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Darwin 9 26 22 no play scaled

Cowboy State Daily is Wyoming’s largest newspaper with Wyoming’s most experienced journalists. 

<title>Daily Darwin: Monday, September 26, 2022 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Daily Darwin: Monday, September 26, 2022

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

Wildlife

As hunting season settles over the mountains surrounding Snyder Basin in Sublette County, the moose begin drifting toward a Wyoming woman's ranch. Sometimes alone, and sometimes with calves.

[{"type":"text","text":"To Pamela Chrisman, their arrival isn't surprising."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"It's been happening for nearly 40 years."}]

"They'd come in here and hide from the hunters," Chrisman explained. "This is kind of a safe haven for all those guys."

What began with one hungry old cow moose slowly blossomed into one of Wyoming's most remarkable wildlife stories — a bond built not through training or taming, but through decades of building trust.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Fish Creek Ranch "}]

Chrisman was born in Big Piney and has spent nearly her entire life ranching beneath Snyder Basin, where cattle, horses and wildlife have always been part of daily life.

[{"type":"text","text":"She was about 21 years old when she moved onto the remote ranch."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"\"There was no bathroom, no telephone, no running water,\" she recalled."}]

Winters meant trips to the outhouse through deep snow. Eventually, her mother helped install a well, and the two spoke each night over a CB radio.

[{"type":"text","text":"The isolation never bothered Chrisman."}]

She grew up following her father while he worked cattle and said she always felt at home outdoors.

[{"type":"text","text":"Animals had always occupied a special place in her life."}]

She remembered adopting a steer as a girl, loving her horses, dogs and cats, and riding horseback home after her school bus became stranded in the snow.

Long before the moose arrived, caring for animals was simply part of who she was.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Grandma Mouse"}]

"Sometime in the 1980s", Chrisman says an aging cow moose wandered onto the ranch and began eating hay alongside her horses.

[{"type":"text","text":"The old moose was gaunt."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"\"She was really, really gray,\" Chrisman recalled."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Instead of chasing the animal away, she let it eat."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"She affectionately named the old cow \"Grandma Mouse.\""}]

[{"type":"text","text":"The name stuck, and so did the moose."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Grandma Mouse kept returning."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Then she brought offspring."}]

Chrisman watched as one generation followed another. There was Merry Mouse, Miss Mouse, Baby Mouse and an old bull she simply called Old Boy. Each had its own personality.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"They have different temperaments,\" she said."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Building Trust"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"At first, the moose simply shared pasture with Chrisman's horses."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"The horses accepted them."}]

"They'd go in and stand next to her in the corral," Chrisman said. "She could eat with them."

[{"type":"text","text":"Over time, something even more unusual happened."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"The moose began trusting Chrisman herself."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"She developed a routine."}]

"I just gave them a hoop or a holler and shook the bucket," she said. "There they come."

Eventually, the relationship became close enough that Chrisman posed for photographs hugging the animals and even briefly sitting atop one especially gentle cow named Miss Mouse.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"I could actually get on her,\" she said. \"They just liked me.\""}]

[{"type":"text","text":"She never tried turning the experience into a roadside attraction."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"In fact, she discouraged visitors."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"The moose accepted her, but they remained wary of everyone else."}]

"I wouldn't let them up there," Chrisman said. "You better stand back, because they're just not really impressed about having quite a few people around."

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"'They Know Where To Come' "}]

To many people who spend time in Wyoming's backcountry, getting close to a moose is reason for concern, not celebration.

competing in an ultramarathon through the Wyoming wilderness, and nearly all agreed on the animal they feared most. 

[{"type":"text","text":"It wasn't bears."}]

Massive, territorial and fiercely protective of calves, moose have earned a reputation as one of Wyoming's most unpredictable wild animals.

[{"type":"text","text":"That is what makes Chrisman's story so extraordinary."}]

To outsiders, the idea that generations of wild moose would willingly return to the same ranch — and trust the same woman — might sound almost impossible.

But John Lund, regional wildlife supervisor for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department's Pinedale Region, said the behavior makes biological sense.

"It's not uncommon," Lund said of multiple generations returning to the same property, especially when an area provides high-quality habitat and protection from people, predators and other disturbances.

Lund said wildlife managers believe moose, much like deer and elk, likely learn seasonal locations from their mothers.

He also said big-game animals quickly learn where hunting pressure is low and return to those places year after year.

While moose hunting is much more limited than elk hunting, he believes the same principle applies.

[{"type":"text","text":"For Chrisman, that's exactly what she has witnessed."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"\"They know where to come,\" she said."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"R-E-S-P-E-C-T "}]

At one time, Chrisman estimated as many as 10 moose regularly visited the ranch.

[{"type":"text","text":"Today, about four or five still stop by."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Grandma Mouse is gone."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"So are Merry Mouse, Miss Mouse and Old Boy."}]

But each winter, Chrisman still puts out an alfalfa bale and a few pellets.

[{"type":"text","text":"She still watches the hills."}]

Descendants of those first visitors still find their way back beneath Snyder Basin.

Lund said becoming comfortable around one person "isn't unheard of," though he cautioned that moose are still wild animals. Cows can become aggressive while protecting calves, bulls often become dangerous during the fall rut, and any moose that feels cornered or threatened could attack.

[{"type":"text","text":"Chrisman agrees that respect has always been the key."}]

"They aren't as mean as people put them up to be," she said. "But you've got to respect them and give them enough room."

[{"type":"text","text":"She never tried to make the moose into pets."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"She simply offered them a place where they were safe."}]

Moose lady Pam2 8 8 26

<title>Meet The Moose Whisperer: For 40 Years, Wild Moose Return To Her Big Piney Ranch | Cowboy State Daily</title>

For nearly 40 years, generations of wild moose have returned to Fish Creek Ranch near Big Piney, Wyoming, where they trust Pamela Chrisman so much she can walk up and pet them. "This is kind of a safe haven for all those guys," she said.

Meet The Moose Whisperer: For 40 Years, Wild Moose Return To Her Big Piney Ranch

Wyoming Life

Entertainment

Every August, the highways to South Dakota begin to thunder as hordes of bikers pour into the Black Hills.

What began in 1938 with the Jackpine Gypsies Motorcycle Club has grown into one of the most famous motorcycle gatherings in the world. 

Some have made the trip for decades. Others are rolling into the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally for the first time.

Greg Griswold remembers the first time he approached Sturgis from Gillette on Interstate 90.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"Holy shit, we're going to Sturgis,\" he remembers thinking."}]

At home, he drives a truck in the oil field. His wife, Toni, works as an assistant manager at an apartment complex. Between them, they have four children and eight grandchildren.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"We're very much the all-American family,\" he said."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"But when they leave for Sturgis, something changes."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"\"It's an absolute getaway from everything that is life,” he said."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"The New Guy"}]

Amid all that freedom are a few unwritten rules, and one false move can get you punched in the face — or worse, a full-out ass-kicking.

A 20-something-year-old stone mason from Sheridan who goes by Grout is heading to Sturgis for the first time for the 86

 annual rally, which began Friday and runs through Aug. 16.

Newly single, Grout — aka Sean Severs — said he's especially looking forward to "the party." He said this while packing up his tent for the campgrounds. 

This year, he's riding alongside a Sheridan biker known as Coach, a Sturgis veteran tasked with showing the first-timer the ropes.

For Grout, the draw is the "vibe" — meeting people, seeing new places, and being surrounded by thousands of people that share his love of chrome.

But every first-timer eventually learns there is more to Sturgis than showing up and having a good time.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"The Sage"}]

Bob Pruitt has spent 45 years in the saddle and has made the trip to Sturgis more than half a dozen times.

[{"type":"text","text":"They call him Pretty Bobbie."}]

The modern-day mountain man stands over 6 feet tall, and is bald and broad-shouldered, with enormous paws, a scraggly gray-and-white beard and piercing blue eyes.

[{"type":"text","text":"His voice is heavy, each word landing like a hammer on a nail."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Yet somehow, standing next to him, you feel safer."}]

Maybe that's because Pretty Bobbie has been around long enough to know where the trouble is — and how to stay out of it.

His advice for anyone headed to Sturgis is simple: Have fun, pay attention, and understand the unwritten rules before you accidentally break one.

[{"type":"text","text":"The first is perhaps the easiest."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Rule No. 1: Hands Off"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"A motorcycle is not a park bench."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Don't sit on one."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Don't lean against one."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Don't climb aboard for a photograph."}]

Pretty Bobbie's advice is concise: "You want to touch a motorcycle, get your own."

[{"type":"text","text":"Griswold understands why."}]

Sturgis can offer everything from battered old Harleys coaxed across several states to meticulous customs that cost staggering amounts of money and craftsmanship.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"Their bike is what they live for,\" he said of some riders. "}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Admire it, then keep walking."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Rule No. 2: Don't Play Biker"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Sturgis is not the place to cosplay as an outlaw biker."}]

Griswold said an easy way to attract the wrong kind of attention is to show up wearing motorcycle-club insignia you haven't earned.

The sleeveless vest is commonly called a "cut," he said. Patches can identify a club, chapter or territory, including the curved "bottom rocker."

"A good way (to get your ass kicked) is show up with a cut that is flashing the wrong bottom rocker," Griswold said about the arched patches across the back of vests that usually indicates what territory a rider is from.

An experienced club member may recognize that an outsider simply doesn't know better, "but don't bet on it."

For a prospect, as in someone who wants to join some of the more notorious clubs, “he’s trying to prove to the club that he’s willing to go the extra mile for the club.”

[{"type":"text","text":"In a low, ominous voice, Griswold elaborates. "}]

"The 1% badge is only for those who have actually done the deed, and we’re talking — we’re talking death,” he said. "They’ve taken a life.” 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Rule No. 3: Know When To Shut Up"}]

Pretty Bobbie said problems at the Sturgis rally begin the same way they do everywhere else.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"Most people get bound up because they drink too much,\" he said."}]

Then people start talking trash, getting overly friendly or asking questions of people who clearly don't want to answer them.

"The way to run afoul on a biker is messing with his bike, mess with his old lady, start talking shit or asking too many questions," he said. 

Want to make friends? “Nod to them,” he said. "If they nod back, yeah, you'd probably be all right talking to them. If they don't nod back, leave them alone. They don't want to be messed with.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"Basic awareness goes a long way.\""}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Rule No. 4: Leave The Old Lady Alone"}]

A surefire way to get your ass kicked at Sturgis is by "messing with someone's old lady,” Pretty Bobbie continued.

[{"type":"text","text":"The term itself might sound less than flattering to an outsider."}]

In biker culture, Pretty Bobbie said calling a woman “old lady” is "the utmost term of respect."

"If you hear a guy say, 'This is my wife,' he loves her," Pruitt said. "You got a guy say, 'Yeah, this is my old lady,' he'll kill for her."

Problems often begin when the drinks start flowing and guys start getting a little too friendly.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"Chummy chummy,\" as Pretty Bobbie puts it."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Asked about his wife, the hard biker softened immediately."}]

"I'd set the world on fire for her," he said. "She's everything to me."

[{"type":"text","text":"And who says romance is dead?"}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Rule No. 5: Watch The Road"}]

Whether it's your first ride to Sturgis or your 40th, the goal is the same: Don't make it your last.

By Saturday during the 2025 rally, the South Dakota Highway Patrol had already recorded 58 injury crashes and four fatal crashes in the western part of the state. There were also 103 DUI arrests by that point. 

Griswold said riders communicate constantly, even among strangers. They use formations and signals to warn each other about trouble ahead.

Last year, he and Toni were riding on Interstate 90 when another rider warned them about debris in the road.

Someone had apparently lost a comforter. It blew across the highway and directly into Griswold's path.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"All I told her was, 'Hang on,'\" he said."}]

They hit it, but the warning had at least given him time to prepare, and they kept right on cruising. 

"There's a lot of respect among the guys that are out there riding together, even if they don't know each other," Griswold said. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Rule No. 6: Have A Good Time "}]

For all the warnings, Griswold said this may be the most important rule. People having a good time are less likely to have conflict with others and get their asses kicked.

[{"type":"text","text":"Sturgis is supposed to be fun and there's no single right way to do it."}]

"Everybody is there ultimately to have a good time," Griswold said. "The good time can be rough and rowdy. It can be as mellow as you want it, and everything in between. It just depends on what you want to do." 

"Just have the road open in front of me," he said, "and just be able to go anywhere I want, whenever I want, with just what's packed on the bike." 

For Ucross biker John "Bear" Stanebrook, it's the wind in his face and the freedom — and he hopes everyone else finds their own version of that fun. That's the beauty of Sturgis.

[{"type":"text","text":"You can make it whatever you want."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Just mind your p's and q's."}]

Sturgis Getty Images 482875156 8 8 26

<title>How To Avoid Getting Your Ass Kicked At The Annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally | Cowboy State Daily</title>

With the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally kicking off this weekend, many bikers offered tips on how to avoid getting your ass kicked at the celebration. One 45-year vet says "Understand the unwritten rules before you accidentally break one."

How To Avoid Getting Your Ass Kicked At The Annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally

Zakary Sonntag

Law Enforcement

Food

Sweet Zoey mediterranean restaurant in Casper is known for its baklava and kebabs.

Four customers ordered those items and more during a lunch hour last May, running up quite the tab – then quietly running out the door.   

“They ate everything, appetizers, drinks, sweets, mains, everything,” said owner Zoey Aldahash.

“Then the four of them stood up in the same moment together, they walked to the door, and once they opened the door, they ran to the car — they were 

It was not her first experience with unpaying customers at this restaurant in the city’s Westridge neighborhood.

Unlike before, however, this time she chose not to involve the police. She looked to social media instead.

From the business’s security cameras, Aldahash posted an image of the alleged offenders to the restaurant’s Facebook page and asked the community for help identifying them.

Locals piled into the comments with a stone soup of reaction.

“How disgusting! Make sure their photos are plastered everywhere so they can be banned from everywhere. People like them should never be allowed anywhere 😡,” said one user.

Another customer was so disheartened she offered to help cover the loss. 

“If they dont come fwd I can swing in 65$ of the bill. I know it's not all of it but it's half,” the person said.

The responses show how neighborhood restaurants can feel like a natural extension of a community itself. In the case of Sweet Zoey, it's a reputation earned from years of hard work.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Brand Built On Baklava"}]

Aldahash, an Iraqi native with deep brown eyes and coffee-colored skin, worked as an architectural engineer before pivoting to a career of passion.

She began selling small batches of baklava at the farmers market. Small batches turned to big batches that turned to additional offerings like hummus and specialty bread. Each week, demand rose.

“It was selling out every time and I had people asking me to make more and more and more,” she said, “I reached a point where I couldn’t do it from my home anymore.” 

She moved to a commercial kitchen, then into a bigger space at southside shopping center, and eventually in 2022 into the full-service restaurant on CY Avenue where the business is today.

Despite a loyal customer base, not all support how Aldahash handled the dine-and-dash incident.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Why Not Call Police?"}]

In the image she posted online, commenters noted that the group resembled a family of four with two teenage children.

Their presumed youth was an issue for many.

“Advice from a former manager and business owner, Call the police and report instead of posting on Facebook, especially with children in the photo,” one person wrote.

That opinion was shared by many commenters. It’s also shared by the Casper Police Department (CPD). 

Rebekah Ladd, public information officer for CPD, told Cowboy State Daily social media will often bring useful information to investigators, but it can also result in undue accusations, misidentification or harassment, which raises additional concerns if juveniles are involved.

“Posting (images) publicly is typically not the most appropriate tactic at the beginning of a dine-and-dash investigation,” Ladd said.

“Businesses should be especially cautious when juveniles may be involved … particularly when the full circumstances are not known.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Circumstances Are Clear"}]

To the mind of Zoey Aldahash, however, the circumstances are clear enough. 

“These people came here and they intended to steal,” she said.

Pour Decisions Bar and Grill in Cheyenne also looked first to social media for help identifying a man who fed his family of four and left without paying in November 2025. 

Although in this instance, the images were cropped to reveal only the group’s patriarch, and the bar owner expressed a hope to resolve the issue amicably without involving authorities.

Locals expressed a range of feelings, but similar to Sweet Zoey, the majority opinion here was summed up best by the commenter who wrote, “Put this on Cheyenne Community Connection … really call him out.”

Aldahash chose not to involve police in May because she still has a sour taste from the last time she looked to CPD for help.

After being hit again by thieves who dined and dashed, the owner of Sweet Zoey restaurant in Casper posted photos of the offenders instead of calling the police. "They intended to steal,” she said, noting that calling the police in the past didn't work.

Daily Darwin: Monday, September 26, 2022

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