For Spring Break, we headed north, first up into Wyoming to see family. There is a magical line between where we live in the Four Corners, the rivers and places named in Spanish, such as Rio de las Animas Perdidas, meaning "The River of Lost Souls" or the Abajo, the "Low" Mountains in Utah and the original cabins and outbuildings scattered here and there are equally made from adobe and logs, to more north into Wyoming, names become English and practical, The Wedding of Two Waters or Crazy Woman Creek, but with a little French thrown in, like Grand Tetons. Those mountain men must of been very lonely and the cabins and barns are striped with dark wood logs and white chink.
Wyoming is also full of Native place names like the Absaroka Mountains, "Children of the Large Beaked Bird", where on the other side is Yellowstone National Park and big game, such as elk, mountain lion and grizzly bear, unconcerned with park boundaries, can wander down our side of the mountain...and Meeteesee, meaning "The Meeting of the Chief," a little ranch town stop on the highway near the Absarokas, where my brother lives and my mother has a little vacation house.
Still light when we completed our thirteen hour drive, we still decided to take another drive up the Greybull river to see what we could see...
The antelope were not in the mood to stop for a photo op...
We came back to the house and had elk steak, my brother had shot last Fall. This morning we had biscuits and gravy with the pork my niece raised for 4H. We decided to thaw out the trout my brother- in- law had caught the last time he had been up here for the weekend and will have them for dinner tomorrow night, though now my brother is thinking he might thaw out some of the rabbit he shoots on a regular basis. This is a place you can still feel connected to the land.
And yes, we do hunt the cute antelope too- they are very tasty!