Project Western Living

[nakymaton]

Just something to add, sort of like thinking out loud (except typing it out): I would be very interested in learning more about/seeing more of the Native American presence in and contribution to the Western culture that is being invoked here.

Have you ever noticed, when randomly staring at maps of Wyoming, that Riverton is in the middle of the Wind River Reservation? I don't know anything about the history of the reservation, or even what tribe (or tribes?) live there.

(Tell me I'm not the only one who pulls out the Wyoming Atlas & Gazetteer from time to time. I mean, ok, I already owned it for work stuff, but I haven't been plotting new routes to new field areas lately.)

[moremojo]

(Tell me I'm not the only one who pulls out the Wyoming Atlas & Gazetteer from time to time. I mean, ok, I already owned it for work stuff, but I haven't been plotting new routes to new field areas lately.)

Yep, I do this too (I work in a library with an excellent collection of atlases and maps). Wind River Reservation is such an evocative name, but I too am not aware of the tribal affiliation(s) of the people living there.

[Jeff Wrangler]

(Tell me I'm not the only one who pulls out the Wyoming Atlas & Gazetteer from time to time. I mean, ok, I already owned it for work stuff, but I haven't been plotting new routes to new field areas lately.)

Shoot, I actually bought a new atlas, at Staples, just after last Christmas--because its map of Wyoming showed Lightning Flat!   

[nakymaton]

LOL, Jeff. I'm trying to remember now whether I bought my Wyoming atlas for legitimate professional reasons, or whether I bought it because I was in the local backpacking store right after I read BBM.

I googled the Wind River Reservation, and found info on a couple web pages. The reservation is home to both the Eastern Shoshone and the Arapahoe people... and the fort on the reservation was the original home of the Buffalo Soldiers (of the Bob Marley song).

Some links:

http://www.easternshoshone.net/WindRiverReservation2.htm Information about the reservation. Scroll to the bottom for pictures. If anyone wants a geological explanation of what they're seeing, I can probably figure one out, once I go home and look at my Wyoming geological highway map.

http://www.easternshoshone.net/ The Eastern Shoshone tribe's web page. Lots of history of the treaties... broken treaties, which, given the behavior of the US government towards the tribes, isn't at all surprising. The Arapahoes were put on the reservation after it was established, and the Shoshone still don't sound happy about it.

http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~sabthomp/wyoming/windriver/wywr.htm This page has links to both the Shoshone and Arapahoe stories. The Arapahoe originally lived eastern Colorado, as well as other places on the Plains, but they left Colorado for good after a massacre near Fort Collins.

[jessiwrite]

I foumd this interesting. Certainly has become a special place for me.

Riverton is the rendezvous community of Wyoming, past, present and future. For centuries, people have chosen the Wind River Valley as a place to come together. It started with the Native Americans who felt it was a special place. Mountain men, prospectors and homesteaders followed,

[Jeff Wrangler]

LOL, Jeff. I'm trying to remember now whether I bought my Wyoming atlas for legitimate professional reasons, or whether I bought it because I was in the local backpacking store right after I read BBM.

It was funny, actually. I had an old road atlas at my own place--no Lightning Flat. Then, at Christmas, I looked at the Wyoming map in the old World Book Encyclopedia at my dad's place--no Lightning Flat. The day after Christmas, Dad and I were in Staples because he wanted to buy me a shredder (!) for Christmas. I noticed this atlas in a rack near the door. I opened it to Wyoming--voila, Lightning Flat! So I bought the atlas.   

I googled the Wind River Reservation, and found info on a couple web pages. The reservation is home to both the Eastern Shoshone and the Arapahoe people... and the fort on the reservation was the original home of the Buffalo Soldiers (of the Bob Marley song).

OK this is almost spooking me out. Am I unconsciously/subconsciously channeling someone or something? In my latest fanfic, I gave Ennis a stallion named--Arapahoe! I had associated the Arapahoe with a location farther west than the Cheyenne historically, but swear-to-God I did not know that the Wind River Reservation was home to the tribe today.

Buffalo Soldiers = 9th U.S. Cavalry, I think.

[Phillip Dampier]

I think you guys would all love Google Earth, which is free and has amazing satellite imagery all around the world.  It has been fun to explore Wyoming from the sky (and other places).  Definitely consider adding that to your exploration adventures.

Another cool place is http://www.ghosttowns.com/ which has plenty of stories and information about rural towns that are essentially no more all across the west.  I enjoyed exploring the little places across Wyoming with the stories and pictures.