What's On Your Bucket List?

It's funny how long some things have hung around on my bucket list.  Am I the only one?  Just curious, no one wants to be alone while procrastinating.

There are things that are on that list that I'm looking forward to, and then, there's Toastmasters.  For me this is an "overcome the fear" item on my list, therefore, I'm not rushing into anything.

Actually, A group of us started a Toastmasters back in 2005, and I think that year is right.  The club lasted for several years and then fizzled out.  No excuses other than we did not keep recruiting new members and that is part of the successful club process.

I will say that during that time, I found my voice.  And now I'm fairly certain there are those that wish I hadn't.  I'm not there yet though.  I would love to give a speech flawlessly, you know, like you see on TED Talks.  So, I need to make time to get involved with the new club in Cody, Yellowstone Toastmasters.

I've been following their meeting times and agendas and need to ditch the excuses and just show up.  Ideally, anyone reading this post should show up too if you're interested.  The club is open to all.

If you're not familiar with Toastmasters follow this link... Become A Leader .

You'll find all the information for Yellowstone Toastmasters on Facebook.  You can follow them there.  I'm pretty sure you'll be glad you did.

Develop the skills that will give you a voice!  It's empowering.

Since when did I become a football fan??? 

It's a question I've been asking myself.  I enjoyed football in the 70's and 80's.  I lost interest when the players starting making enormous salaries and "showboating".  And, I'm still not a big fan of the NFL.

I am however interested in College Football.  Maybe because the players haven't been tainted yet.  And I'm particularly interested in Wyoming Cowboy Football.  Maybe because my daughter is a Freshman in Laramie.  I find myself there frequently (although I seriously dislike the drive and wish I had my pilots license).  

I'll be there again this weekend, in the bleachers, in the cold, cheering the Pokes on.  The teams that play in the Mountain West Conference deserve our support.  It's not easy for any of us in this weather.  Go Pokes!

Yep...Rene is back with some timely, money-saving tips as you travel through our great state.














Heed your speed.

Don't be fooled by the wide open spaces around here.  It's easy to settle into your cruising groove, the pedal pushes down a little closer to the metal while your speedometer inches upward.  Then, right out of nowhere a little town pops up - accompanied by a rapid drop in the speed limit - and if you're not paying attention you will get pegged.

You may not see a soul in places like Powder River or Moneta, but when they say slow down, you probably oughta because hiding behind that huge sagebrush could be your new favorite law enforcement officer checking in on your ability to adapt quickly to small towns and their adjusted speed limits.

They reward those who are adept.

Plenty of small, Wyoming towns have what I refer to as "speed traps".  They deny this is what they are but, when they notoriously lurk at the outskirts of town on a road with no one on it between two signs placed (maybe) 100 yards apart - one reads 35 mph and the other 70 mph - and suddenly you see flashing lights in your rear view mirror - feels a lot like a speed trap.

Granted, I've been around long enough, and gotten enough speeding tickets in our sweet little po-dunk Wyoming towns, that I've learned it's not worth it to speed through places like Byron or Frannie.  You WILL get a ticket and frankly, I prefer to keep my cash.

One time I truly thought I had a legitimate argument for a particular circumstance (AKA:  excuse to speed).  I went through ALL the trouble of appearing, not only once, but twice in the little makeshift courtroom, attempting to defend myself only to learn I'm a lousy lawyer and ended up having to pay the ticket in full.

With age comes wisdom though - life is fast enough.  No need to excessively speed through it...and risk a costly ticket.  Might as well take your time and enjoy the scenery.  After all, it's beautiful country and you'll get there - eventually.

                             Does Spring Exist in Wyoming????

We've all done it - thought that Winter was over only to be blatantly reminded, once again, it's entirely too early for such nonsense around here.

We catch glimpses of Spring during the waning days of Winter and find ourselves saying, "Oh yay!  Winter is finally over!"  We eagerly flock outdoors to bask in the warm sunshine feeling the long-absent heat on our skin.  Birds begin chirping and busily flitting about.  Buds are bursting, green is sprouting and Spring - by allintents and purposes - has sprung.

We change gears and head outside to take advantage of the glorious change in weather, relishing in the sun's rays and the promise of a new season.

And just when you think Spring has arrived - BOOM!  Winter fights back - with a vengeance - reminding us of what Spring is REALLY like in Wyoming.  

Suddenly that warm sunshine you felt on your bare skin yesterday is but a glorious memory reserved for yet another time.

Wet, cold storms roll in.  Temperatures drop and snow flurries fall.  Doors and windows shut and the heat goes back on.  Roads close.  Hats and gloves reappear.  Moisture falls from the sky in huge, glorious white flakes or torrential downpours interspersed with little pelting ice balls, for your weather entertainment.

PSYCHE!!!  No Spring for you Wyoming!  Not yet at least.

Old man Winter isn't finished.  He threatens every so often to hibernate for a few months, then rears his blustery head again, back and forth like that until finally he is weakened by the power of renewed life, pushed aside by Mother Nature to await his next reign.  Spring has won.

By then though, it's usually Summer.

And Summer is a great time to look at property in Cody.  Find out all you need to know here...
Cody Real Estate.

Rene Huge

The fitness fanatic is well-taken care of in our lovely little town.

Whether you walk out your door and take advantage of the trails in Canal Park, Beck Lake or the Paul Stock area, or if you prefer the confines of indoor fitness facilities, opportunities abound.

This town is riddled with gyms AND trails!  Not only do we have an amazing Rec Center complete with swimming pool - there are other options as well.  If CrossFit is your thing there's Cody CrossFit.  If you've been down that road and determined it wasn't the best fit you've got an offshoot at Heart Mountain Fitness which offers a slightly different approach to similar methods.

Maybe ice skating is your thing.  We've got that too!

If you need access 24 hours a day Cody has an Anytime Fitness for you workout junkies.  Forget sleeping...let's work out!

And now, after many years without a gymnastics program - it's back!  And they've got a Fitness Center below there as well.  We have a Cardio Box, Tae Kwon Do dojos, Yoga out the wazoo and Pilates too!  There is no excuse for not exercising to your heart's content and being in good shape for your next adventure.

Me, I tend to flock to the outdoors.  The Beck Lake Bike Park and the Outlaw Trails are at the top of my personal fitness list.  Whether you're hiking or biking, both offer an amazing network of trails to fit your needs.  The ever-expanding Bike Park offers something for everyone with a professionally designed system of purpose - built mountain bike trails.  They cater to beginner riders up through advanced.  Need to catch some air?  You will.

Yep!  You too can be a hard body in Cody, no doubt about it.  We've got it all.  Never mind the surrounding mountains and national park...I mean, unless you like that kind of stuff... :-)

Interested in Cody Real Estate? Look here!

Recycling in Cody is no small task.  We are situated far from everything which makes transporting recyclable products where they need to be in order to evolve into whatever they are destined to become, costly.

Nevertheless, we have recycling here.  The City of Cody manages this program for our town and fortunately, provides an outlet for those with the wherewithall to go through the process.  You can take your recyclables directly to the recycling center or to the bins placed in the Walmart and old Kmart parking lots for your recycling convenience.

 We are able to recycle newspapers, magazines, office paper, aluminum and tin cans, corrugated cardboard and #1 and #2 plastics - not bad for a town located in the middle of nowhere.

There is no curbside  pick up and you have to "keep 'em se-pa-rated" - not just lumping it all together, taking it to the street and waiting for it to magically disappear.  You're going to have to work at it a little bit.  I'm not talking back-breaking labor, just a little due-diligence combined with community consciousness.

 And I know rinsing stuff out, separating and storing it is a pain.  I live it.  BUT, it's worth it to be able to be part of the effort to re-use products that would otherwise just go to the dump and lay in wake for some undetermined  evolution in the far-distant future.  While it seems we have infinite space around here to keep burying trash, the reality is - we do not.  Besides, is trash what we really want to fill our beautiful, wide-open spaces with?  I think not.

If you don't like bees and bugs swirling around the bins at the recycling center, you should go the distance and rinse out those soda bottles and cans.  Get rid of the sugary goop!  Not only will this help to reduce the swarms, it will also help curb the stench.

And how about throwing those water bottle caps away...and noticing whether or not you're putting #1 plastics in the #1 or the #2 bin?  That's not too hard is it?  (At least not if you have your readers with you!  Make sure you do.)

After you do it a few times, it becomes rote.  Then, your readers will no longer be required.

This PSA announcement compliments of    Rene Huge 

Rene's Take On The REAL Cody...

Wind.  Four letter word or just a good weeder-outer?

Be advised:  The wind doth blow.

Some people like it, most people hate it, but the fact of the matter is;  wind is a regular occurrence around here.  It's part of the reason we have 300-plus sunny days a year.  Blows it in, blows it out.  It helps keep our air clean.  It's the reason you can never "dust" enough.

I'd never lived anywhere this windy prior to moving to Cody.  It's a phenomenon, for sure, and one to embrace if you're going to spend any significant time here.  The first Winter we lived here I distinctly remember taking my one-and-a-half year old toddler outside in his little snow suit on a particularly windy day.  We were unloading groceries from the car and he was standing on the sidewalk literally doing battle with the wind.  It would push him back and he would physically throw his little, toddly body forward into the wind in order to compensate and avoid being blown over.  It was the funniest thing to watch as he learned right then and  there how to fight back the wind - a skill he has used readily his entire life, whether he liked it or not.

People around here tend to refer to it as the 'W-word' as if the mere utterance of the word 'wind' will make it start blowing.  (You really don't want to risk it.  Frankly the only reason I feel safe using it today is because it is wailing outside - darn-near gale force!)

In the summertime wind works like air conditioning, which is welcomed because most people around here do not have AC.  And, the truth is, most of the time you don't really need it.  Sure, there will be those couple of weeks where it gets super hot and dry and even the wind can't cool your sweaty body...but, for the most part, the natural weather cycle around here caters really well to those without AC.  The evenings cool down, the windows get opened, fresh breezes enter and voila!  You've got air conditioning.

In the Winter, it's regarded a little differently.  Brrrrr....

Winter winds tend to bite.  Sometimes though, they feel more like balmy caresses when the warm (by comparison!) breeze blows in, cleans up the snow, dries up our trails and streets and makes it all like new again.

They say we live in a banana belt.  I attribute that designation to the four-letter word that needs-not-be-named and that big fiery ball of light that blesses us with its presence 300-plus days a year.  Without those two there would be no banana belt, no moderate days of Winter sunshine or respite from the Wyoming harshness that can rear its ugly head in the dark days of Winter.

For this we can thank that-which-can't-be-named and his friend, Sun.

It's what escorts a new weather system in and helps melt the snow - or bring it - depending on which side ofr the system you're on.

Winter Doesn't have to be daunting...

For example, you could live in a home like this one.  Whatever the season, there's so much to enjoy here.

Check out the tour below and if this isn't the home for you, tell a friend!

Location is EVERYTHING!

This one-owner home with unobstructed views of Heart Mountain is just waiting for tasteful updates.

The interior design has good flow with spacious rooms, lots of light and a corner lot with mature trees and landscaping.

If you enjoy HGTV check this home out.  It has great flow and would be perfect for entertaining, just needs a non-surgical lift.  

Call me to see this home anytime!