November, 2009

My first project about excelling school districts wrapped up a week ago. For this project, I traveled to the Idaho border, the Montana border, the Big Horn Mountains and south to Laramie. I ended up writing one introduction-type story and four district profiles and compiling a chart with teacher salary, spending per student, test scores, etc for every district in the state. It ran in the paper last Sunday through Wednesday. The editor and editorial board wrote about it on the opinion page.

It ran huge. On the front page. I was nervous about that kind of visibility, but the designers did a good job and the stories got quite a bit of attention. Every time I ran into a principal, school board member or other source, they commented on the series. I got a few e-mails and phone calls. I knew my stories were read, but it felt good to have a conversation about them and beyond them. There are a lot of people in Casper and around the state who are passionate about education.

I felt a little lost last week without the project or pages of stats on my mind. Once I get through end of year and new year stories, I can start another one.

[The stories, chart and related editorials can be found here.]

I did it. I bought a bottle of Wyoming wine, finished a glass and lived to tell about it.

I found wines by Table Mountain Vineyards in Huntley, Wyo. at the Liquor Shed a few weeks ago. The label: Experience a taste of Wyoming from Table Mountain Vineyards. Wyoming Gold is full of grape and citrus notes. Enjoy this semi-sweet white for any occasion. This wine reflects Wyoming’s growing conditions, climate and is full of “Wyoming Character.”

I was intrigued. I thought the only thing that grew in this state was sagebrush. I had to try it, but I could not drink it alone. So I waited until I could bring it to a party where there would be people willing to drink anything.

My review:

Wyoming Gold, White Table Wine, 2007
Price: $16.80 at the Liquor Barn
My Rating (bottle): 89/100
My Rating (wine): 68/100, or as Wine Spectator would say: “Below average; drinkable but not recommended”

The bottle is cool — it has a pretty label and a bucking horse sticker. However, the bottle lacks any information about how much alcohol, if any, is in the wine.

Before opening the bottle, we noticed medium-sized flakes of stuff floating around. Gold? Bits of dirt shaken off a pair of cowboy boots? We weren’t scared.

note the floating flake

Upon first open, the wine smelled sweet and grapey. The first sip — also sweet and grapey. I’ve done wine tours in western New York, where they grow the concord grape, so I’ve had sweet wines before. But none ever tasted so much like sparkling grape juice — the generic store brand — as this stuff.

It went down as smooth as aforementioned sparkling grape juice. There was a warning for pregnant women, so we assumed there was alcohol in it. None of us could drink enough to prove that true.

After we had our fun, we put the cork back in the bottle and never took it out. The bottle said “best served chilled.” I forgot to put it in the fridge, oops. I guess I can cook with it?

Final word: fruity, but clearly more a wine than Boone’s Farm. I’d purchase again if it dropped in price by about $10 or as a gag gift for someone I really like.

The last round of reporting for my project took me and Kerry north to the Big Horn Mountains. We spent the night in Ten Sleep (pop: 304), a town I was excited to see after learning about it in a few of the Wyoming books I’ve read. The town got its name because it was “ten sleeps” or 10 nights travel between Indian camps in Casper and Bridger, MT.

Ten Sleep is a ranching community west of the Big Horn National Forest, which we drove through at sunset. Ten Sleep has two restaurants and two bars — two more than in Dayton where we had lunch.

The Crazy Woman Cafe looked dark, so we wandered into the Ten Sleep Saloon. We sat at the bar, which surprised us with its excellent beer selection. We looked at the menu for a few minutes before the bartender told us that they only serve pizza on Mondays and Tuesdays. So pizza it was.

While we waited, we made friends with George, an older guy sitting next to Kerry, smoking Marlboro reds. We never found out what George does for a living, but he spends most nights playing pool at the Ten Sleep Saloon. He lost three of four games that night, zipped up his pool cue case and ordered a pizza.

After dinner, George offered to buy us a drink. We said we were thinking about checking out the other bar and he told us we were at the best one in town. He then excused himself and stepped outside. He returned a few minutes later: “There’s no one at the other bar.”

We stayed and I met Rita, the woman sitting next to me. Rita and her husband Pete moved to Ten Sleep four years ago because he liked to hunt. They bought the Ten Sleep Saloon and renovated the place, put in plasma TVs and Dish TV. They revamped the menu and added pizza.

People didn’t like Rita, Pete or their bar. They thought the people from the city would bring crime and trouble to town. Rita said she cried for two years straight. She’s liking it better now. They got out of Chicago before the recession. There’s no Walgreens to wander into and drop $100, so money stays around longer. We both agreed that the Wyoming bar dress code can’t be beat: jeans and a hooded sweatshirt.

Rita bought us another round and stuck around, even though she had talked about leaving after her last glass of wine. She got called out to see a friend’s newly finished home remodeling project down the street. We thanked her and walked back to our home for the night, a 10-room motel with red shag carpeting. We were the only guests, and the owner brewed coffee for us in the morning. We visited the school and watched part of their Veterans Day presentation.

“You can see it’s a really big deal around here,” the superintendent told us.

In addition to the 100 students and 20 veterans, there were maybe 20 parents and community members in the stands.

State Highway 487 back to Casper.

Third trip to Laramie, second time for work.

The best part about the project I’m working on is that it takes me around the state. Next week Kerry and I are going up to Ranchester, near the Big Horn Mountains. The location of each story was a factor in deciding where to go, one in each corner of the state.

I’ve always had a thing for Midwestern college towns and Laramie comes close, but with a Western twist. There is a downtown with restaurants and boutiques. Neighborhoods that border the campus are old and well-kept — if a student doesn’t live there. The twist: the landscape and the people. Driving in and out of town takes you through the Snowy or Laramie Mountain Ranges. Although it was 50 degrees outside, snow drifts from last week’s storm clung to ditches and snow fences. I’ve heard Wyomingites aren’t the most welcoming people, but so far I haven’t run into problems yet. Everyone I meet questions why I’m here but then goes on to tell me why it’s a good place to be.

While reporting every story I write, I learn a little more about Wyoming — history, tradition, spirit — from the people I talk to and what I see. Furthermore, each place is its own to explore within Wyoming. So of course I’m more than alright out here, but not everyone else would be. As I do everywhere I move, I’m learning as much as I can, trying to live true to the place and, gradually, falling in love with pieces of my new life.

After three months, I’m still impressed by the mountains and buttes. Warmer weather and sunshine follows windy storms. Every sunrise and sunset picture looks new. And it hasn’t hit me yet that I live in the middle of it.