One of our thoughts about our volunteer experiences has always been that we will not “repeat”. It has less to do with how good or bad our time in a particular location was and more about there being such a wide variety of experiences to be had, places to see and people to meet.
Three years ago we accepted our first volunteer position with the Laramie, Wyoming, Ranger District to be camphost at Vedauwoo. We loved that position and Vedauwoo will always be a magical place in our hearts. However, despite their offering, we knew that we did not want to return to the same position at the same location.
After three years, the rangers here in Laramie knew that we weren’t prone to repeating so they got smart. They offered us a position here that entailed living in a location we’ve never been to and driving all over the forest (one of our favorite things to do) cleaning toilets and collecting trash (um... yes, we actually like to do those two things also).
And that is how we wound up doing 1/3 of something we said we’d never do.
When we arrived (two months ago) the approach to our new home at 9000’ was still dusted.
After already experiencing summer-like temps in FL and GA
it was nice to see (and feel) a little more winter.
Although we don’t make it often, our drive to and from town definitely does not suck.
While it is about forty miles one way, it is replete with the beautiful Wyoming
scenery that we have fallen in love with.
Mostly though, for us, town is only visited when absolutely necessary. We’d rather
spend our free time at our new home, the Foxpark Work Center. Foxpark is a community with a population of 22 located next to our workcenter. We have been told by one member that only three people actually reside there year round. Three is the total number of people we may have actually seen so far. So, at least our numbers line up. Our area, the Forest Service Workcenter, is government property (i.e., off limits to the public) and we are the only people who reside there. So, two is the number of people we typically see in our neck of the woods save for the occasional FS employee.
We are located at about the half way point of the Med Bow Rail Trail.
It is a 21 mile long section of the old Laramie, Hahns Peak and Pacific
Railroad that has been converted to a non-motorized trail.
We have a very large yard with a major water feature that our resident beaver maintains.
This is the fence that Nicole likes to visit to watch the birds. They’ve grown used to her daily visits and rarely hide. She’s seen close to fifty different birds since we arrived - many of which we have not seen before.
Our fields have gone through a myriad of transitions since we arrived and, like
the birds, the different flowers have almost grown too numerous to count.
Speaking of, the task of figuring out how to share all that we have seen and are seeing (before we leave and start new adventures) is still ahead. So, for now we shall say...
Goodnight.
It is time for us to head back “up the hill” (as they say in these parts).
In the east we’d call it a mountain!