Lots of interesting comments have been coming in from readers and friends concerning recent columns.
Ray Hunkins of Cheyenne wrote the following after reading my column about how a certain song probably should have been the original state song for the Cowboy State. He writes:
“The song ‘Home on the Range’ may have been written by a Texan, but the lyrics don't necessarily describe Texas. They may very well describe a cowboy's observations of Wyoming.
“Many Texas cowboys came up the Goodnight-Loving Trail, or the West Texas trail (sometimes called the Western trail), to Wyoming, trailing Longhorn cattle. Many of those cowboys settled in Wyoming and Montana.
“If memory serves, there is a historical marker along the highway between Lusk and Newcastle which commemorates the cattle trails mentioned.”
Heal Up And Hair Over
Dave Reetz of Powell reflected on a recent column I wrote about advice for newcomers:
“When I chaired the board for the Wyoming Humanities Council, we published the book ‘Heal Up and Hair Over,’ A Wyoming Civility Reader based on that quote. I still have a small supply of this booklet and the earlier book you mentioned in your article "WELCOME TO WYOMING, A GUIDE FOR NEWCOMERS,” and give them out sparingly when I can.
“I only have a few remaining on my shelf. Wish we could find a way to make our great citizens aware of their existence. Hopefully they are in all our libraries as I think we made sure of that when published. Even better we should update the WELCOME TO WYOMING booklet and put it on-line and in prominent websites.
“I loved what Pinedale's John Perry Barlow once said, ‘Make sure after some bad run-in with another Wyomingite, you ‘heal up and hair over’ because someday you'll be stuck in a snow drift on Shirley Rim and, sure in hell, the first guy to come along will be same guy.’”
All Worn Out
Ben Freedman of Lander offered the following after reading my columns about visiting lakes and reservoirs around western Wyoming:
“Your speedy trip visiting all of the lake and reservoirs probably didn’t allow time to visit any of the visitor centers but had you had the time to visit the Buffalo Bill visitor center you would have seen the Nalls Collection. My grandfather, Stuart Nalls, was the superintendent for the construction of the Buffalo Bill dam. My mom, Betty Freedman, donated her collection of photos taken during the dam’s construction and are on display in the visitor center.”
Ben also reminded us with this gem: “Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, 'Wow! What a ride!'".
The quote encourages a life lived to its fullest, embracing challenges and experiences rather than seeking a safe or uneventful end.
Cheyenne Bell Ringer
John Waggener of Laramie liked my story about the ancient bell ringers in the old Wyoming ghost town and offer this version:
“I heard another bell story out of Cheyenne. I don’t recall all the details but apparently, in Cheyenne’s early years, there was a bell on the military base. The bell ringer would walk by the local jewelry story where there was a clock out front. The bell ringer would walk by the clock every day to check the time to ensure he would ring the bell exactly at noon.
One day the bell ringer asked the jeweler how he kept his clock so accurate. The jeweler said, “Oh, I just listen for the noon bell to ring on the base and then check my clock to ensure the time is accurate.”
Dewey Vanderhoff of Cody offered some laments after my stories about my quick visits to Yellowstone National Park in August:
“On the subject of things that have changed, how could you not mention the addition of Asian squat toilet outhouses at some of the pullouts? We've laughed our asses off watching white honky flatlanders from mid-America try to interact with those using their naive duffs and limited worldliness.
“I quit going to Yellowstone at all between early June and early September in recent years. I can't stand the crowds. Very disheartening these days.
Yellowstone From Horseback
Vanderhoff continues: “I yearn for those days in the 1970's and 80's when we saw Yellowstone from horseback on backcountry routes, rarely encountering anyone. Even a few backpack treks and one good long XC ski camperoo in January to some hot pools.
“In my youth in the late 1950's - early 1960's we had prototype snowmobiles way before they were available to the public fun pigs (thanks to the executive from Bombardier who was a family friend and used us for crash test dummies). There was nobody that said my dad and uncles and Elks Club gang members couldn't have races and run all over the country. Guilty.
“But horseback was always the best. Maybe encounter five people on park trails in 10 days, give or take. There were always outfitters and pack trips in the Thorofare and surrounds outside the Park.
“All those 5 million motorized visitors to YNP and 99.9 percent experience only two percent of the Park, always within two spits of the asphalt or else from semi-plastic boardwalks with too many regulatory signs. Never a fearful grizzly encounter in the BBS Era (Before Bear Spray) either.
“Different story in the high-country hunting camps just outside the Park, when meat on the hoof was the coin of the realm. Bears galore, but still no injuries or mortalities if you kept your wits. Those were the days. Jim Bridger's Yellowstone one step removed.”
Bill Sniffin can be reached at: Bill@CowboyStateDaily.com
