It's been quite a while since I posted anything here, but this week something happened that reaffirmed my love of Wyoming and I wanted to share it. I've lived here since '89, moving at age 20 from Baltimore, to help run our family's ranch. To me, it's the best place on Earth. My only real complaint is how much land the Feds "own" here - and they're looking for more.)
Monday a neighbor called to say he'd seen a pickup and ATV heading out onto a two-track on our private property. I grabbed a DS-Arms FAL, jumped on our four-wheeler, and took off to see what they were up to. About an hour passed from the time my neighbor actually saw the vehicle to the time I got out there. Due to the delay, I met the vehicles coming back. The pickup belonged to the Sheriff, with my other neighbor, an old friend of the Sheriff, riding his ATV. (Not exactly sure why they didn't call us, but that's another subject.)
Turns out, a WY five-year resident-now-CENSUS-TAKER decided to try a shortcut shown on his Census GPS device (I posted about them last year when they marked our remote off-grid house) - on a ~60ยบ day after 8" of snow last week. He got stuck WAY back in, and tore up a bunch of land on us AND the north neighbor, driving through grass with his older 4WD with street tires. (You can only imagine the gumbo mud on a day like today... It's a no-go with a 4x4 TRACTOR if you can help it.)
So anyway, I saw the Sheriff eying my rifle and I said I was really sad because now I'd have to clean two pounds of mud off it, and I never even got to shoot it. He laughed and said, "Ah, it's an FAL. It can handle mud." We chatted a bit more, and he hauled the guy (now in the back of the SO pickup) into town. The guy *probably* wasn't up to anything criminal - it had almost become a search and rescue. Mind you, the guy was 1/2 mile from PAVEMENT and had a GPS with him. He had to know there was a real road just a short hike away. Instead, he called 911 (very fortunate to have a signal out here) and made the Sheriff come and get him. The guy was a real idiot, claiming he was just getting his bearings for his upcoming census work, and trying to save time by taking a shortcut. (!!! We're supposed to tell these people about our homes, or our income? No chance in hell. "Two people live here. Good day." !!!)
Later that night, the Sheriff called me to tell me what was happening, what an absolute grinning-the-whole-time never-thanking-or-apologizing moron this guy was, and that it was my call when the guy could go get his vehicle. (Frozen or dry, take your pick.) We unfortunately can't prosecute for trespassing, because our sign had blown down and was in the mud.
Then the Sheriff said, "Hey, I just wanted tell you how pleased I was to see you carrying a .308. Most guys today carry .223 plinkers. Even the Wyoming HPs went from M1As to M4s a few years back, which was a bad move in such open country."
I just love Wyoming. ... That just makes me so happy and proud to live here. I'm glad I voted for our Sheriff a couple years ago. (Our last Sheriff was great too.) It's the little things like this that remind me how lucky we all are to still have places like this available. Sure, there are some compromises living here, but the 2nd Amendment ain't currently one of them. You ride up on a law enforcement officer in almost any other place ON THE PLANET carrying a "black rifle" with an EOTech on it and YOU'RE going to jail, or at least going face-down on the ground for a spell 'til they sort it out. Out here, ya get a pat on the back for caliber selection!
God Bless Wyoming. Come here and join us if you appreciate things like this. Screw off if you don't.
