The Cowboy State

Stephen and I celebrated our nation's 223rd birthday with his family in Wyoming. I had some reservations about Wyoming--I always imagined it as a very rural place with mostly farm land and grazing land with nothing much to do. I always thought of this as a negative thing, but the untouched and undeveloped land proved to be more beautiful than I could ever imagine. On our drive to the Stewart family ranch in Star Valley everything we passed was green and there were wildflowers everywhere. I attempted to take several pictures out of the car window, but none could capture how beautiful it really is. The drive was pretty windy the whole way. I had asked Stephen several times before and during the trip how long the drive is to the ranch, but he refused to give me any sort of an estimate whatsoever. Not even a ball-park estimate. We listened to Harry Potter, the Half-Blood Prince the whole way up and finally we hit a little town called Afton and he told me we were twenty-minutes away.Stephen wearing a Stewart's Crow Creek Ranch hat and my sunglasses so he wouldn't get bugs in his eyes.
I was very excited to wear the cowboy boots I bought from DI in high school. Stephen let me wear the hat he always wears when he is up at the ranch.
There are cows on the ranch...
...and horsesI rode with these two cool cowboys the first day.
I stayed in this little pin because it was my first time and I was way scared! But the next day Stephen and Uncle Brent took me on a ride around more of the ranch. It was nice.
Stephen and Daniel getting ready to go four-wheeling.
We followed Justin, Traci, and Jacob to the edge of the plateau.
...and took pictures with the ranch.
Jacob seemed quite comfortable sitting in this awkward position on the four-wheeler.
Stephen and I wanted to go see Limpy's cabin, an old cabin on the ranch that no one has lived in for probably a hundred years. We tried to find a way to get there, but there weren't any trails. Stephen and I with the beautiful Wyoming mountains. He loves the McCain shirt I bought him at the D.C. Airport for $1.50. I would have worn my Obama shirt but he never gave me the memo.