Bruce Hedgepeth, MD
Okay, I get it. It used to be that nobody wanted to see pictures of someone’s kids, or grandkids, or what they’ve been doing or are going to do, et cetera. And of course, nobody liked your dog or cat more than you; especially in pictures, even though you thought that they did. But then along comes Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr and all the rest and now we have a “need” and a desire to not only show others all of these things, but we also actually do look at what other people are posting, doing, eating, smelling, wearing, thinking, liking, tweeting, and sharing. We get to know who they’re with, gonna be with, or not with; and who they’re friending, following, connecting with, or linking in with.
Most of the time nobody wants to hear about someone else’s latest trip, journey, or vacation either. There are probably lots of different reasons for that, of course. However, I’m guessing that my audience is different and actually wants to hear about mine, thank you very much. Glad that you asked and want to know; so I’ll tell you because you are on a need to know basis and inquiring minds want to know!
Wyoming. Yes, Wyoming; Laramie to be exact. I had never been there before; though I had been to Yellowstone once several years ago, and that is a must see for sure. However, those two places are located in diagonal opposites to one another with Yellowstone being in the extreme northwest corner and Laramie in the southeast corner of the big, rectangular state of Wyoming. They are actually about 380 miles apart and a 6 plus hour drive.
Laramie is located north, and a little west of Denver, Colorado as a reference point. It’s about a 2 hour drive by car. From Denver, going due north, it takes about an hour and a half to get to the state capitol of Cheyenne, Wyoming 108 miles away; and then about a half an hour going due west to Laramie, 50 miles away. MapQuest or Google Maps may show it as taking a bit longer but the speed limit is 75 MPH, so you know what that means going across the unobstructed plains. For the math wizards out there, the travel sets itself up as kind of a right triangle, so by using Pythagoras’s theory of a2 + b2 = c2, one could get pretty close to the distance from Denver to Laramie as the crow flies. Interestingly, it was an 18 minute flight by plane. Best and shortest flight I’ve ever had!
So I’m sure you’re asking yourself how does he know how long it takes to drive and fly? I know that because I did both as a remedy to an airplane flight and connection snafu — but that’s a different story. Maybe someday soon I can delineate that fiasco.
We travelled to Laramie to visit my oldest daughter who along with her husband are doing their graduate school work there at the University Of Wyoming, and the home of the University of Wyoming Cowboys. The town is located at nearly 7200 feet above sea level (about 2000 feet above Denver). For you medical people and cardiovascular physiologists out there, that stresses the well-known oxygen-hemoglobin dissociation curve a little bit. I can’t remember if it pushes it to the left or right to make breathing harder, but I do know that there is medication for that sort of altitude thing! My wife is right in the middle of training for a half-marathon and she kept on training. She had a little lung burn and shortness of breath as you might expect. She even told me that she had to walk a few times during her 9 mile training run. Surely not!
The population is just over 30,000 people, and the university contributes another 14,000 or so. You can certainly get the feeling and impression that this place has a small town feel and a college town influence that is the focal point of everything Laramie. Yellow and brown are the UW school colors, and while that combination can be a little tricky to pull off, (think Kickapoo High School if you’re from the Springfield, Missouri area), it actually seems okay because the bright yellow tends to stand out. I’m still trying to convince my daughter of it’s beauty though. I like yellow, some don’t, but the brown; hmmm, that takes a little getting used to.
The campus is beautiful with colorful flowers everywhere and big, tall blue spruce trees reigning supreme and towering over large boulders, walkways, and green grass. Oh, and they have a giant Tyrannosaurus Rex on campus too. They’ve got a lot going on as far as buildings and unique programs are concerned I wouldn’t expect anything less. After all, Wyoming, the state, seems to be a unique place too.
So there you have it, a little introduction to the great state of Wyoming and the town of Laramie. Why don’t we get together again to delve a little deeper into this place and I can share some more neat things about the trip, the journey, and this place.
Cowboy Up!
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