Our BetterMost Community > Chez Tremblay
Tell ya folks: I've been to Wyomin'!
luigival:
Hi folks,
just back from a wonderful trip to Denver and the heart of Wyoming, and have huge difficulties in returning to real life. It's been truly an experience: first I had a chance to meet two great Brokies, FrontRanger and EdelMar, spending a lovely evening with them feasting on rattlesnake (believe me, we did) and buffalo steak, then travelling around town on Ennis' original truck. It was simply out of this world...
Then my trip to the "wide open spaces" began and I was able to explore at least a part of Wyoming on my own: travelling from Cody to TenSleep (or Signal as it was renamed in the novel and film) it was a trip in itself. Nothing else but wide open spaces around me, and on the way there, while crossing the town of Greybull, the radio was broadcasting just guess... Roger Miller in "King of the road", which prompted me to start singin' along!
Following EdelMar suggestions I went uphill beyond TenSleep up to Meadowlark Lake, where the road to the top of the original Brokenback Mountain begins: sorry it was already too late to get up there, but that was kind of enough to satisfy my soul, at least for now.
Then my trip brought me through the Yellowstone Park the long but beautiful way, via the Chief Joseph Scenic Highway: grey and red mountains covered with forests gradually took over from prairies, and every single moment made me think about the places Annie Proulx had so beautifully described in the novel. I could now feel and touch what I had read, and every single feeling and emotion I had felt was now completely tangible. And the sky was so blue, with picture-perfect clouds placed in it, I could have been staring at them forever.
But it was probably on top of Signal Mountain, crossing into the Grand Teton National Park, that I probably felt the strongest feeling of being deep into the story. Below me the plains of Wyoming running east to Dubois and Riverton, and west to the Grand Tetons, with their majestic peaks. No other sounds but the wind gently blowing and cicadas, while the aspens were showing off their skills with their moving foliage lulled by the breeze. I felt as if that idyllic landscape was really "my" place. Tell you: I was moved by all this beauty, and had difficulties in leaving the place, but ... we have never enough time, never enough! And for me it was time to go.
My "emotional journey" ended in Jackson Hole, a very nice place but a bit too much a tourist destination: then it was back to Europe. Like a flash my dream was over, and I had to leave the land of Ennis and Jack. But I know the journey continues, and will continue throughout my everyday experience. I will re-read Close Range (not only BBM but also the other short novels in the book) and of course re-watch our beloved movie, sure that now more and more details will be clearer to me.
Luigi
ifyoucantfixit:
Thank you so much for retelling your story to us here...It was great to see and visit the places
along with you. I am so glad you had such a memorable time, and was touched by the beautiful landscapes. janice
luigival:
--- Quote from: ifyoucantfixit on August 25, 2007, 06:20:37 pm ---
Thank you so much for retelling your story to us here...It was great to see and visit the places
along with you. I am so glad you had such a memorable time, and was touched by the beautiful landscapes. janice
--- End quote ---
I really was, and that feeling of longing still lingers around me. Maybe the spirit of Ennis and Jack...
Ellemeno:
Beautiful, Luigi. Folks might not know - You're a Brokie and BetterMostian from way back. Glad that you treated yourself to that experience, and took us with you. :) Did you take pictures?
luigival:
--- Quote from: Ellemeno on August 26, 2007, 11:40:17 am ---Beautiful, Luigi. Folks might not know - You're a Brokie and BetterMostian from way back. Glad that you treated yourself to that experience, and took us with you. :) Did you take pictures?
--- End quote ---
Hi Elle, and great hearing from you! Yes I did take plenty of pictures, but in slide format - I usually travel with two cameras, my old Nikon F70 and a smaller Coolpix, and for my travel shots aIways still keep to the old "chemical" way of using colour slides: I prefer the quality and texture of images. I will have them developed in a week and will try to have some of them in a digital format as well so that can post a few here.
Landscapes were absolutely, breathtakingly, and sometimes painfully beautiful! I was staring to them speechless, only the wind blowing and the forces of nature. GREAT! Loved every moment of it, and already looking forward to replicate sometimes in the future, maybe trying to include Lightning Flat and Devils Tower next time...
Luigi
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