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The Energy Mix: Uranium + Nuclear
STORY BY WREN STAFF
Wyoming
THE OLYMPIC SPIRIT
I admit that I am a fan of the Olympics, more a fan of the winter games but a fan, nonetheless. This year my family and I watched the fan favorites; swimming, track and field and gymnastics. But when I was traveling, I watched some of the not so traditional sports like badminton, table tennis, water polo and handball, which wasn’t what I thought it was. I even watched equestrian, which seems like it’s more about the horse as the athlete rather than the rider, but I still watched.
I did not see the opening ceremony, which I understand upset some people, but I did see several “breaking news” headlines that wasn’t breaking news at all, but still suckered me in to read a story about how someone felt about a particular Olympian’s actions, or those associated with an athlete (why people got upset that Simone Biles’ husband snapped a selfie wearing his wife’s numerous medals I’ll never know) that to me were just humans celebrating other humans and their tremendous achievements.
Here is where I’m going to sound like a grumpy old man, but during the Olympics, just like other sports, actual news and politics are a victim of social media and news outlets looking to attract clicks and viewers by over-exaggerating what someone did, didn’t do, or did or didn’t say about someone else, all of which isn’t important in the grand scheme of things.
I loved watching the competition, I loved celebrating the successes and even some of the failures. The camaraderie amongst the athletes from different countries competing against each other was admirable, and the commercials preached a togetherness that the world should embrace more than just every four years.
Maybe it’s just me but this year I got a sense that our American athletes expressed more pride in representing our country than in years past. I could be wrong, but it sure felt like it.
And yes, even though this is a “puff piece” about the Olympic spirit and pride in being an American, I would be remiss if I didn’t also acknowledge and celebrate that while the U.S. and China tied in gold medals (40 each), we smoked them in the overall medal count, 126 to 91. U.S.A.!
SHAWN TAYLOR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
DROVER IN THE SUN
PHOTO BY JENNY PIERSON PHOTOGRAPHY MOORCROFT, WYOMING
JOHN KEELING CENTENNIAL
wyobiodiversity.org
Family Units
Prairie dogs are social animals. They live in family units called coteries. The families usually consist of one male and related female animals. A coterie uses several burrow holes to enter and exit its underground den.
Innovative Builders
The mounds of soil surrounding the openings to the burrows serve as a simple form of air conditioning. Because the burrows can be 32 feet long, it is difficult to keep fresh air in the burrow. Prairie dogs pile taller mounds of soil around openings upwind and shorter mounds around openings downwind. Air moves faster at higher levels. As it flows across the taller mounds, it sucks air out of the burrow. At the mouth of the shorter mound, slower-moving air flows into the burrow. The mounds of soil also serve as a vantage point as prairie dogs keep an eye out for predators.
LITTLE WYOMING
PECULIAR PRAIRIE DOGS
Keystone Creatures
Prairie dogs are a keystone species. Other species, both plant and animal, rely on them for survival. Burrowing owls (Athene cunicularia) make nests in abandoned prairie dog burrows. Our state bird, the Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta), is among the bird species that use prairie dog colonies for nesting and foraging habitat. Amphibians and reptiles, including prairie rattlesnakes (Crotalus viridis), shelter and feed in prairie dog burrows. The endangered black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes) consumes the black-tailed prairie dog as a staple of its diet. Other predators include coyotes, bobcats, badgers, foxes and birds of prey. Prairie dogs eat the plants around their burrows. This constant trimming leads to higher nutritional quality. Grazing animals like bison and pronghorn benefit.
Two species of prairie dogs call Wyoming home. The Black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys lidovicaianus) lives primarily in eastern Wyoming, while the White-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys leucurus) is found mostly in western Wyoming.
BASIN ELECTRIC
RELIABILITY
POWER YOU CAN ALWAYS DEPEND ON
No matter the season or storm our members face, Basin Electric provides reliable and affordable electricity for our members’ homes, schools, and businesses. We’ll do everything we can to keep fans running, the lights on, and the coffee brewing.
How long have you been a lineman and at your local cooperative?
I have been in the trade for six years and am currently working on my fourth step in my apprentice program and should journey out in July or August of 2025. I have been at Garland Light & Power for all six years.
What made you want to decide to become a lineman?
I started as an equipment operator for the City of Powell right out of high school working for the Streets Department, then I transferred to the Water Department and really enjoyed the utility end of it. I had quite a few friends that were linemen and they kept pushing me that way. I kept resisting it thinking I couldn’t do it. I then went to work for the County running equipment again and my linemen buddies were still pushing me into this trade. A position came up at Garland Light & Power and I took a chance at it to change my career. I couldn’t be happier in my decision.
What is your favorite part of the position?
I enjoy not knowing what is going to happen during the day. We may have a project we are working on and then have an outage or something else pop up that you have to go and do.
Jason Fields
When did you become a fireman and what made you decide to do so?
I became a fireman in 2012 and I started out just wanting to give back to my community that I was born and raised in. I knew a lot of the past and present firemen and finally got an opportunity to be one.
Do any of the skills you have from being a fireman cross over into your job as a lineman, or is there anything you've learned in either position that has helped you in the other?
The biggest skill that crosses over is patience. In both my job and being the Assistant Chief of Powell Volunteer Fire Department is to just stay calm no matter what the call or the job is.
What are the most important qualities for someone in your position to have?
I feel patience and a cool head. Also to be able to think outside the box. And problem solving is huge. Whether you're working on the line or a full structure fire or car wreck, things change as the scenarios evolve and you have to be ready to adapt and overcome quickly and safely.
Who or what inspires you to do your job well?
My wife and two daughters and both my journeyman linemen that I work with, as well as my line superintendent. I'm very fortunate that I have some very close friends that keep pushing me and inspiring me, too.
What’s the best part about working in rural Wyoming?
Just being able to work and live and play where I was born and raised. Getting out on a job somewhere and being able to look around at the mountains and enjoy the open spaces.
Are there any tips or tricks you learned while making the transition to lineman?
Patience and slow down, don’t be in a hurry. I've been very fortunate to be able to go to different hotline schools and to go out and work with other co-ops on storm jobs and learn different ways of doing things.
Is there any part of being a lineman that surprised you or that you didn't expect?
How many different things you actually do from running different types of equipment to doing computer work, whether you're working on reclosures or regulators. There are just so many different things that you do.
What kinds of tips would you give a young person that is interested in becoming a lineman?
Do it!!! It's very much worth it!!! Go talk to some linemen at your local co-op, go talk to some apprentices and see what they have to say. Be ready to work hard and learn a lot. You can make a very comfortable living doing this job. It's a very rewarding career. It's just a great trade to get into and I wish I would have listened to the guys that were pushing me to go to this trade earlier.
THE ENERGY MIX:
Uranium + Nuclear
BY WREN STAFF
Uranium is one of the most common elements on earth and can be found in rocks all over the world. Since the 1950s, the primary use for uranium has been as fuel for nuclear power plants.
Wyoming is a leader and major contributor to nuclear power in the United States because it is the country's largest producer of uranium.
As of 2019
Uranium is a key energy resource because it can generate a large amount of energy (nuclear) with no carbon dioxide emissions. Nuclear power is generated by splitting atoms and using the heat released to create steam and spin a turbine.
Wyoming is the largest domestic producer of uranium, which can be captured in two ways: through conventional mining, which involves digging tunnels or open pits to reach the uranium ore, then crushing and grinding it into small particles, or through the in-situ process which dissolves uranium directly from porous underground ore deposits using chemical solutions, then pumping the dissolved uranium to the surface where it is then processed into yellowcake. In-situ mining is a safe and environmentally friendly process that all Wyoming uranium miners use today.
Travis Deti, Executive Director of the Wyoming Mining Association, is excited to see a resurgence in uranium production in Wyoming. “We are actually producing again,” he said. “We have been kind of idle for the last five years.”
In the 1970s, “back in the heydays,” Deti said, “we were producing about 13 million pounds annually. The industry employed about 7,000 people. And that was all produced conventionally through open pit mining.”
lbs mined.
Wyoming has approx. Wyoming is America's leader in uranium production with 173K 125 350M lbs of Uranium reserves.
Uranium operations employs approx.
people in Wyoming.
He noted that the climate change movement and push for emissions-free energy has created the resurgence for nuclear power in the United States.
“The state of Wyoming has the richest deposits of uranium in the country. We are the nation’s leading uranium producer,” he said. “We’re seeing a very bipartisan movement in Washington, D.C. toward nuclear energy. If carbon dioxide emissions really are the existential threat that we’ve been led to believe, nuclear power is the real solution. If you want reliable power, that when you flip your light switch and the light that comes on has no emissions and no greenhouse gas, it is nuclear power.”
Deti knows the importance of rural electrics being able to provide reliable power to their members.
resource because it can generate a large amount of energy with no carbon dioxide emissions.
“Even out in the middle of nowhere, that farmer or rancher out there deserves reliable power,” Deti said. “You have a right to have power. Frankly, in Wyoming, being the rural state we are, that energy is generated by coal, it’s generated by gas, and it’s going to be generated by nuclear from Wyoming uranium.”
In Wyoming, we use our natural resources “more responsibly than any other place in the world,” Deti said. “And we need to continue to do that.” He said we need to use our natural resources because the citizens in Wyoming, whether they live in Cheyenne or whether they live in rural Niobrara County, they deserve power. “And we need to be able to have a system that can get that power to them … Coal fits the bill. Nuclear fits the bill. And we need to continue to pursue that.”
Deti said, “What Wyoming needs and what this country needs, it’s not ‘all of the above’ strategy. It’s an ‘all that works’ strategy, and fossil fuels, including uranium, work.”
He noted that wind and solar simply are not as reliable as fossil fuels, and also do not carry the same tax burden. “Extraction pays the bills in Wyoming and we need to keep that mind. Revenue from our natural resources keeps the tax burden for our citizens low,” he said.
“The bottom line is, can you produce power 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days of the year? Coal and nuclear can do that.”
Breaking Ground
TerraPower is leading the charge in developing a one-of-a-kind nuclear power plant in southwest Wyoming. The company was founded by Bill Gates in 2008 with the vision to find a way to develop advanced nuclear energy to meet growing electricity needs. In June 2024 the company broke ground on its next-generation nuclear plant, Natrium, near a retired coal plant in Kemmerer, Wyoming.
commercial reactor in the state of Wyoming and one of the first advanced reactors to operate in the United States, expanding the state's already impressive energy portfolio. The entire size of the nuclear island is approximately 16 acres and the overall site area is approximately 44 acres.
Christopher Levesque, CEO of TerraPower, said they were able to move through this project at a relatively quick pace compared to other nuclear projects.
“A nuclear project is not a short one. It involves a lot of regulation and approvals,” he said.
TerraPower has been working on the design of Natrium for two or three years now with about 1,000 engineers.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) requires a construction license before they can start construction on the nuclear part of the plant, which is the reactor where the heat is made and the fuel is stored. However, they are able to start construction on the non-nuclear parts of the plant before receiving the construction license from NRC.
“Most of the plant footprint is non-nuclear,” Levesque said. “It’s the turbine island, it’s the salt storage tanks, and we can start construction on all those parts of the plant before getting the construction license, so that’s what we did in June. We started the non-nuclear construction.”
Levesque noted that they were ready to hit the ground running after the groundbreaking ceremony with Governor Gordon and Bill Gates. “Immediately after the ceremony … we're actually moving earth and working on our sodium component test facility,” he laughed.
There has been a lot of progress on the nuclear side as well. “We submitted our construction license application to the NRC in March and they accepted it formally a few weeks later,” he said. “That’s important because they deemed that it was complete.”
Levesque noted the application was a robust 3,700 pages. “That’s one of the reasons why you need such a large design team,” he said. It will take the NRC roughly two years to review it so the hope is that the application will officially be granted in 2026.
TerraPower expects to be complete with all construction in 2029, loading nuclear fuel into the reactor in 2030 when commissioning testing will start, and they expect the plant to be online and producing electricity commercially in Wyoming in 2031.
“By nuclear standards it’s a pretty quick project,” he said. “Nuclear projects have a history of lasting a lot longer.”
Neutron strikes nucleus of refined uranium atom.
Uranium splits (fissions) into lighter atoms, releasing heat and other neutrons.
Released neutrons hit other nuclei, causing chain reaction
Nuclear fission creates heat inside reactor.
Heat transfers to steam generator, where steam forms.
Steam turns turbine and generator, which converts steam into electricity
Steam routes to condenser. Cool water removes excess heat, condensing steam into water.
Water then pumps back to the steam generator for reuse.
Nuclear Power 101
Nuclear Fission How Electricity is Generated
Breaking Barriers
The name of the reactor “Natrium” actually means “sodium” in Latin, which is a nod to the fact that the reactor is cooled with liquid sodium as opposed to water. The Natrium reactor is a pool-type reactor, so there are no penetrations in the reactor vessel below the lid, which eliminates the possibility of a leak or loss of coolant accident. The design also relies on natural forces, like gravity and hot air rising, to cool the reactor if an unexpected shutdown occurs. This means the plant does not rely on power to cool itself.
“The other thing that makes Natrium so different than the 94 reactors that are running in the U.S. now is we have built-in energy storage,” Levesque said.
Storage is an important component in terms of dealing with demand changes throughout the day. Other reactors in the United States currently run 24/7 on the grid and are not able to adjust to demand changes when wind and solar are not able to provide energy.
“Coal, hydro and nuclear have been providing base load for us,” Levesque said. These current power sources manage changes in demand through peaker units, buying power from other regions, or potentially building their own storage systems like battery systems.
Natrium’s molten sodium-based reactor is expected to be safer and more efficient than a water-cooled nuclear reactor.
With a molten salt-based energy storage system that takes heat out of the reactor and stores it, Natrium will have the ability to surge power when wind and solar are not contributing to the grid.
“Now that we're adding more and more renewables and unfortunately we're losing some of that coal base load, it's stressing the grid more to where we need more of these 24/7 sources, which the Natrium does, but we need storage also so that when the sun goes in, or when there's a high demand period during the day, we can surge the output of Natrium,” he explained.
“Today's reactors don't do that. They run at the same power all the time.”
Natrium’s storage is essentially a big tank of molten salt. The fission (atoms splitting apart, releasing energy) on the reactor drives the turbine movement, unlike most of today’s nuclear plants where boiling water reactors produce steam that is piped to the turbine. After they take the heat out of the reactor, they heat up a very large tank of molten salt to store heat in.
“It's a battery really. Instead of an electrochemical battery, it's a thermal battery,” he said. “And what that lets us do is have a very large amount of energy that we can draw from when the sun goes in.”
TerraPower’s normal output is about 345 megawatts, which is enough to power roughly 400,000 homes, but when the demand increases, Natrium is able to boost power very quickly up to 500 megawatts.
Natrium Reactor At-a-Glance
Warm Water Inlet
Water Vapor
Advantages
Carbon-free electricity
Small land footprint
High power output
Reliable energy source
Disadvantages
Uranium is technically non-renewable
Very high upfront costs
Environmental impacts through mining and water discharge
Malfunctions can pose high safety risks
Wyoming Understands Energy
Levesque said there has been a great deal of support from Wyoming residents and businesses throughout the project. “People in Wyoming understand energy better than a lot of places in the country,” he said. “It’s so much easier to explain things to people because of the fossil fuel history in Wyoming and so many of the electric power projects. People understand energy.”
“Some places in the country, people don't know where the electricity comes from … so that energy literacy, that energy IQ has been really helpful to us," he said.
TerraPower researched four communities in Wyoming before ultimately choosing to land in Kemmerer, which was determined to have the greatest economic development need.
“People there were very supportive. We don't take it for granted because they're showing us a lot of trust to build an advanced nuclear plant in their town,” he said. “They're trusting us to bring economic benefits to the community.”
As far as the workforce for the project, TerraPower says it will provide around 1,500 jobs during construction and 200 when it is up and running.
Wyoming Leads Global Charge
While this project is bringing a lot of excitement to the United States, Levesque noted that the U.S. is actually behind in the global nuclear race. “Nuclear energy is a business for TerraPower, but nuclear energy is also a very geopolitically significant business and that’s why we work a lot with the government on it,” he said.
“The one [Kemmerer] plant is hugely important because the U.S and the free world countries don't have a great record for delivering new nuclear, even though Russia and China are building dozens right now. So sadly, the U.S created civil nuclear energy and we're losing the race globally in technology and that means we're competing on a world stage with Russia and China who definitely want to make nuclear a bigger part of their own generation in their countries, but they also want to export to Africa, to Indonesia, and not just for business reasons but to expand their influence around the world,” Levesque explained.
“Our vision is to have hundreds of Natrium reactors around the world to support what is a business competition and a national competition for influence,” he said.
“And that's why we work closely with the [Department of Energy]. And we have DOE funding for this project because it really is a geopolitical race,” he said. “Wyoming is a participant in something that really has national and international significance.” W
A Foal and a Boy
BY DR. BRUCE CONNALLY
“My foal ran into a fence and cut his neck. Can I bring him in to have you sew it up?”
This seemed like a pretty routine call on a sunny summer morning. Horses are flight animals by nature. Their instinct is to run away first and then check to see if there really was a danger. That works fine on the open range where hungry predators are watching for an opportunity for lunch, but not in the confined situations where we keep horses. Wire fences and wooden corrals are not visible to a running horse looking at a danger behind it.
“How bad is the injury?” our secretary, Marci, asked the caller.
“He was bleeding pretty bad, but I think we got that stopped,” the woman answered. “He cut his neck. He needs some stitches.”
“Of course,” Marci answered. “How long will it take you to get here?”
“Maybe an hour,” the lady estimated. “We live on Blue Sky Highway near Ethete.”
“Great.” Marci was writing on the schedule. “I will block an hour at 10:30 for Dr. Connally to see your foal.”
The morning was already busy. I had vaccinated two shelties, treated a cat with an abscess on the left side of his face, and performed a dental on a Yorkie where we removed three diseased teeth. At 10:00 I was scheduled to remove a torn dewclaw on a big German Shepherd dog. That surgery should be simple enough to be finished by 10:30 when the foal was supposed to come in. My original 10:30 appointment had been the final set of kitten vaccinations for a beautiful blue-pointed Persian kitten. Her owner was very gracious and allowed Marci to change the appointment to 1:30 so we could work on the injured foal.
I finished removing the dewclaw on the dog and Dianne had the surgery suite cleaned when 10:30 rolled around. No foal. Marci was busy on the phone filling appointments for the afternoon and the following morning. Two people came in to buy dog food. About 10:45 a man stopped in to see if I would be available to float his good roping horse’s teeth. We set up a time to go to his barn on Wednesday morning.
“Where is that foal?” I asked of no one in particular while I wrote the surgical report for the German Shepherd dog. “It must not be injured too badly.”
“I have a large animal surgical pack, sterile fluids to flush the wound, and suture on the stainless-steel table in the large animal room,” Dianne announced from the doorway of my office. “What anesthetics do you want?”
“Lidocaine and xylazine for now,” I answered. “Assuming the foal didn’t die and they forgot to tell us.”
A few minutes after noon an old, faded green and white Ford pickup drove into the clinic. I couldn’t see anything in the back of the truck until they backed up to the large animal overhead door. There was a twoweek-old foal lying in the back of the pickup with a twelve-year old boy cradling his head.
A woman that I assumed was the boy’s mother emerged from the passenger door. She wore her hair in a black braid nearly to her waist.
“We called,” she said, as if that was all the explanation that was needed. The man who drove the pickup was quiet. Like his wife, his hair was in a black braid. He wore a beaded belt buckle with blue and white geometric design.
“Where is that foal?” I asked of no one in particular ... “It must not be injured too badly.” “
couple minutes the vein was sutured. There was no bleeding. With the wound closed we were able to stand the foal up and evaluate him more fully. He appeared remarkably strong with little sign of blood loss. There were no injuries except the small cut right over the left jugular vein.
clinic and around to the front to pick up his wife.
“We will take him home now,” the woman said as she paid her bill. “His mother is waiting.”
“Can he stand up?” I asked, trying to evaluate the injured foal. There were no ropes or halters restraining the foal in the boy’s lap.
“Oh, yes,” the boy answered. “But if I take my finger out, he bleeds.”
I saw in amazement what the boy was talking about. He had his finger inserted into the foal’s left jugular vein. The young man’s small finger was exactly the right size to plug the vein and stanch the bleeding.
“Yes, I’ll bet he does bleed!” I responded. “You stay there and keep your finger in that vein. We are going to back the pickup into the clinic and treat your foal right where he is.”
I rode in the back of the pickup with the foal and the boy as the man backed into the clinic. Dianne handed supplies to me over the side of the truck. The foal stayed remarkably quiet as I sedated him and cleaned the wound. The young man sat quietly too, with his finger in the vein while saline and antiseptic dripped onto his leg. Dianne joined me in the pickup when we were ready to suture the vein. She occluded the jugular with pressure and the boy removed his finger. In a
When we finished our exam, the man climbed into the back of the pickup and lay the foal down with his head in the boy’s lap, just as he had been when they came in. The foal and boy were quiet as he pulled the truck out of the
We had so many unanswered questions after they left. How did this occur? How did a young boy get his finger into the jugular vein of an injured foal? Why did anyone even think of doing that? Why did that foal lay quietly in the back of an open pickup with the boy? Why did the family think such a dangerous situation was appropriate? None of those questions were answered because we never saw that family again. I have sutured several lacerated jugular veins since then with good success so probably the foal survived. But there are still so many questions. W
Dr. Bruce Connally practices equine medicine in central Wyoming and northern Colorado from his home in Berthoud, Colorado.
SOUTHWESTERN STAR DIP
2 CUPS SHARP CHEDDAR CHEESE, SHREDDED
1 CUP MAYONNAISE
1 4.5 OZ CAN CHOPPED OLIVES, DRAINED AND DIVIDED
1 4.5 OZ CAN CHOPPED GREEN CHILIES, DON’T DRAIN
¼ TSP GARLIC POWDER TSP TABASCO
1 MEDIUM TOMATO, CHOPPED
¼ CUP GREEN ONION, CHOPPED TORTILLA CHIPS OR RITZ TYPE CRACKERS
Combine cheese, mayonnaise, 1/3-can olives, chilies and Tabasco. Stir and mix well.
Put in 9" pie plate and bake at 350° for 20 minutes.
Sprinkle chopped tomato, remaining chopped olives and chopped green onion on top as a garnish. Serve warm.
KAYE WILSON LYMAN
FIESTA RANCH SHRIMP DIP
1 4 OZ CAN TINY SHRIMP (DRAIN AND SAVE THE JUICE!)
8 OZ CREAM CHEESE, ROOM TEMPERATURE
8 OZ SOUR CREAM
¼ CUP RED BELL PEPPER, FINELY CHOPPED
1 ½ TO 2 TBS FIESTA RANCH DRESSING/DIP MIX (SEE NOTE)
Blend cream cheese, sour cream and dip mix until smooth. Use reserved shrimp juice to thin, if needed. Gently fold in bell pepper and shrimp, as shrimp falls apart easily. Chill completely. Serve with crackers and veggies.
Note: The dip mix packet contains about 3-4 tbs, so it makes 2 batches if you use the lesser amounts. I find the flavor is much better if you add the shrimp juice to thin it and let it rest overnight in the fridge. It’s easy to make ahead and popular at get-togethers.
LOU ANN VARLEY POINT OF ROCKS
SPICY PEACH DIP
2 8 OZ PACKAGES OF CREAM CHEESE, SOFTENED 1-2 TSP CAYENNE PEPPER
1 JALAPENO, SEEDED AND CHOPPED FINE ABOUT 10-12 OZ PEACH JAM (APRICOT JAM GOOD ALSO)
Mix all ingredients together. Chill. Serve with pretzels, chips or crackers.
Yields 4-6 servings
FRANCES MOSHER CHEYENNE
CASSEROLES
Better than cannabis, better than CBD
New Joint-Supporting “Miracle Oil” Capsule Delivers Hip, Knee, and Shoulder Comfort in Just Days
Thousands of Americans are rediscovering normal freedom of movement thanks to a “miracle oil” capsule that’s outperforming hemp in promoting joint comfort.
According to the official figures from the CDC, more than 58 million Americans are living with joint discomfort. This epidemic has led to a search for alternative approaches – as many sufferers seek relief without the harmful side effects of conventional “solutions.”
Anti-aging specialist Dr. Al Sears is leading the way with a new formula he calls “the most significant breakthrough I’ve ever found for easing joint discomfort.”
The capsule is based on a “miracle oil” historically treasured for its joint healthsupporting properties. Marco Polo prized it as he blazed the Silk Road. And to this day, Ayurvedic practitioners rely on it to promote optimal joint health.
Now, with a modern twist backed by science, Dr. Sears is making this natural solution for joint health available to the public.
Your Body’s Hidden “Soothing System”
Joint health research changed forever with the discovery of the endocannabinoid system (ECS) in 1992. Up until that point, research on cannabinoids focused on psychoactive effects. Now, scientists were looking at a new way to fight occasional aches and pains.
Your ECS serves as a central “signaling system” that tells your body how to react to things you do every day. It controls several critical bodily functions such as learning and memory, sleep, healthy immune responses –and your response to discomfort.
A recent study revealed a direct link between the ECS and creaky, sore joints. Researchers at the University of Edinburgh studied the aging of mice with endocannabinoid deficiencies versus “normal” mice.
As they aged, the deficient mice had a whopping 60% more joint degeneration than the mice with a healthy ECS.
As the name suggests, the ECS responds to cannabis. At the time it was discovered, scientists assumed that was the best way to support it. But thanks to Dr. Sears’ all-natural solution, you can power up your ECS without marijuana.
“Calling it the ‘endocannabinoid system’ was a misnomer from the very beginning,” Dr. Sears explained. “Modern research reveals that you don’t need cannabis to activate this incredible system. You don’t need to ‘get high’ to get joint relief.”
A scholarly review found that plants and herbs that don’t produce mind-altering effects can support the ECS and help it maintain its healthy functions.
The active ingredient in Mobilify soothes
This includes common foodstuffs, such as kava, chocolate, black pepper, and most significantly – the star ingredient to Dr. Sears’ own Mobilify formula - frankincense.
Modern scientists say this natural ingredient meets “cannabinoid tetrad” – the signs used to determine if something supports the ECS. While it doesn’t produce a “high” like cannabis does, it binds to the same receptors to support a healthy response to discomfort.
All the Benefits of CBD –Without Cannabis
Indian frankincense, the chief ingredient in Mobilify, has been shown to provide all the benefits of cannabis without any feelings of sluggishness or sleepiness.
And studies show that users don’t have to wait long for the comfort they’re looking for.
In a study published in the International Journal of Medical Sciences, 60 patients with stiff knees took 100 mg of Indian frankincense or a placebo daily for 30 days. Remarkably, Indian frankincense “significantly” supported healthy joint function and relieved discomfort in as little as five days.
Additional research linked regular use to lasting comfort.
In another study, 48 participants were given an extract made from frankincense for 120days. When the results came in, researchers determined the extract strongly supported joint comfort – especially in the knees.
These results were all achieved without marijuana. Research continues to back up the idea that you can support smooth, strong, and healthy joints naturally – without tiredness or sluggishness.
Get Moving Again with Mobilify Mobilify has already helped thousands of Americans stay on their feet and breeze through their daily activities with ease.
aching
joints in as little as 5 days
One user even reported getting results the same day it was used.
“Mobilify really helps with soreness, stiffness, and mild temporary discomfort,” Joni D. said.
Larry M, another user, compared taking Mobilify to living a completely new life.
“After a week and a half of taking Mobilify, the discomfort, stiffness, and minor aches went away…it’s almost like being reborn,” he said.
Dennis H. said it helped him get back to his favorite hobby.
“I can attest to Mobilify easing discomfort to enable me to pursue my golfing days. Definitely one pill that works for me out of the many I have tried,” he said.
How to Get Mobilify
Right now, the only way to get this powerful, unique Mobilify formula that clobbers creaking joints without clobbering you is directly from Dr. Sears. It is not available in stores.
To secure your bottle of this breakthrough natural joint discomfort reliever, buyers should call with Sears Health Hotline at 1-800-2560638. “The Hotline allows us to ship the product directly to customers.”
Dr. Sears believes in this product so much, he offers a 100% money-back guarantee on every order. “Just send me back the bottle and any unused product within 90 days, and I’ll send you your money back,” said Dr. Sears.
The Hotline will be taking orders for the next 48 hours. After that, the phone number may be shut down to allow them to restock. Call 1-800-256-0638 to secure your limited supply of Mobilify. If you are not able to get through due to extremely high call volume, please try again! Call NOW to qualify for a significant discount on this limited time offer. To take advantage of this exclusive offer use Promo Code: MBWREN824 when you call.
OLYMPICS TRIATHLON
BY DIXIE LIRA
EVENT ONE: CRYPTIC COMPETITION
Each letter has been replaced with a symbol. Solve the key and decode the Summer Olympic sports below.
EVENT THREE: KEEP THE FLAG FLYING
Only five countries have participated in every Summer Olympic Games. Can you identify their flags below and color them appropriately?
EVENT TWO: SUM(MER) GAMES
Place the numbers 1 to 9 in the nine regions so that each of the five circles add up to 14.
A Model Cowboy
BY ELISA SHERMAN
A son of Wyoming ranchers, Alva Miller’s career as a cowboy came naturally, but it was his courage that kept him in the saddle, and his dogged determination that made him a superb horseman. Not that he would have called himself that.
Legacy isn’t something Alva Miller spent time thinking about. Born on a homestead southeast of Chugwater, Alva rarely spoke about himself. His son, Keith, daughter, Lorene, and son-in-law, Dan, shared some stories about Alva that reveal how extraordinary his life was.
“Alva wasn’t afraid of anything,” Dan said. As a 9-year-old boy, Alva and his 15-yearold sister, Georgia, were hired to take teams of horses to sheep camps and move sheep wagons to new grazing areas. Their dad, Bert, purchased groups of unbroken horses for their ranch every year which honed Alva’s skill as a horseman. By the time he went to work at Diamond Ranch in Albany County, he was so skilled, the ranch owner, Mrs. Overmier, had him train polo ponies. “He was always riding young horses and could make them rein quickly,” Keith said.
At Diamond Ranch, Alva met his wife, Faye. Ultimately, Alva ran cattle of his own, putting into practice his livestock management experience. Not that it made things easy. Keith remembers his dad loading a Gelbvieh Bull. “He pulled the truck up to the barn door and rode around to the back to push the bull onto the pickup. He was on [his horse] Ginger trying to load the bull when he called out to me to get the hot shot and the next thing we knew,
Dad and Ginger came crashing through the wall of the barn!”
Alva may have gone through a wall but he didn’t want his kids to be scared of horses. He taught them to ride on a horse named Star. Keith said Star was an outlaw who always bucked with adults, and who never liked to be doubled up.
“Dad would sneak up and jump up on the horse when I was riding him and Star would go bucking,” Lorene said with a chuckle. After Keith and Lorene learned how to handle a bucking horse, Alva used Star to teach other kids to ride.
“He had a great hand with a horse. And fast. Alva always beat everybody back to the corral. He was a good cowboy,” Dan said, adding that he once saw Alva drag a bull across a fence.
When electricity came through the Wheatland Rural Electric Association, Alva wired Dan’s family home for them. Always resourceful, Alva became an electrician. When Keith was a teenager, Alva wired the milk house so Keith could have a room of
Alva Miller modeling hats for WRO.
Alva Miller and his kids doctoring a calf.
his own. Keith was told to turn off the transformer switch located on a central pole. He switched it off, went back inside, saw his dad on an aluminum ladder with a wire in each hand and said, “Should I turn off the power now?” to which Alva replied, “Damn well better be off.”
A man of few words, Alva did tell a story about roping coyotes. Alva’s dad had Russian wolf hounds. On Sunday afternoons, Alva and his brothers would let the dogs loose to rustle up the coyotes, then the boys would give chase. Alva said the trick was to throw a rope at their backend so they’d duck back and get caught. The real trick was to keep the coyotes from getting underneath the horses!
trail and the elk was charging. Alva shot him and then shot him again. Alva’s first shot to the neck killed the bull.
“Why’d you hit him again?” Keith asked.
“His eyes were moving,” Alva said.
For a man of few stories, there are so many about him. The picture of Alva in the cowboy hat was taken for Western Ranchman Outfitters in Cheyenne. Run by Saul Bernstein, Saul’s policy was that the first person in the store didn’t walk out without buying something. “My dad, uncle and grandpa would leave early so they could be first. One day, my dad wanted a new hat and he kept dickering over the price with Saul until Saul said he’d give Alva the hat if Alva agreed to model some hats for him,” Keith explained. A model cowboy modeling a hat—looks like Saul got his money’s worth. W
Keith said Alva had a sense about horses. Alva would say, “Be a jump ahead of them.” Not only did Alva train polo and race horses, he understood how to train chariot teams. “Once you hitch them up—don’t try to stop them,” Alva advised. And he didn’t. He’d have them running to the starting line and they’d just keep going.
Alva’s favorite horse was Pronto. Keith said that riding Pronto was like “dancing on air”—too fast for him but his dad loved it. He loved riding fast and he loved to hunt, especially just north of Iron Mountain, no matter the weather. “He could see through the fog,” Keith said, recalling a fog so thick Keith could hardly see the ears of his horse, but Alva could still make out the gate.
Dan and Keith remembered elk hunting with Alva after he had a series of strokes, which left him paralyzed on his right side. They were after a bull elk. Alva was riding a horse named Buck on trails through buckbrush when he came within 50 yards of the bull. He pulled out his gun with his left hand and slid off Buck. When Dan and Keith saw Alva, he was standing in the
In memory of Alva Miller
June 12, 1917—September 17, 1976
Elisa Sherman is a contributing writer based in Fort Collins with close ties to people and places in Wyoming.
Alva Miller driving four-up on breaking wagon.
Alva and Faye's wedding photo.
There’s
Taking a Break Jessie Shannon, Shell
Catch Me If You Can! Heather McLaughlin, Upton
Sunrise and Boris Bernice Borland, Gillette
Best Helpers
Jeanie Schlautmann, Gillette
Ready for a Ride
Christy Biscoff, Lovell
Water Dogs
Tashala Luraas, Gillette
Who Needs a 5 Second Rule, When You Have 2 Second Dogs?
Mike Frolander, Sundance
Snow Fun
Sandra Price, Wheatland
Harper
Rebecca Stoddard, Sundance
Sandy Pokorney, Gillette
It’s Behind Me, Isn’t It?
Jennifer Pierson, Moorcroft
Good Day
a
Trudy Craft, Basin
Puppy Eyes
Tina Fish, Aladdin
Feeling Groovy
Melody Posey-Harris, Saratoga
Popular CoQ10 Pills Leave Millions Suffering
Could this newly-discovered brain fuel solve America’s worsening memory crisis?
PALM BEACH, FLORIDA — Millions of Americans take the supplement known as CoQ10. It’s the coenzyme that supercharges the “energy factories” in your cells known as mitochondria. But there’s a serious flaw that’s leaving millions unsatisfied.
As you age, your mitochondria break down and fail to produce energy. In a revealing study, a team of researchers showed that 95 percent of the mitochondria in a 90-year-old man were damaged, compared to almost no damage in the mitochondria of a 5-year-old.
Taking CoQ10 alone is not enough to solve this problem. Because as powerful as CoQ10 is, there’s one critical thing it fails to do: it can’t create new mitochondria to replace the ones you lost.
And that’s bad news for Americans all over the country. The loss of cellular energy is a problem for the memory concerns people face as they get older.
“We had no way of replacing lost mitochondria until a recent discovery changed everything,” says Dr. Al Sears, founder and medical director of the Sears Institute for Anti-Aging Medicine in Palm Beach, Florida. “Researchers discovered the only nutrient known to modern science that has the power to trigger the growth of new mitochondria.”
Why Taking CoQ10 is Not Enough
Dr. Sears explains, “This new discovery is so powerful, it can multiply your mitochondria by 55 percent in just a few weeks. That’s the equivalent of restoring decades of lost brain power.”
This exciting nutrient — called PQQ (pyrroloquinoline quinone) — is the driving force behind a revolution in aging. When paired with CoQ10, this dynamic duo has the power to reverse the agerelated memory losses you may have thought were beyond your control.
Dr. Sears pioneered a new formula — called Ultra Accel Q — that combines both CoQ10 and PQQ to support maximum cellular energy and the normal growth of new mitochondria. Ultra Accel Q is the first of its kind to address both problems and is already creating huge demand.
In fact, demand has been so overwhelming that inventories repeatedly sell out. But a closer look at Ultra Accel Q reveals there are good reasons why sales are booming.
Science Confirms the Many Benefits of PQQ
The medical journal Biochemical
Pharmacology reports that PQQ is up to 5,000 times more efficient in sustaining energy production than common antioxidants. With the ability to keep every cell in your body operating at full strength, Ultra Accel Q delivers more than just added brain power and a faster memory.
People feel more energetic, more alert, and don’t need naps in the afternoon. The boost in cellular energy generates more power to your heart, lungs, muscles, and more.
“With the PQQ in Ultra Accel, I have energy I never thought possible at my age,” says Colleen R., one of Dr. Sears’s patients. “I’m in my 70s but feel 40 again. I think clearly, move with real energy and sleep like a baby.”
The response has been overwhelmingly positive, and Dr. Sears receives countless emails from his patients and readers. “My patients tell me they feel better than they have in years. This is ideal for people who are feeling old and run down, or for those who feel more forgetful. It surprises many that you can add healthy and productive years to your life simply by taking Ultra Accel Q every day.”
You may have seen Dr. Sears on television or read one of his 12 best-selling books. Or you may have seen him speak at the 2016 WPBF 25 Health and Wellness Festival in South Florida, featuring Dr. Oz and special guest Suzanne Somers. Thousands of people attended Dr. Sears’s lecture on anti-aging breakthroughs and waited in line for hours during his book signing at the event.
Will Ultra Accel Q Multiply Your Energy?
Ultra Accel Q is turning everything we thought we knew about youthful energy on its head. Especially for people over age 50. In less than 30 seconds every morning, you can harness the power of this breakthrough discovery to restore peak energy and your “spark for life.”
So, if you’ve noticed less energy as you’ve gotten older, and you want an easy way to reclaim your youthful edge, this new opportunity will feel like blessed relief.
The secret is the “energy multiplying” molecule that activates a dormant gene in your body that declines with age, which then instructs your cells to pump out fresh energy from the inside-out. This growth of new “energy factories” in your cells is called mitochondrial biogenesis.
MEMORY-BUILDING SENSATION:
Top doctors are now recommending new Ultra Accel Q because it restores decades of lost brain power without a doctor’s visit.
Instead of falling victim to that afternoon slump, you enjoy sharp-as-a-tack focus, memory, and concentration from sunup to sundown. And you get more done in a day than most do in a week. Regardless of how exhausting the world is now.
Dr. Sears reports, “The most rewarding aspect of practicing medicine is watching my patients get the joy back in their lives. Ultra Accel Q sends a wake-up call to every cell in their bodies… And they actually feel young again.”
And his patients agree. “I noticed a difference within a few days,” says Jerry from Ft. Pierce, Florida. “My endurance has almost doubled, and I feel it mentally, too. There’s a clarity and sense of wellbeing in my life that I’ve never experienced before.”
How To Get Ultra Accel Q
This is the official nationwide release of Ultra Accel Q in the United States. And so, the company is offering a special discount supply to anyone who calls during the official launch.
An Order Hotline has been set up for local readers to call. This gives everyone an equal chance to try Ultra Accel Q. And your order is backed up by a no-hassle, 90day money back guarantee. No questions asked.
The discount offer will be available for a limited time only. All you have to do is call TOLL FREE 1-800-998-3491 right now and use promo code UAQWREN824 to secure your own supply.
Important: Due to Ultra Accel Q recent media exposure, phone lines are often busy. If you call and do not immediately get through, please be patient and call back.
FEATURED EVENT
QUILT SHOW
TORRINGTON
SEPT. 20-21 10AM-5PM SEPT. 22 11AM-3PM
Quilts, vendors, demos, hand-made items for sale, food trucks and special display of quilts made for deployed National Guard families. Sponsored by Goshen County Quilters and Sew Addicting Quilt Shop.
Location: Rendezvous Center, Goshen County Fairgrounds
Info: 307-640-4002
01 | SOUTHEAST
CENTENNIAL
THURSDAY-MONDAY
Nici Self Historical Museum: 12-4pm. Explore museum grounds and exhibits. Free. Info: niciselfmuseum.com.
CHEYENNE
SEPTEMBER 6
Hell on Wheels Rodeo and Chuck Wagon Dinner: 5-7pm. Laramie County Fair Rodeo Arena. Doors open at 5, dinner at 5:30, rodeo at 7pm. Features an open rodeo format so anyone can pay the entry fee and compete in nine different rodeo events. Entry closes the Monday before each rodeo. VIP Ticket $80, Youth VIP $70, Chuck Wagon Dinner and Rodeo Ticket $60, Youth Chuck Wagon and Rodeo Ticket $55, Rodeo Only Ticket $25, Youth Rodeo Only Ticket $20. Info: Jim Walter, 307-772-7250, jim@cheyenne.org, cheyenne.org.
CHUGWATER
THURSDAYS
Acoustic Jam Session: Stampede Saloon & Eatery music venue open for jam sessions. Info: 307-422-3200, stampedefun@aol.com.
ONGOING
Live Music: Stampede Saloon & Eatery. Weekend performances. Info: 307-422-3200, stampedefun@aol.com.
ENCAMPMENT
TUESDAYS-SATURDAYS
Grand Encampment Museum: 10am-4pm. Main Gallery and GEM store open. Info: 307-327-5308.
MEDICINE BOW
ONGOING
Museum and Gift Shop: Open 8:30am-4:30pm. 405 Lincoln Highway. Info: 307-379-2383.
WRIGHT
SEPTEMBER 28
Hunter/Rancher Chili Cook-Off Competition: 5-9pm. 201 Wright Blvd. Live gun auctions and silent auctions. Suggested donation of $10 per person or $30 per family.
02 | NORTHEAST
BUFFALO
THURSDAYS
Bluegrass Jam Session: 6:30pm. Occidental Saloon. Free. Info: 307-684-0451.
GILLETTE
THROUGH DECEMBER 2024
Hurrah for the Cowboy: Men of the Open Range: Campbell County Rockpile Museum. The traveling exhibit includes vintage engravings (1867-1911) depicting the North American cowboy – the most romanticized figure in American history – as seen by contemporary artists such as Frederic Remington, Charles Russell, Maynard Dixon and many other notable artists. Curated by Lee Silliman, Hurrah for the Cowboy has appeared in museums across Montana, Colorado and Wyoming. Info: 307-682-5723, RockpileMuseum. com or facebook.com/RockpileMuseum.
THIRD WEEK OF EVERY MONTH
Open Mic Nite: 6-9pm. Thu. or Fri. depending on the schedule. Frontier Auto Museum. Free. All musicians are welcome. We supply the stage, mic and speakers. Bring your voice and/or instrument for an enjoyable evening under the neon lights. Upcoming dates will be posted on facebook.com/frontierauto. Info: Ryan Swanson, 307-686-5667, relics@frontierauto.net.
ONGOING
Ava Community Art Center: Exhibits and workshops. Info: 307-682-9133, avacenter.org.
HULETT
SEPTEMBER 20-22
4th Annual Quilt Show: 9am-4pm on 20th, 12-4pm on 21st and 22nd. Hulett Museum. A sprinkling of historic and modern quilts will be on display. Free. Info: 307-467-5292, hulettmuseum@gmail.com.
MONDAY-FRIDAY
Senior Exercise Class: 9-10am. Hulett Library. Info: 307-467-5743.
ONGOING
Hulett Museum and Art Gallery: Mon.-Fri. 9am-5pm. Sat. 12-4pm. Free. Info: 307-467-5292.
MOORCROFT
SEPTEMBER 14
Heritage Round Up: West Texas Trail Museum. Pitchfork Steak Fondue Dinner. Live Music/ Dancing/Auctions. Info: 307-756-9300.
MONDAY-FRIDAY
West Texas Trail Museum: 9am-5pm. Info: 307-756-9300.
WEDNESDAYS
Moorcroft Branch Library Activities: 10am storytime, 4pm afterschool craft, 7pm AA meetings. Please use the downstairs entrance. Info: 307756-3232.
THIRD THURSDAY OF MONTH
Adult Book Club: 1pm. Moorcroft Branch Library. New book each month. Stop by the library for your copy. Info: 307-756-3232.
ONGOING
Senior Center Events: 9am coffee and rolls on Wednesdays. 9am toenail clinic and 6pm dinner every fourth Thursday. Info: 307-756-9550.
NEWCASTLE
THIRD SATURDAYS
Weston County Democrats: 2pm. Weston County Library. Info: 307-941-1822, weston.wyodems.net.
FRIDAYS
Bingo: 7:30pm. VFW Hall. Free.
SECOND AND FOURTH
WEDNESDAYS
Gigi’s Closet: 9am-1:30pm. First United Methodist Church. Gently loved clothing available for babies to adults. Info: 307-746-4119.
SHERIDAN
SEPTEMBER 1-2
Don King Days: BH Equestrian Center. Capture the spirit and traditions of the west with live music, polo, steer roping and bronc riding. Free. Info: 307-673-0454.
SEPTEMBER 6-8
Flying Cowboys Annual Fly-In: 90 Keystone Rd. Pilots from five states with 200 remote-powered planes for display and flight from dawn to dusk! Info: 307-763-1467.
SEPTEMBER 7
Rooted in Wyoming Grow Local, Eat Local Food Festival: 3-7pm. Bridges, 5 Lane Ln. Celebrate the local food community, with kids’ games, local food vendors, dinner by Rob Gaarde of the Brinton Bistro, and music by A Band Named Sue. $40 adults, $20 kids (12-under). Info: 307-675-2088.
SEPTEMBER 13-14
Born in a Barn Creative Sale: 10am. 415 US Hwy 14 E. The ultimate creative junk, jewelry, antique and home goods sale in the region. $5. Info: 307-752-6103.
SEPTEMBER 14
Discovery Session: Yoga Along Big Goose Creek: 9-10am. Sheridan Community Land Trust. Join Amanda Baker for a rejuvenating yoga session, featuring gentle yoga flow and grounding relaxation practice. Info: 307-673-4702.
Wine Fest: Grinnell Plaza. More than 100 wines and beers to taste, heavy hors d’oeuvres and a silent auction. Info: 307-672-8881.
SEPTEMBER 20
Living History Cemetery Tour: Civil War and World War I Veterans: 7:30am-3:30pm. Sheridan Municipal Cemetery. Meet at the cemetery gates to see actors bring local history to life for the 5th annual Living History Cemetery Tour. $30. Info: 307-752-9548.
SEPTEMBER 21
Wolf Creek Wrangle Trail Run: 7am-3pm. Eatons’ Ranch. Run the West and raise money for Habitat for Humanity! With 5 mile, 7 mile, halfmarathon and 30k trail run events. Info: 307-672-3848.
Vintage Car Show: 1-4pm. Trail End State Historic Site. Spend the afternoon viewing vintage automobiles as period music plays in the background. Info: 307-674-4589.
SEPTEMBER 28
The Mane Event Gravel Grinder: Wyarno Bar and Grill. Wyoming’s Fall Gravel Cycling Event: 25, 50 and 80 mile courses. Info: 307-763-4481.
SATURDAYS
Landon’s Farmer’s Market: Landon’s Greenhouse, 505 College Meadows Dr. Info: 307-672-8340.
SUNDANCE
FOURTH THURSDAY OF THE MONTH
Lunch Brunch Book Club: Crook County Library. Join us for an adult book discussion. Free. Info: Shannon, 307-283-1008.
WEDNESDAYS
Storytime: Public Library. Info: Tonia, 307-283-1008.
UPTON
SECOND TUESDAYS
Veteran Breakfast:
Senior Center. Free. Info: Gary Barnes, 307-468-9251.
FIRST AND THIRD WEDNESDAYS
Bingo at Senior Center: 6:30pm. $10 for 10 cards. Info: 307-468-9262.
ONGOING
Senior Center Activities: 1113 2nd St. 12pm lunch Monday-Friday for $4. Call for reservation before 9am at 307-468-2422 or 712-400-9056. 9am coffee and treats on Tuesdays. 9am exercise program every Tuesday and Friday. 5:30pm card elimination and potluck every third Monday. Info: 307-468-9262.
03 | NORTHWEST
CODY
SEPTEMBER 30
43rd Annual Buffalo Bill Art Show: Centers of the West Cody. Info: codyyellowstone.org/events/43rdannual-buffalo-bill-art-show-sale.
MONDAY-SATURDAY
Cody Country Art League Gallery: 9am-5pm. 836 Sheridan Ave. Info: 307-587-3597.
DUBOIS
THURSDAYS
Farmer’s Market: 4-6pm. Headwaters. Info: Twila Blakeman, 307-851-0785.
FRIDAYS
Family Story Time: 11:30am. Dubois Branch Library. Free. Songs, stories and crafts for ages birth to 5 years. Older siblings are welcome to join the fun. Stay and play in the Children’s Library after story time. Info: 307-455-2992.
THIRD WEDNESDAYS
Wyoming Health Fairs Monthly Wellness Screen/Blood Draw: 7:30-10am. Dubois Medical Clinic. Appointments encouraged. Info: 307-455-2516, whf.as.me/dubois.
GREYBULL
SECOND SATURDAYS
Greybull Ladies Coffee: Greybull Library. Info: 307-765-2100.
LANDER
SATURDAYS
Acoustic Music Jam: 11am-1pm. Lander Bake Shop. Info: 307-332-3237.
ONGOING
First Friday: 5pm art show reception. 6pm music. Middle Fork Restaurant. New artist and local musician each month. Info: 307-335-5035, facebook.com/MiddleForkCafe.
RIVERTON
SEPTEMBER 7
Sinks Canyon Cave Trek: 9am-2pm. Sinks Canyon State Park. Participants should be prepared and able to walk through a cave for 2 to 3 hours. The minimum age is 10 years old. Reservations are required in advance. 8 spots available. $15. Info: 307-856-2665. Red Canyon Petroglyph Trek: 10am. Pioneer Museum. Visit this unique Native American Rock Art site on private property and learn about the people that created and communicated. 15 spots available. $15. Info: 307-358-9288.
SEPTEMBER 10
Kids Nature Walk: 9-10:30am. Pioneer Museum. Info: 307-332-3373 or email programspioneermuseum@ gmail.com to sign up.
SEPTEMBER 14
J.B. Okie Manor Adventure Trek: 9am-2pm. Riverton Museum. Experience a rare tour led by the building’s caretaker around the sheep tycoon’s mansion built in 1901. $10 a person. Reservations required. Info: 307-856-2665.
Apple Fest: 1pm-3pm. Lander’s Pioneer Museum. Fun for the whole family. Free. Info: 307-358-9288.
SEPTEMBER 23
Nate Champion & the Johnson County War, 1892: 6:30pm. Pioneer Museum. Visit the Pioneer Museum for a Wyoming Community Bank Discovery Speakers Series program by Mark Warren. Free. Info: 307- 358-9288.
SEPTEMBER 28
Kids Corner: DIY Bookmarks: 10:30am. Dubois Museum. Join us in making some pressed-leaf bookmarks and discussing the flora that occupies Wyoming. $3 per child. Registration required. Info: 307- 455-2284.
WEDNESDAYS
Acoustic Music Jam: 6:30-8:30pm. Holiday Inn Convention Center. Free. Join in or listen as musicians and dancers perform. Info: 307-856-8100.
PreK Tales & Tunes: 10:30am. Riverton Branch Library. Ages 3-5. Free. Info: 307-856-3556.
Starlight Storytime: 5:30pm. Riverton Branch Library. Ages birth to 5 years. Free. Info: 307-856-3556.
THURSDAYS
Toddler Move & Groove: 10:30am. Riverton Branch Library. Ages birth to 2 years. Free. Info: 307-856-3556.
LEGO Club: 4-5pm LEGO Club. Riverton Branch Library. Grades 2-5. Free. Info: 307-856-3556.
MEETEETSE
MONDAYS AND WEDNESDAYS
Yoga: 10:30am. Meeteetse Recreation District. Info: 307-899-2698, meetrec.org.
MONDAYS
Toddler Storytime: After school. Meeteetse Library. All kids grades 1+ not in school. Legos, board games, crafts, stories, songs and more. Info: 307-868-2248.
POWELL
SEPTEMBER 13
Farm to Table Dinner/Fundraiser: Catering by Sarah Bear’s Farmhouse Kitchen. An outdoor dining experience with local foods. 21+ event. Tickets on sale through August 31. Info: 307-754-9481.
SEPTEMBER 14
13th Annual Homesteader Days Festival: 10am-3pm. Streets in front of the Homesteader Museum. Celebrates the days of homesteading and farming with vintage tractors, antique machinery, demonstrations, activities, artisan/food vendors and live music. Free. Donations welcome! Info: 307-754-9481.
SEPTEMBER 27
Homesteader Museum Book Club: 9am. Discussion “American Salvage” by Bonnie Jo Campbell. Info: 307-754-9481.
TUESDAY-FRIDAY
Homesteader Museum: 10am-5pm. Private tours or visits available. Info: 307-754-9481, homesteader@parkcounty-wy.gov.
SATURDAYS
Homesteader Museum: 10am-2pm. Private tours or visits available. Info: 307-754-9481, homesteader@parkcounty-wy.gov.
THERMOPOLIS
SEPTEMBER 7
Boots & Bling 2024 Gotsche
SUBMIT AN EVENT
Send complete information for November events by
SEPTEMBER 15!
Be sure to include the date, title, description, time, cost, location, address and contact information for each event.
Photos are always welcome.
Fundraiser Event: Hot Springs Fairgrounds. Info: bit.ly/BootsBling2024.
SECOND SATURDAYS
Great Until 8!: 4-8pm. This event showcases the businesses who are staying open until 8pm or later in town. Shop after 5pm and enter in for a chance to win $100 gift certificates valid at the business with the winning receipt. Info: 917-589-7852, mainstreetthermopolis@gmail.com.
04 | SOUTHWEST
EVANSTON
SEPTEMBER 7
Evanston Chamber of Commerce’s Water Lantern Festival: 5-10pm. Bear Ponds. Lantern prices: $10 presale, $15 day of. Free. Info: 307-783-0370.
LYMAN
THURSDAYS
Storytime: 11am. Lyman Branch Library. All ages welcome. Free. Info: 307-787-6556, uintalibrary.org.
MOUNTAIN VIEW
MONDAYS
Look for more events at wyomingrea.org/news.
QUESTIONS & SUBMISSIONS: wren@ wyomingrea.org [307] 286-8140
214 W. Lincolnway Ste. 21C Cheyenne, WY 82001
wyomingrea.org/ wren-submissions
Cub Scout Pack 7798 Meeting: 3:45pm. Presbyterian Church on 3rd Street. We are always accepting new boys who are in grades 1-5. Info: MarNae, 307-677-2566.
WEDNESDAYS
Storytime: 11am. Uinta County Library. Info: 307-782-3161.
ONGOING
Community Classes: Valley Learning Center. Fitness, computer, workforce and kids’ classes are available. Times and prices vary. Info: 307-782-6401, valleylearningcenter.coursestorm. com.
Classifieds
FOR SALE
New & Used Coal Stokers, parts, service & advice. Available for most makes. Thanks. 307-754-3757.
MISCELLANEOUS
Soon Church/Government uniting, suppressing “Religious Liberty” enforcing “National Sunday Law.” Be Informed! Free materials. TSBM, PO Box 374, Ellijay, GA 30540, tbsmads@yahoo.com, 1-888-211-1715.
WANTED
We Pay Cash For Mineral & Oil/Gas Interests producing & nonproducing. 800-733-8122.
WREN
WANTED CJ or Wrangler reasonably priced. Any condition but rusted. 800-316-5337.
Frontier Auto Museum Looking For Oil Company Gas Pumps, Globes And Signs. Also looking for general antiques for our antique shop. Please go to our website FrontierAutoMuseum.com. Located in Gillette WY, our passion is to preserve Wyoming history and the nostalgia of the past, especially Parco, Sinclair, Frontier, Husky and any car dealership along with all brands. We are also always looking for neon motel or store signs, WY license plates and WY highway signs and State Park signs. Please call Jeff Wandler 307-680-8647 wandlerfrontier@gmail.com or daughter Briana Brewer 307-660-2402 relics@frontierauto.net.
$Cash for old cars$ 1900-1970, 2 doors, convertibles, regardless of condition any 1930’s cars, early power wagons, Jeeps, Broncos, Volkswagen buses. Randy Erwin, rerwin1952@gmail.com, 307-212-1341, Rawlins.
BY WALT GASSON
Curveballs
Kim is descended from a thousand generations of Swiss-German farmer women. As such, things around here are neat and tidy, and slackers need not apply.
PHOTO BY KIM GASSON
I won’t say that our approach to most things is exactly regimented, but it’s seldom very spontaneous. A recent example may serve to illustrate my point.
Riley enjoying the Snowies. Half border collie and half Great Pyrenees, Gasson says Riley has ensured “not one of us has been eaten by a coyote yet.”
After the death of the greatest border collie of all time, we were slow to get another dog. She was the dog of a lifetime, and it just seemed disrespectful to replace her. But finally, we felt like we were ready. And in true Gasson fashion, we spent some time identifying what we wanted in a replacement dog. It had to be a herding dog – preferably an Aussie shepherd. It had to be female. It had to be at least three years old. And it had to weigh no more than 35 pounds.
But then God threw us a curveball. He dropped Riley into our lives. She was a rescue dog, with a past full of pain and trauma. She looked like her border collie parent, but she was half Great Pyrenees. She was female, but the only way she was going to see 35 pounds was in the rear-view mirror. She was a puppy, not even a year old. Despite our firm convictions, best-laid plans and detailed decision criteria, we fell in love with her immediately. She’s curled up behind me as I write this.
I guess everyone has these moments –the ones where you blithely abandon your well-crafted intentions and maybe your deeply-held principles and prejudices to follow your heart and swing at a curveball. I had one myself not long ago.
I am a proud son of the sagebrush sea. Generations of my family have called southwest Wyoming home, and we delight in its endless space and vast
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Rivers has always had a place in my life, but never a very prominent one. I remember going there with my mom and dad when I was just a little shaver. Kim and I spent a lot of time there when we were students in Laramie about 100 years ago. I liked it I guess, but I didn’t love it. When we moved back to Laramie a few years back, I felt like Josh Deets in Larry McMurtry’s great opus “Lonesome Dove.” When they reach the Powder River country, he realizes there will be no going back to his beloved Texas. He says, “We way up here, and it ain’t our country.”
That’s how the Snowy Range felt to me – it just wasn’t my country. Until it was. Now, I’ve come to love the deep woods that close out the sun. I like the cool breezes when the Laramie Plains turn hot. And I love the fact that all of that can happen 30 minutes from my home. I never set out to love these mountains, with their rocks and ice and mobs of moose, but I do now, and no one is more surprised about that than I am.
Would I have been happy with a little Aussie who already knew that only wicked dogs chase jackrabbits and who desperately wanted to please me in everything she did? Sure. But I would never have known the patience and independence of the guard dog who was perfectly willing to just lay out in the snow and the wind to make sure we were safe. Would I have been happy to just keep going to the same places that the last three generations of Gassons knew? Of course –those are the places that made me who I am and made our family what we are. But I would never have grown.
Despite our firm convictions, best-laid plans and detailed decision criteria, we fell in love with her immediately.
Curveballs
horizons. The Big Empty is our world, and we know the country from Commissary Ridge to Vermillion Creek like our own backyard. After all, it is our own backyard. High country with big trees and lots of running water is all good in the summer, but it isn’t something we need to turn into a habit. But then, for me, something happened – another curveball.
The headwaters country of the Upper North Platte and Laramie
Ralph Waldo Emerson is credited with having said, “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do. He may as well concern himself with his shadow on the wall.”
Every so often, it’s OK – maybe better than just OK – to violate your own preconceived ideas. It’s OK to surprise yourself and your loved ones. It’s OK to step outside the box you’ve built for yourself. It’s OK to swing for the fences when God throws you a curveball. W
Walt Gasson is a fourth-generation Wyoming native, writer and son of the sagebrush sea. He lives in Laramie, Wyoming.
GET GIGGLING
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SUNday!
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It was two tired!
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What do you call a train that sneezes?
An ahh-choo-choo!
What do cows like to do on weekends?
Watch moooo-vies!
What goes up when the rain comes down?
Umbrellas!
Why didn't the teddy bear want dessert?
It was already stuffed!
Why do we never tell jokes about pizza?
They are too cheesy!