We went up to Wheatland for a visit to the ranch this weekend, to spend a little time with Mona and Clark and enjoy the change of scenery.
Both of us have been getting really tired of sitting around the house in Fort Collins with nothing meaningful to do. There are gardening and housekeeping tasks accumulated needing attention, but I dread spending time outside or inside here, as it just reminds me of how temporary is our stay here (and why). Somehow, doing nothing at the ranch seems blissful, while here it is becoming dreadful.
At times I think about moving up to Wyoming, to be out of Colorado (which fairly or not I have pretty much despised since I first got an idea what it was like here) and to find a simpler and less wound-up pace. Mona thinks I would really miss the glamor and sophistication of Fort Collins, but the truth is I find little satisfaction in the various trivial activities I end up participating in. In fact they grow increasingly tiresome and boorish.
After the overnight stay at the ranch last night, Pat and I went into Wheatland to look at a brick ranch craftsman-style house close to the town center. We wanted to see if we might imagine living there, both the house itself, and the surrounding area.
Wheatland Cinema
The house looked interesting enough, but our walk around the nearby downtown was a little dissappointing. There are few useful businesses there, a lot of vacant storefronts, and some blight. I found it a little discouraging to imagine shopping at the downtown grocery store. With a smallish Safeway on the edge of town, I wonder how long the independent central maket might last. Mona makes a point of buying some of her supplies there. Shopping for food in Wheatland is a far cry from the mercado of a modest Mexican village.
In general, I still entertain the idea of moving up there, but it would probably be a good idea to rent until I had more confidence that I could actually thrive in the environment. If not having any meaningful activity to be engaged in here is an issue, God knows what I would do up there. On the other hand, without all the distractions of life here, perhaps I could actually focus more on painting, and it is a county seat with a hospital, schools, sheriff, courthouse, library, and other infrastructure that might offer employment.
Mona says I might find the experience of living there depressing, and points out the lowbrow character of some local folks and the high suicide rate. I talked to her later about this, and we agree that like people anywhere, they do have mostly good intentions and are likely to be friendly and helpful. There is also the issue of politics - Wyoming gave us Mr. Cheney after all. However, like many hard-core places that hang onto old-west character, it is a place where mostly people respect the rights of people to live as they wish and be left alone to make the most of their situation.
Pocket Park in Wheatland
Wheatland Airport with a single plane on the ramp - a medevac from out of state.
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