I grew up at over 7,000 ft above sea level. It is a harsh life, but I will always consider it home. I want to go back, but it is so dry, the wind causes so much static, and first day to plant is June 10th. I like to garden (without watering daily), and I like not having to use lotion every day.
That said the sun shines about 350 days a year - oh how I miss that. The people are nice for the most part, they are usually only there because they want to be - if they are not nice it is usually because they do NOT want to be there. Oh and it is peaceful! And I love the look of nothingness, just an expanse of sagebrush makes me feel comfortable. When my Dad visitis forested places he feels claustrophobic!
South Central WY. Oh ummm no... Lol! Especially not there! Look up photos of I 80 between Laramie and Rawlins...
If anywhere in WY I would suggest NE WY (around Worland - considered the breadbasket - hehe) at 4,000 ft. And good luck with jobs there.
My friend from CA drove with me on I 80 to CA once and he said "Wow Wyoming looks just like I imagined it would." Me, all excited "Really?" He said "Yes, it looks like the moon".... Too true on that stretch, and I had to admit it.
Oh and there is really not a homesteader mentality in most of Wyoming. You either do it or you don't, you either want to or you don't. It just is - handed down for generations an outlook. Hard to explain, really. But most kids do leave the state, so the ones who stay really love what it has to offer. And they don't try to talk anyone into coming, or staying.
BTW there is only one area code in the whole state. And you really can drive for a couple of hours without hitting a town. The only way you can tell there is anyone inhabiting the nothingness is at night you might see a faint light that is probably from a ranch in the distance.
Driving I 80 with my teenage son once and I told him we needed top stop for gas, he insisted we had a 1/2 tank of gas to make it from Rock Springs to SLC.
I disagreed, but knew there was a little gas station we would hit in between (I didn't tell him) and so we go straight into the wind, and you know what happened to that gas tank... He was scared to death by the time we got to the little gas station in UT. Never argued that point again.
Now I am homesick again.
