Rusty Creek Inspiration

Growing up in Wyoming definitely had its advantages.  I grew up in a town where everyone knows everyone and only had 5 stop lights in the entire town.  One thing that I love is almost any direction you decide to go, you will either hit a lake or mountains at some point.

The mountains in Wyoming are different than Colorado. The Rockies here in Colorado are a lot bigger, yes. However, they are bombarded with people, as most mountain towns are tourist attractions. If you want to go on a picnic, you can guarantee that you will either not find a spot or be right next to someone else. The mountains in Wyoming are smaller, but there are less people, which makes the camping and four-wheeling trips so much more enjoyable.

While there are still less people, you will usually always be by someone when you are camping on state land. That is one reason why my parents bought their property. They are nestled right at the base of Laramie Peak.  Nearby, there is LaBonte Church, a cute cabin like church in the middle of a meadow. If you listen closely, while drinking coffee, you can hear the church bells on a Sunday’s brisk morning.

Mom and Dad have an open area on their property where we set up camp. It is surrounded by pine trees, but if you go down into the meadow, there are beautiful Aspens.  Down by the trickling creek, you will find purple Forget Me Not flowers, blue bells, daisies, and other colorful plants that bask the land. They have set up wildlife cameras, where they have captured a mountain lion, numerous elk and deer, coyotes – and more!

One of my all time favorite views is late at night. Being in the middle of the tall, beautiful pine trees and looking up at the stars. You can see millions of stars- more stars than you can see almost anywhere else because there are no lights from nearby cities. It is mesmerizing what can be seen when you are in pure Mother Nature.

A couple of years ago on Labor Day Weekend, I was sleeping in my tent, and my sister and nephew were in a tent next to me. At about 3 in the morning, a pack of coyotes started “yipping” not too far from us. It is a very creepy noise to hear them so close, yet only to have tent walls in between us and them.  Around this time, the elk start rutting, so you may start hearing them bugle early in the morning or right at dusk.

They named the property Rusty Creek, as the creek in the meadow only runs when there is snowfall melting. Other than that, it dries up until there is more moisture. This is where I gain my inspiration. This is the beauty of Mother Nature.