So why the wilds of Wyoming this year?  Because Bryan's mother's husband, Lee Martinez, is having a gathering of all the branches of his family and all are invited.  So come along!

Friday, July 14 is Bastille Day and we’re at the airport only to find that our flight has been delayed due to east coast weather.  It doesn’t leave until after midnight which puts us into Denver at 2 am.  Since the car rental agency is closed until 6 am we get to sleep in the terminal.  Not a good start to our trip!

Saturday, July 15 and finally we’re at National Rental and in a Pontiac Grand Am in bright red with rear spoiler, mainly because Bryan wants it.  By 9:30 am, we’re driving out of Denver, past Longmont and our first destination, Ft. Collins.  It reminds me of Boulder with its mix of crafts stores and college students.  Bryan used to live here in his early twenties and shows me his old house and the gas station he managed.

We have breakfast at Joe’s Fireside Café on South College Avenue, look at antiques at Bennett’s Antiques and ArTiques on Mountain [sic] before hitting the road and driving past Greeley (the home town of David Littler).

We head north on I-25 to Cheyenne and then west on I-80 to Laramie.  Yes, the town of Matthew Shephard.  We have become a taunt to our neighbors, mocked and derided by those around us. Psalm 79:4 NRSV

There’s not much to do with one antique store and a bad street fair (although St. Matthew's Cathedral - Episcopal is rather nice looking) so we’re off quickly after going by University of Wyoming where Bryan attended before entering the Navy.

We’re back on the road to Rawlins by 2 pm; this looks like a ghost town but actually extends further as it’s the site of the state penitentiary.    However, at Hidden Treasures Antiques we do find the one piece of ceramic on the trip that comes back home with us; it’s a oak berry patterned McCoy.  At only $20, it’s now the highlight of our collection.  Finally north through some incredible scenery.

We arrive in Riverton and stop at Bryan’s mom’s house after dropping off our bags at his father’s.  We’re with Pam (Bryan's mother) and Lee (her husband) and then it’s everyone to the top of the hill for a fireworks display (we’ve arrived during Riverton’s Rendezvous weekend); the fireworks also manage to start some small brush fires in the area!  Present are Bryan's brother Brett, his wife Karen and their kids (Angel and little Bryan), Pam and Lee, his son Chico and his family and Bryan's father Howard and his mother, Ruth.  Do you have that straight?

Sunday, July 16 and the reason to rush to Riverton – a balloon festival as part of the weekend’s festivities.  Bryan’s father sponsors one of the balloons and we were hoping for a ride on it.  This means that we’re up at 5 am and on the field by 6 am; however, strong winds prevent all but one balloon from going up and that one probably shouldn’t have.  [Click here for a short mpg of Bryan with his niece Angel.]

Since we’re done before 9, I attend St. James Episcopal.  They are about to get a new rector which means there’s a visiting priest; they’re a very vocal and active congregation.  The Gospel reading for the day contains one of my favorite admonitions:

He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics.  He said to them, "Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place.  If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them."  Mark 6: 8-11

At 4 pm, we’re back to his dad’s and have a bbq with goose bratwurst – yes, from goose he shot himself.  Present are Howard and his wife Cherie, Brett, Dorie, Ruth and us.  Afterwards, we watch ‘The Practice’ and see what Dylan McDermott looks like; he’s been spotted a few times in our apartment building.

Monday, July 17 and lunch at the Country Cove, owned by two lesbians.  They're even listed as the only Riverton entry in the 2000 Damron Guide!  They're much like a conventional diner with quality food (and only open for breakfast and lunch).

We also visit Howard at Inberg-Miller Engineer, his civil engineering business (you may remember the nice Carhartt jackets that his father got us for Christmas).

Bryan and I drive over to Lander with a brief stop to see antiques at The Village Store, just east of town.  The last time we were there, Bryan had noticed a white ceramic marlin which I though rather tacky.  However, the last time it was less than $30; in the meantime they had figured out its provenance and it had gone up to $140!  I should always listen to B about these things.  Plus, the owner raises miniature Sicilian donkeys (they’ve got a cross on their backs) and miniature horses.

Then it’s off to the center of town and a drink at the Gannett Grill.  At 6 pm, we’re joined by Howard, Cherie and her friend Jody for dinner at Amoretti’s; it’s a new Italian restaurant and H wants our opinion.  Well, it’s just incredible from the décor to the food!

After dinner we go into Lander’s park to see an evening concert.  But we miss most of the first half (a jazz band) and the rain curtails most of the second half; unfortunately as it’s a college-age string trio who are quite good (including pieces by Max Bruch and Scottish tunes).

Tuesday, July 18 and our trip through Wind River Country as this area is called.  We go west out to Crow Heart (there's an old tourist story about a Crow Indian) where we see real ostriches along the road, right across from the tiniest Episcopal church I’ve ever seen, St. Helen’s (one service, Sunday at 4 pm, although one can always go to St. Thomas in Dubois).

We stop for lunch in the pretty town of Dubois (say, ‘doo-boys’ although it’s indeed of French derivation).  After a stop for used cds at Tony’s Sports World [Technotronic from 1989 and Oasis – (What’s the Story) Morning Glory – for our collection] we have a very tasty lunch at Anita’s Cantina.  (You can see a five second mpg of me enjoying it.)

We sit on the back porch next to a babbling brook with great pinto bean soup, fresh chicken salad with basil for me and a bacon, lettuce and cheese sandwich for Bryan.  There's even a Dubois Museum but we didn't have the chance to see it.

On the road to Jackson Hole, we pass a memorial to the tie hackers; the hearty Swedes (more or less) who cut and shaped the wood ties for the railroad that connected our country.

By 2 pm, we’ve made it to Jackson Hole; the last time I was there was more than thirty years ago – now it’s a tourist trap with every little store known to man.  But the antler gates to Jackson Town Square are still there; they have been there since 1960 and it should be noted that they are collected (by Boy Scouts) after the elk shed them in the spring.

I find out much later that the famous bar with embedded silver dollars burned down many years ago; the other bar, the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar, is still there.  St. John's Episcopal on North Cache is a block away; it also has a stunning chapel in the Grand Tetons.

We didn't get a chance to go into the National Museum of Wildlife Art but it looks quite contemporary.  There's lots to do in Jackson Hole if you're a yuppie, a movie star or like to ski; for us it was a bit touristy.

By 3 pm, we’re on the way back and off through the Grand Teton National Forest to Yellowstone Park; we arrive at 6 pm at the Old Faithful Inn which is just incredible.

Old Faithful Inn (this link from yahoo travel) is the largest log cabin in the world and features an 85-foot tall lobby, huge roughstone fireplace, overhanging balconies and railings made of spectacular twisted gnarled logs.  Designed by a young architect, Robert C. Reamer (also architect of the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle), it opened in 1904.

We stop at Hamilton Stores to get small items (I have a unique Yellowstone t-shirt plus a couple of pair off earrings and kitchen magnets) before seeing an 8:15 pm eruption of Old Faithful.  And if you have a fast modem (or nothing better to do), you can click on the geyser and download a 60 second mpg of it erupting at 10 am the next day.

Our dinner reservation is in the Inn’s beautiful dining room; we’re in the old part with the chairs being original to the 1904 construction.  After splitting some wings (sorry, chef, but we had to ask for some ranch dressing to go along with them), Bryan had the chicken fried steak (probably the best of the trip) while I had duck breast.  Now it seems quite rare that I have good  breast of duck and this is no exception; the meat was rather bland although at least tender, and covered – or should I say smothered – in huckleberry sauce.  Total for dinner was a most reasonable $70 which included 3 glasses of white wine for B and 2 of red for me.

Wednesday, July 19 and I’m up at 7 am for a bath; yes, there are no showers in our room – actually, we’re lucky as most of the rooms don’t even have a private bath in keeping with the original theme of the Inn.  I take some early morning pictures of the geyser before we have breakfast in the ‘new’ dining room – it dates back to 1924 with the original furniture.

By the way, almost all of the Inn is designed in a blend of Arts + Crafts, Mission and unique tree limb design.  While Bryan goes on a Kodak lesson at 9:30 am, I attend an extremely interesting tour of the Inn itself conducted by a woman who not only lives in the Park year-round with her Ranger husband, she also home schools her children (and there’s no broadcast television either).  Home schooling is very popular in Wyoming; the benefits are of course debatable but I felt that if anyone could do it, it would be this remarkable woman.

By 11 am, we’ve checked out and take a driving tour of Yellowstone Park, including the Upper and Lower Falls, and seeing a great many bison, a coyote and a black bear, and lots and lots of steam (it is a hot springs after all).

We leave the park around 2 and through high roads and low construction we finally make it to Cody, literally developed by Colonel William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody.  The town features his namesake museums, the Buffalo Bill Historical Center which includes the Whitney Gallery of Western Art.

We also find out about Ann Hanson, resident of nearby Shell Wyoming and artist of a very unique piece of art that we have in our apartment.  Her oils are highly realistic and generally feature horses or cowboys; the piece at the Whitney just shows the crotch of a cowboy and Bryan's limited edition print just shows the bottom halves of two cowboys sitting on a fence.

Yes, Cody is another city like Lander that lives on historical mimicry (there's even has a nightly shoot-out at 6:30 pm at the Irma and a rodeo at 8:30 during the summer).

We try to find a hotel and find most of them are quite expensive (over a hundred dollars a room).  But luckily, we wind up just a block from the world-famous Irma Hotel (started by Bill Cody) at the Pawnee Hotel (the proprietress also raises Tennesee Walking horses as CJ Walkers).  The room is just over forty dollars but although the room is comfortable with cable tv, the extra large tub doesn't include a shower.  Still, it's a good choice for us; and their website contains lots of information about the surrounding area.

As Bryan just wants to rest and relax this evening, I go for a fine Mexican dinner at La Comida on Sheridan Avenue, the main street.  I will say that I do recommend the food, more so the drinks and even more so the young and attentive waiter.

Thursday, July 20 and we walk up and down the main drag checking out the shops and finding out more about Ann Hanson in one of the galleries.  After lunch at the A+W at noon, we head south through Thermopolis (check out our last visit there) and finally arriving at Pam’s around 5 pm.

Her mother Pat, father Nap (for Napoleon) Truckey and their son (and Bryan's uncle) Paul with his girlfriend Cathy have just arrived in town from Wisconsin.  Bryan hasn’t seen any of them in a long time and this is one of the high points of the trip.

One of the central facets of this trip is the number of children involved, besides Bryan’s niece and nephew I regularly see two or more in addition.  At the reunion I believe there’s almost 20!  And it shocks an old city queen like myself that I’m so comfortable in the arms of a huge and multi-generational family (add to that that most of the family is of Mexican descent and the always interesting age gaps among the previously married).

Friday, July 21 and in the morning, we pick up Pam, Nap and Pat, Paul and Cathy and caravan up to the real-life ghost town of South Pass City which is a State Historic Site.  Resident Esther Morris was one of the world's first woman jurists and a powerhouse, not only in this town but in the state, leading it to be the first state with women's suffrage.

Then Atlantic City at 2 pm where we see an extremely pretty Episcopal church.  And no, there's no gambling here - I think the whole town might number less than 50 people.

At 7 pm, we’re at the Holiday Inn for the family reunion registration; it’s there that we get our Martinez Family 2000 t-shirts.  From what I can tell from the genealogical chart that’s at the picnic, there are 5 branches of the family (at least under Lee’s mother Mary) going back to the late 1500s).

Saturday, July 22 and Bryan goes looking for garage sales and picking up his grandmother Ruth, Howard’s mother.  By 10 am, the three of us are at the Riverton Museum with its director Loren Jost who reminds me much of Ralph Taylor (this is a good thing for those who know him!).

It’s small but fascinating place with nicely produced exhibits and Bryan even picks up a book of primary sources of Riverton while there.  Afterwards, he and I have lunch at Taco John's, a fast food chain with a long history of which he’s rather fond.

The reason for our stay in Riverton, the Martinez Family 2000 picnic, is in the afternoon so we head on over.  There’s an estimate of around 150 people who have arrived from around the country.

Lee is the main organizer of this event and the five separate 'tribes' all have their own special color t-shirts.  Of course, Bryan has persuaded him that ours should be black in honor of New York City!

At 6, we change and regroup at the Valley View Supper Club next door to the Riverton Airport; it has a commanding view of the town below it – but severely compromised air-conditioning!  Although, in fairness, they were remodeling.  We all had a great time.

Sunday, July 23 and a final breakfast at the Holiday Inn means no church for anyone (although it doesn’t seem to bother any of them either).  Bryan’s favorite out West is biscuits and gravy and he claims that this is the best he’s had in ages.

For dinner, Howard grills a bunch of saugers (like a walleye) that he fished for; in addition he prepares mourning doves and corn.  We will, for purposes of politeness, refrain from any proselytizing or politicking on the subject of hunting.  Cherie finishes us off with a superb mandarin orange/pineapple cake.

Monday, July 24 and at noon we have lunch at the Bread Board, a popular deli in town, with Howard and Cherie.  We head over to Pam’s for the afternoon and early evening.  Bryan and I take Pam to examine some ‘triple-wides’ – mobile homes, I mean ‘manufactured housing’ as the term is preferred now and they have their own trade organization and sources.  Of the best one I was most impressed; the others were a definite cut above a trailer home but you wouldn’t mistake it for a real house although HUD does have new standards for them.

Chico arrives with his wife Angie and his two kids so it’s quite the full house for dinner!  Later, when they leave, Paul and his parents arrive (they’d spent the last day in Yellowstone) so I must seen 20 people at that house during the whole time – and Pam and Lee handle it all with ease and a twinkle in their eyes.

Tuesday, July 25, we go to Brett’s at 11 and back to the Bread Board with the kids and Karen.  The end of the afternoon is spent at Pam’s; Bryan has brought his grandmother Ruth to see the Truckeys.
The evening begins with a Johnson family dinner at the Trailhead Family Restaurant at 6.  Our final family dinner consists of Howard + Cherie, Brett + Karen, Angel + little Bryan, Ruth and Dorie as well as Bryan and I.  And chicken-fried steak!

Wednesday, July 26 and good-bye to everyone.  Pam was making a huge eggs and pancake breakfast for everyone!!!  By 10 we’re on the road and a long drive straight to Rawlins where we have a surprisingly good lunch at The Pantry.  If you get there (and I can’t imagine why you would), they also pride themselves on one of the best coconut crème pies; it’s also in a finely restored home from the late 1800’s.  Then about half an hour in both Ft. Collins and Boulder.  We stay overnight at the Motel 6 just north of Denver.

Thursday, July 27 and we’re on South Broadway in Denver in the midst of a group of antiques stores.  But we also find that the prices are very high and by noon we’re ready for lunch.  We thought we’d go to the gay district but we never find it (although he does find the Triangle bar) and soon we give up and drive the car back to the airport.  By 2 pm, we’re actually checked in – the only problem is that the 6 pm flight gets delayed!  We don’t leave until 9 pm which puts us into Newark at around 2 am.

And now you may return for the final four days of July.