Cowboy Up - Part Two

When I last left off about my trip to Wyoming I was driving from Cheyenne to Laramie. I took the scenic route. It was less than an hour on a road that is closed during the winter due to snow drifts. There is no wonder folks commute between the two cities. I arrived in time to drop off the rental car at the postage stamp size Laramie airport and take a cab to the conference's social at the Laramie Plains Museum at the Historic Ivinson Mansion.

 

This was a pretty cool place. The house was original built in 1892 and served as a residence to the Ivinson family, then was an Episcopal school for the "Plain's girls," fell into disrepair, and then was purchased and restored by the museum. It not only interprets the Ivinson family but the history of Laramie itself.

Turns out that the day before during the field trip to Camp Guernsey participants were entertained with not only a tour of the installation but also a covered wagon ride and shooting! A gentleman who works with the Wyoming National Guard, and is a retired Command Sergent Major, is a member of the Single Action Shooting Society, or SASS, and he and several of his buddies put on a show and instructed participants on shooting single action weapons. I was so jealous!!!! But, all was not lost for me. Steve said he would take me out and shoot the next day (turns out that someone else missed the fun and he was going to take her as well).

The next afternoon I skipped lunch and headed out with Steve to the outskirts of Laramie to a public range. Now I am used to ranges like the Silver Eagle Group where you have a bay and static targets. This was not that.

This was the backdrop of the "range"

Steve briefed us on gun safety and then fitted us with holsters and ear plugs. I shot the following weapons (which I made Steve write down for me):

• 1873 Winchester 357 mag Lever Rifle
• 1894 Marlin 45 Colt Lever Rifle
• 1897 Winchester pump shotgun
• 1867 Double Barrel, Hammered Shotgun
• 1873 Colt (Peacemaker) Single Action Revolver 
• Ruger Single Action Revolver in 357 mag and 45 Colt
• 1911 A1 Kimber "Pro Carry" 45 ACP 

Steve instructing me with the double barrel shot gun. Look at that stance!

I like the lever rifles the best. But I had a great stance with the shotgun. Steve gave me the alias of Khaos Kate!!! Which I have now learned that someone already has registered with SASS so if I ever end up picking this up as a hobby I'll have to come up with a new one. It was so much fun!!!!

The next exciting thing to happen after that was Thursday afternoon and night. My friend Jennifer was going to drive up in the mountains and I tagged along. We drove west of the city and into Routt National Forest. She was on the hunt for wildlife. And we found it in the form of three moose on the side of the road. Two on the left and then surprisingly one of the right. I even got video!!! But I can't figure out how to upload it. Stupid Blogger. But here is a photo:

We dubbed him Bullwinkel. And he was pretty.

It was truly amazing!!! I had never seen moose so close before. We were well above 10,000 feet above sea level, the highest I've ever been. It was cold! And in August! We ended up at Libby Lake for a short stop and one amazing view:

James says it is finally something taller than me! It was tough to get back in the car but we had to hightail it back to Laramie and the Wyoming Territorial Prison where we were having a BBQ and being treated to a live-action gun show with a group of actors from Cheyenne. We arrived as the show was starting so we found the food on the second floor of the prison and watched from there. Though it was hard to hear the voices we sure heard the guns.

I wish I had had more time at the prison to explore and learn more about it. But the sun set quickly after the show and it was creepy walking around the yard in the dark. I did get to try my hand a broom making (which was a specialty of the prison inmates).


Wyoming is an amazing place. I would love to go back and explore all it has to offer. But I don't really recommend flying into Laramie. When I did for a short 20 minute flight to Denver I was on a Beechcraft 1900D. It was a little disconcerting that I could see the pilots.

You can see all my photos here.

The title of these posts, cowboy up, is a saying in Wyoming that I have taken to heart. When life gets you down pick yourself up and keep moving foward...Cowboy up!

Benning: Jack of All Trades

As many of you know out cat Benning is a special kitty. Special being the operative word. I adopted him from a vet in Columbus, GA, in January 2003. He came from the campus of Auburn University where I like to think he failed as a "test cat" in some higher educational experiment. He is a lovely cat that loves to talk, stare, and nip (beware of his mouth at all times). However, the elevator doesn't necessarily go all the way to the top if you catch my drift. He's a little slow.

Over the past year he has exhibited some new skills:

Handy cat  

Sleep therapist  

Intergalactic Crime Lord

And his latest job skill: Mouse Hunter!!!!

Over the summer Joe reported sounds of scratching at night. We thought it must have been the water meter until about a month ago we discovered a hole in the cat's food bag in the basement. Mice! Since the boys left we have kept the door to the basement open and gave Ben daily encouragement to go down there and catch us a mouse.

On Wednesday night he delivered! And also delivered Thursday night.....kind of scary there was more than one....but as long as he keeps catching them I'm okay with throwing them away. I'm just proud of my special kitty with his new mad skills.

Duty Station? What's that?

So I know a couple of months ago I posted that Fort Belvoir would remain our Duty Station with the new command standing up and all. Well....it appears that we are back to not knowing where we will be. Thank you Army :)

Given the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) constraints at Fort Belvoir, the new command does not have as much room as it is demanding, and Fort Meade, MD does. My inside source at Fort Belvoir planning says that part of the command may move to Fort Meade but the section James would be with will stay at Fort Belvoir. Now the rumor in James' office is that the entire command will move next summer.

Every one's orders have been put on hold until this decision is made. With the command standing up officially on October 1, 2010, I am hoping that by the end of the month they will have made a decision.

All I know is that I don't want to move....even to Maryland.