" her through Facebook and she was - and is - such a lovely lady. I was in the Buffalo Bill museum last year and I came face to face with one of her pieces and decided to take a look for her again on Facebook and I found her. Funny - I still have the issue f Western Horseman from March 2000 where I first discovered her work. I am taking it with me because I want her to sign the page!

 

I am also possibly going to do a day trip into Yellowstone with artist Pamela Earlywine on my way back home. It seems that I will have an extra night to spend and I have contacted her and she suggested she take me to her favorite spots to go scouting for wildlife! All I did last year was the main drag through and saw very little for wildlife... Or sunshine! Hoping to get better weather on this trip.

Stay tuned!

 

 

 

 

A Little Pick Me Up...

So - in the midst of all the sadness... I had had a friend text me Sunday evening telling me she had found a GREAT deal on flights to Vegas... for the following Saturday. Kind of short notice.... Yes. But that's how I like to take trips. I texted my boss. He wasn't sure if any of my coworkers had the Monday and Tuesday booked already, so texted all of them and they didn't. So he told me to go ahead.

Then I started to think about it.... OMG! NFR WEEK! So my friend searched and was able to find us a pair of tickets to Monday night's performance! It has been a dream of mine to go to the NFR forever! So this spur of the moment bucket list trip has been the one thing to keep me from being an emotional disaster this week. Every time I wanna cry in public, I think about the NFR. I feel really guilty for being so happy, but fate seemed to want me to go. Kitty angel maybe wanted me to stop being sad and start being awesome? Maybe between my kitty and my mommy angel they made this happen for me. And of course my very thoughtful friend who decided I needed something big and exciting to get me through this difficult time.

Oh Wyoming....

Here is a photo I took on the way to Cody. What a beautiful drive that was.

I wish I could have stopped and taken photos of everything.... but if I did that - I would still be there now!

I am starting to plan my trip back next summer. I would love to spend some time chasing wild horses as I had to skip it this trip.... and maybe catch the Cody Stampede.... I for sure want to spend the 4th of July down there as well.

I want to delve further into the art scene there... see as much as I can and learn more about the old west history that made Wyoming.

I wish I could be in Jackson right now for the auction.... The greatness that auction is presenting is out of this world! \I was fortunate enough to walk through the works they had collected up until June.... and it was humbling. Particularly the Norman Rockwell piece of John Wayne.