~Wyoming~

As I drive this lonely stretch of highway I am once again awed by the canopy of sky above me. It is a medley of colors... behind me the delicate, innocent light blue. To my left the rich, full cornflower blue touched with pink hues from the setting sun. Above me there is the motlen gold bleeding to the steely grey-blue sky in front of me. Lightning wickedly licks it's way across the sky, fairly taunting us with the need to ignite the prairie....even as the horizon hazes behind the thick layer of smoke. A fire, 5 days old continues to devour our precious trees and grass. The fires have been rampant this year, yet still part of me loves this place that has been my home for twenty years. Never have I seen such solitary beauty and harsh extremes...nor have I ever set my eyes upon a lovelier sky. How I long to leave, but I fear my heart shall remain here in the land that speaks so deeply to me. Wyoming I shall miss you when I'm gone...

9/4/97

So after spending a week in the mountains of Utah during the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, and then driving back home I had alot of time to just think. There are things that I don't miss about living back in Wyoming and things I do miss very much.

I don't miss all the dust and watering your lawn every day. I don't miss tandem trailer semi's on the interstate, I don't miss stores that close at 9 p.m. and I surely don't miss those totally country bumpkin radio people and their awful awful dorky radio ads ;) That was the worst part I think, listening to the radio for all those hours coming home.

I do miss the luxury of not having to lock my car every time I make a 5 minute stop somewhere. I miss 7-11 stores! I miss a speed limit of 75 MPH on the interstate! WOOHOO! :P I miss that feeling of calm and serenity that I get from looking at the mountains (I spent alot of time just taking in the scenery this week). The cool late evenings and early mornings, that soul-freeing blue blue sky and brilliant white clouds that surely are not so vivid anywhere else in the world! I miss looking out over an uninterrupted horizon and seeing not a single building. The lack of congestion on the highways, the lack of humidity, the way the temps drop before a storm and the cold mountain rain.

I couldn't help but break into a huge smile as I crossed the state line into Wyoming on Friday morning, my heart just swelled and I was so amazingly happy to be 'home'. I may not live there anymore physically but my heart will always be in Wyoming. I saw my first complete rainbow that afternoon, unbroken and clearly visible from end to end and all the colors were so vivid and perfectly defined. It rained the better part of Friday and all day Saturday as I drove across Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri and home to Illinois, but it was still a beautiful, refreshing drive. Time alone with my thoughts and the beautiful surroundings was good for my heart and soul. Instead of rushing about and dodging traffic I had time to just take it all in and enjoy it. I love living so close to St Louis and I don't imagine I'll ever move back to Wyoming but I'm not sure I could stay away for years and years either, going home is almost like a soul healing for me. Have you ever just sat in the complete silence of nature and just listened to the world? I could do that for hours, just sitting quietly...looking and listening... just being.
9/14/01