Category Archives: Nature

Goodbye, Beautiful Fall

29 Saturday Oct 2022

Posted by in Blog, Events, Nature, nostalgia, Places, Wyoming

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We were gifted with an absolutely gorgeous fall this year – and it didn’t seem to want to go away, which was fine with us.  The pumpkin patches were beautiful, combined with an array of colorful and oddly shaped squash, delicious apples, corn shocks, and fields of bailed hay – always very photogenic.  I am a sucker for old wooden wagons, antique tractors, and hayrides to complete the picture. 

But it is winter now, 14 degrees last night with snow on the ground.  We have everything as ready as it can be for the four feet (or more) of snow that comes our way and keeps us company until July.  Well, maybe not quite that long.

For those of you that love playing in the snow, this may be a good winter for it, if the predictions I’ve read are accurate.  I’ll just take pictures of it.

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© Copyright 2013 Life in the Loony Lane | June Johnston. All Rights Reserved
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Crazy Woman Creek – The Story of a Heartbroken Woman

20 Wednesday Sep 2017

Posted by in Blog, Events, History, Nature, Places, Wyoming

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Twelve miles from Buffalo, Wyoming, you can step back in time and feel the presence of a woman gone mad.  Wyoming has never been an easy place to live – you have to really want to be here, but at the beginning – when this wonderful chunk of real estate was not yet a territory – things were much more difficult. 

There are a number of stories as to how the name Crazy Woman Creek, Crazy Woman Canyon, and Crazy Woman Battlefield, came to be – the name alone conjures up visions of horror

One of the most valid stories seems to be that during the era when whites traded Indians for their furs, a misunderstanding led to some Indians scalping a white man right in front of his bride (also white). Her blood-curdling cry was so horrifying that the Indians were afraid of harming her.

She, no doubt, had the same dream most of us have – a future- with her husband, children, a warm, loving home, only to have it shattered right in front of her eyes.  In a split-second, all of that was taken from her.

She wandered the hills alone the rest of her life, never finding her sanity again.  Often she was sighted and fed by various mountain men, only to disappear once more.  One kindly gentleman built her a cabin and she was eventually found dead there, apparently of starvation, years later. 

If you listen carefully, while winding your way through that hauntingly beautiful canyon, you may hear the maniacal cry of a distraught, heart-broken woman.  The wind gently whispers its sad secrets as the creek ripples through the canyon, leaving history in its droplets. Such tragedy in the shadow of the beautiful Big Horn Mountains is beyond sad.

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Our Beautiful Grey’s River

15 Tuesday Aug 2017

Posted by in Blog, History, Nature, Places, Wyoming

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We went road-tripping’ into the  Greys River area this past Sunday.  It is such a beautiful forest.   Lot’s of nice camping spots for tents and RVs alike.  It’s known as the river with a road beside it.

IMG_9911 Greys RIver

At Alpine, a nearby town, there is a huge, beautiful lake known as the Palisades, where the convergence of Salt River, Snake river, and Grey’s flow into it.   The gorgeous Snake River Canyon goes up to Jackson Hole on the east, and northwest the highway will take you to Idaho.

John Grey, AKA, Ignace Hatchiorauguasha, a very well educated half- Iroquois, was responsible for breaking Britain’s hold on the fur trade which led to the acquisition of the Oregon Territory for America.  The river was named after him.

IMG_9874 Flowers Greys

The Greys River is about 62 miles long and starts high up in the Wyoming Range, 45 miles south of Alpine.  It is a beautiful, rushing stream that separates the Wyoming Range from the Salt River Range on the west.  If you ever have the opportunity to camp along that river you will love it.

IMG_9905 River grasses Greys

It is considered one of the best playgrounds in the area, offering superb trout fishing, canoeing, rafting, kayaking, hiking, horseback riding, and of course, abundant deer and elk for the hunters.

 

IMG_9940 Greys RIver sign - Copy jpg for blog

This post shows just a few of the abundant wildflowers in the mountain valley.  What could be better than being surrounded by mountains, some about 11,000 feet, a wonderful mountain stream, and the serenity that only that scenario can provide?

IMG_9938 FLowers on the Greys

However – if I were camping in a tent, I might choose to sleep in my car, lest an unfriendly bear pays me a visit!

 

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Vernal Equinox or Hello Spring!

20 Monday Mar 2017

Posted by in Blog, Nature, Places, Snow, Weather, Winter, Wyoming

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This is why 9/12 pitch and 100# snow load is required here. We’re happy to say goodbye to winter!  Our driveway is now almost clear and most of the yard has a foot or less of snow left.    We haven’t had it nearly as bad as some parts of the country, though.  We moved in here April 21, 2007, and it snowed the day before, so we really can’t count on winter being over – I have seen it snow in Wyoming the middle of June!  Seriously.

Local meteorologists say that we received 200 inches of snow this winter, 160 is usual,  however, history shows that we received around 300″ in 2007/2008.

The deer have been hungry the past few months and have feasted on my bushes frequently, especially the Blue Willows.  I hope they survive, but if they don’t that’s okay.  We’re not allowed to feed them, so if my bushes are collateral damage that’s fine.

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Tree Swallow Families

05 Sunday Jul 2015

Posted by in Birds, Blog, Humor, Nature, Places

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We have a couple of families of tree swallows that have taken up residency in bird houses in our back yard.  They are such fun to watch.  I think there is only one baby yet to leave the nests.  He appears to be afraid if height. 🙂  Last year I saw one that would come out a little ways, look down at the ground and go back inside.  Then he would repeat the action.  I figured he was thinking it sure was a long ways down to the ground.  I had to leave and by the time I got back he had apparently gathered his courage because he was gone.  Of course, his parents and siblings were hanging out on a nearby branch chiding him for all they were worth.  That was probably embarrassing.  Looks like this one is going to follow suite.

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Saying Goodbye to Summer

19 Saturday Oct 2013

Posted by in Blog, Events, Nature, Places, Wyoming

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We tangled with a deer recently so my car has been in the shop while the fall colors were at their best. I did find a few at a golf course. Wyoming transitions fast (except for winter…), and this year it seemed like a switch was flipped: one day it was still summer – the025

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013 next day it was – not! 😦

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Ready or Not – Winter’s Coming

06 Sunday Oct 2013

Posted by in Blog, Events, Jackson Hole Wyoming, Nature, Wyoming

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We went for a drive today but the colors weren’t quite as far along as we thought they would be. That’s okay. It gives us an excuse to go again next Sunday. It is so beautiful here,002

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012 and when you add the fall colors to the green and throw in a little snow it can be spectacular!

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Rainy Days and Mondays, and Tuesday’s, and …

05 Saturday Oct 2013

Posted by in Blog, Events, Humor, Nature, Places, Wyoming

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While our children were growing up we often went backpacking in the Wind River Mountains near Riverton, Wyoming. It was something we all enjoyed doing. Bob continued the tradition with our grandson.

I recall a trip they took in 1997. Shelby was 15. It was during our vegetarian phase which I hadn’t completely bought into and Shelby certainly hadn’t. When they left I fixed myself a pot of ham and beans – something I felt was much tastier with meat than without.

They hiked back about eight miles Continue reading →