Despite it being the home state of one of the most hated and (in my opinion) evil Vice Presidents of the United States, ever, Dick Cheney (otherwise known as Darth Vader), the state of Wyoming is one of the places in the United States that I would love to visit for its incredible beauty and its amazing emptiness (next to Cabot Cove, Maine, of course). Hey, maybe one day when I’m rich I'll make the trip and enjoy these sights for myself....
The Cowboy State in the Rocky Mountains in the West of the
country has a population of just over half a million, and an area of more than 250,000 sq km. Its capital is Cheyenne, legendary town from all those cowboy movies, and other famous names include Laramie...... Just writing about it makes me think of cowboy stories and films from my boyhood.....
Great swathes of the state are owned by the Federal Government; some of the continent’s most spectacular scenery including Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. The state is home to the Native American nations of Crow, Arapaho, Lakota, and Shoshone.
My mate, and our “Letter from America” guy on Munguin’s Republic sent me some fantastic photos as mementos of his trip to the state, and I thought that a brief escape from politics might be just what the doctor ordered........ so enjoy the photos.
Pics:: Snake Rive, Grand Teton, and Yellowstone Falls. Awesome! And they are for real too!
The Cowboy State in the Rocky Mountains in the West of the
country has a population of just over half a million, and an area of more than 250,000 sq km. Its capital is Cheyenne, legendary town from all those cowboy movies, and other famous names include Laramie...... Just writing about it makes me think of cowboy stories and films from my boyhood.....Great swathes of the state are owned by the Federal Government; some of the continent’s most spectacular scenery including Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. The state is home to the Native American nations of Crow, Arapaho, Lakota, and Shoshone.
My mate, and our “Letter from America” guy on Munguin’s Republic sent me some fantastic photos as mementos of his trip to the state, and I thought that a brief escape from politics might be just what the doctor ordered........ so enjoy the photos.
Pics:: Snake Rive, Grand Teton, and Yellowstone Falls. Awesome! And they are for real too!
Speaking of Hollywood cowboy films. A classic Alan Ladd film from 1953 is "Shane." It was filmed entirely in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, along the east face of the Grand Teton Range (first picture). I always watch it when it's on television....if only for the great scenery.
ReplyDeleteYes, we can thank Wyoming for Dick Cheney's entrance into elective politics.....and for his college education. After flunking out of Yale, he earned degrees at the University of Wyoming at Laramie.
I'm still trying to forgive Wyoming for giving us Vice President Vader.
I read the book Shane, Danny, but I haven't seen the film. Yet. I will now.
ReplyDeleteIt's a beautiful place and thanks for sharing it.
I just have to forget Vader came from there. What did he do his degree in... steer lassoing?
Its a very beautiful place indeed, wish I were there!
ReplyDeleteIs one of those mountains the one in the Paramount logo?
ReplyDeleteMunguin....There seems to be no solid agreement on what particular mountain, if any, constitutes the Paramount logo. It was originally sketched by Paramount's founder, William wadsworth Hodkinson. The legend is that he may have patterned it after mountains he saw in his youth in Utah. Mount Ben Lomond in Utah's Wasatch Range is a specific possibility. As a landmark in the area, Hodkinson may have been thinking of Ben Lomond when he first drew Paramount's generic mountain.
ReplyDeleteBut looking at "Shane" clips on YouTube, I see that the Paramount logo on the picture is a fitting introduction to the Jackson Hole/Teton Range location.
The highest mountain in the Teton Range is "Grand Teton" at 13,775 feet. Since it rises as a sheer face out of the floor of Jackson Hole at about 6,500 feet, it's a breathtaking view.
Tris....In a college town named Laramie, just west of Cheyenne, a cowboy curriculum may have been available to the young Cheney.....LOL.
ReplyDeleteThe important thing for him of course was to keep his student draft deferment and avoid the Vietnam War.
PS...Munguin.....Utah's Mount Ben Lomond was named after Ben Lomond in the Scottish Highlands which it was thought to resemble.
ReplyDeleteThey made us many promises, more than I can remember, but they never kept but one; they promised to take out land, and they did.
ReplyDelete-Mahpiua Luta (Red Cloud), Oglala Lakota
Makes out mountains look like wee hills Danny.
ReplyDeleteYes Niko. That's the kind of promises they kept. The rest were easily forgotten. But they were consistent, you can say that for them. They did it the world over.
BTW Danny. I thought it was rich. Both Bush and Cheney managed to dodge military service (of any meaning) and sent hundreds of thousands of young American lads to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan. Nice one.
ReplyDeleteYou got it right about Dick Cheney Tris. He avoided military service, but happily sent young men off to war. When he was Secretary of Defense during the elder Bush's administration, he was questioned about his lack of military service during the Vietnam War. He is quoted as saying "I had other priorities in the 60s than military service."
ReplyDeleteBut to give the devil his due.....he DOES have some experience with shooting people using firearms.....LOL.
I expect that his priorities involved making money Danny.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, I'd rather be poor and have my principles than have his money and his principles.
I'd certainly not care much for having him as a friend, especially if he invited me out shooting.