Wednesday, November 24, we spend about two hours at Denver International; our new advice is to stay on Concourse B if your plane docks there. There were more interesting chain restaurants on the concourse than in the main terminal, and that included an outpost of Wolfgang Puck’s.
We arrived in Riverton, Wyoming at 3 in the afternoon and are greeted by Bryan’s father, Howard Johnson, with his wife Cherie, B’s mom, Pam Martinez, and her husband Lee; Bryan’s brother Brett Johnson and his two children, Angel and Bryan (known as “Little Bryan” during the trip). Mom Karen was at work but graciously lent us the use of her car, a Ford Escort, for the whole week.
Around 4 pm, Bryan and I checked into our residence for the week, the Sundowner Station; it’s the same motel we stayed at last time and has a decent restaurant.
Around 6 pm, Pam arrives at the motel followed by Brett, Karen and the kids and shopping at the Wal-Mart across from the motel. On the same side of the highway as motel is the “Big K” – yes, an enlarged version of K-Mart.
Indeed, the biggest question facing the citizens of Riverton these days is whether or not to allow the Wal-Mart to expand to become a Super Wal-Mart. Meanwhile, downtown dies of attrition as arts and crafts stores come and go. My suggestion? Stretch a big covered wagon over three blocks of Main Street (yes, it is) and call it the world’s biggest covered wagon. And put outlet stores under it! Anyway, after shopping it was off to the Golden Corral for buffet, the cuisine of middle America.
Thursday, November 25, Thanksgiving Day. I enjoy a free traditional dinner at the motel restaurant; it’s an annual event to raise money for a local child with cancer. And while not gourmet by any means (I believe the veggies were frozen) it was still free food!
Around 2 pm, Bryan and I drove over to Lee and his mom’s for our first of two family dinners. Brett was there early with Angel and Little Bryan and until 5 pm it was a regular family day, people coming in and out, playing with the kids, etc. Brett and Karen arrived around then and people began to sit around the dinner table to eat. Joining Bryan’s family was Lee’s mom Mary, who is 80, along with his son (and Bryan’s step-brother, if you’re following) Troy and his children. Oh, yes, lots of kids and lots of family; there was always a dozen or so around the house at all times. And isn’t that why one does a family Thanksgiving holiday? Otherwise why go through the mess?
Cuisine? Perfectly traditional with the one possible exception of Lee’s chili peppers which even I had to admit were hot! [Politically incorrect aside: Lee’s family is from Mexico; Riverton’s population is descended from French-Canadians, Native Americans and Mexicans.]
And as is also traditional, by 9 pm the fire was out in almost everyone; Bryan and I were at the motel watching ER and asleep by 10. Yes, Wyoming is Mountain Time and network programming is one hour earlier than on the coasts.
Friday, November 26; early to bed, early … well, 6:44 am (Bryan was looking at the clock) is early for us – hey, shut up about the internal time zone difference! Anyway, breakfast at the motel so that Bryan can have his biscuits and gravy and by 8 am we’re on our way with his mother to Lander, Wyoming (the next major town west unless you’re counting Hudson, home of Svilar’s and El Toro’s steak houses, both now getting bad reviews from the locals).
We cruise the main street of Lander, an “historic” town full of crafts/antiques stores. Also, Bryan's stepbrother Chico is also an artist; some of his sculptures can be seen around Lander, including this picture of Bryan and his mom standing under this ironwork.
But we’re back around 1 as our real destination is traditional family dinner number two, this time at his father’s house. Howard runs Inberg-Miller Engineering, the prominent civil engineering firm in the area and his home overlooks some beautiful scenery.
Actually, due to the various elevations in the area, many homes have million dollar views without having the home to go with it! But his house is a fascinating array of seatings for two as it originally belonged to his mother-in-law, Dori and her late husband.
She (are you following?) has moved into an apartment within the house so it’s still appropriate for a couple, in this case Howard and his wife, Cherie. [This is an appropriate time to remind my readers that I don’t apply accentuation – sorry, I’m lazy.] But don’t write off Dori because she’s at dinner along with Howard’s mother, Ruth who lives nearby and is a foster grandparent at the local Head Start. Add to that Cherie’s friend Jody and Bryan’s niece and nephew and it’s a full afternoon.
We take a slight break to freshen around 6 and then return for the second half when Brett arrives. But once again it’s an early bedtime at 10. Although this time with a quick drink at the motel lounge where I find the population of Wyoming to be slightly less than half a million, Riverton to be just over ten thousand and the elevation just shy of five grand (the airport adds five hundred feet to that).
Saturday, November 27, it’s up again at 7 as Bryan has to check out the crafts show across the street at the Holiday Inn (the other choice of good hotel in Riverton). He meets his mom there and we all go for a breakfast buffet (what did you say?) with her at JB’s.
At 11 am, we meet up with Howard and Cherie for another day in Lander. This time the agenda is antiques and nature. Our first stop though is The Village Store off Shrine Club Road before you get into town. Open “by chance or appointment” it’s simply the barn next door to the Heryford’s house. But what fun items! And some good stuff as well; Bryan however falls totally in love with a ceramic dog house while I find a strap McCoy vase to add to our collection. And although I find the dog and its mailbox to be completely kitsch it's only $4; what can I say. And what should I say but I'm sorry. It turns out to be Royal Copley and we actually find two other copies on e-bay for $15 and $25! And in worse condition! That Bryan !!!
In addition, Bryan gets an unusual piece that we really feel is English. A delightful store and everyone finds something to buy. Yes, Bryan’s father is an “accumulator” also – like father, like son! – although Howard’s vice is Corn King ceramics.
The next stop is the center of Lander which, although we’d walked it just the day before, still rewards Bryan with treasure at Charlotte’s Web on, yes, Main Street. And rewards me with lunch at the Gannett Grill, the new “hot spot” in town where Karen has already recommended their Hungry Hippie “full of avocado and bean sprouts.” But healthy Karen isn’t with us so it’s pesto pizza for Cherie and me and fish and chips for Howard and Bryan.
And then off to the nature part of the trip, up through the unusual rock formation at Sinks Canyon State Park. Essentially, the Popo Agie (say poPO-zha) River disappears for a couple of miles beneath the ground and reappears – but not all of it and after more time has passed than should have. And for your geography lesson, courtesy of the local authorities who say that
Fremont County’s five major communities of Riverton, Lander, Dubois, Hudson and Shoshoni, and the two million acre Wind River Indian Reservation, are the staging grounds for unlimited outdoor recreation and cultural history exploration. This vast and diverse county covers 9,394 square miles – an area bigger than eight other states – and includes Wyoming’s highest mountain peaks. History buffs will not want to miss the many historic sites along the Oregon, Mormon and California Trials and the route of the Pony Express.
After four-wheeling his Suburban (in many ways he’s like my dad – he’s even a member of Ducks Unlimited) up a narrow path, enabling us to get an incredible panoramic view of the valley below, we head back down. But when we stop at the river’s reappearnace, he runs across someone he knows. Indeed, the two of them transferred offices from Wisconsin to Wyoming many years ago, when Bryan was eight. Small world.
After driving back to Riverton, we enjoy another round of Thanksgiving foods at his house before getting back to the motel around 8 pm.
Finally, we drive back over to Pam’s to chat with her and Lee for awhile and then it’s back and asleep to the best of Mike Myers on Saturday Night Live.
Sunday, November 28, we’re up and out before 9 am to pick up Karen and the kids and then Pam and Lee. Today’s journey? Caspar and the malls. It’s a two hour caravan to Caspar, slightly southeast of Riverton; Pam and Lee have Angel for most of the trip while Bryan drives Brett’s pickup with Karen and Little Bryan up front, me in back.
The halfway point is Hiland, elevation just a few feet shy of 6000 and a population of ten, all of whom probably lived in the white clapboard house next door to the gas station/store.
Slightly further on, we stopped at an unusual food and novelty store where one could purchase all sorts of snake mementos. Lee gets the best of it however as he actually finds a hard-to-find paperback by an author the shopkeeper likes also. So she gives it to him! He was surprised as well that she wouldn’t take advantage of what could only be an occasional sale.
By 11 am, we’ve arrived at our first stop, Sam’s, the members only arm of Wal-Mart. Yes, this was to be a journey to some of the powerhouses of the discount juggernaut. The regular Wal-Mart and K-Mart would have to wait until after lunch at the mall – yes, buffet. And while it’s the kids who demand food, it’s only the adults who eat it.
After a couple of hours at the mall (and a great picture of the kids with Santa) and the “marts” and we start back around 4 pm. But not before we get this picture of everyone; from left to right, it's Bryan, me, Angel, Karen, Pam, Lee and Little Bryan.
Karen does the driving home, Bryan is sleeping and I, yes, I get both kids in the back seat. Forgive me, Karen did have Little Bryan for the beginning of the trip but I had him for the greater length. The highlight of the ride back? Little Bryan had delightful ‘poopy-butt’ which he gladly shared with his sister by sitting on her head. And she was no ‘angel’ having done number one early on. And you think gay guys can’t be good parents?
Anyway, by 7 pm Bryan and I were back at the motel and getting ready for dinner with Pam and Lee at the Bull Steakhouse, one of Riverton’s two “restaurants” along with the Broker. The two hotel restaurants pretty much round out the haute dining spots around town.
For appetizers, Bryan stuck with shrimp cocktail, me with mozzarella sticks and the infamous treat of the west, Rocky Mountain Oysters for our guests, breaded, cut thin and fried. Entrees were varieties of steak for the men and seafood en croute for Pam.
And I must digress for a moment to talk about wine, or at least wine prices. The cost of a bottle of wine at the Bull is barely above retail. What caught my eye was a Concannon Petite Sirah for only $9! I just paid almost that for a glass at the Ninth Street restaurant here in the Village a couple of months ago. But wine just doesn’t sell well there so it’s got to be priced to move. Unfortunately for me, they were out of the Concannon but the B&G cabernet was a steal at around the same price.
Along with salads, soups, coffee and who knows what else (oh, yeah, jalapeno poppers!) the bill was only $135 for everyone (tip was $30).
Monday, November 29, I grab breakfast at the motel while Bryan gets up and ready for his “sweep up” day. By that I mean that he will try to visit everyone he hasn’t had a chance to see since arriving.
First stop is his father’s business again to see his long-time employee Ruth; it strikes me that his father’s place of business occupies almost a whole block of Main Street just one block from the area I think should be covered with the world’s largest covered wagon. Perhaps he should get the ball rolling downtown by commissioning a block long mural along his building. Of what? I’m not sure but obviously something relating to the birth of Riverton or events of the area.
After a brief shopping tour of downtown Main Street (this takes about five minutes and we probably could have cut that shorter) we head off for a sentimental lunch at the Dogpatch (renamed by the daughter ‘El Durango’ but still in the phone book under the original name). Bryan remembers their authentic Mexican food so we’ll go for a walk down memory lane. Now this is no restaurant; it’s basically a drive through window on one side, two rows of formica tables and then a large room with pool tables and video games. To be quite honest, I found the food uninspiring but Bryan insists this is what it should taste like. And then to make matters worse, later in the day I actually hear myself saying to Pam and Lee that “I guess I just don’t like authentic Mexican.” Seeing as how English now seems to be my third language and falling behind quickly, I just shut up. What I meant was that I was sure there was a distinction between subtly bland and uninspired. Which in reading this makes me think that my writing English is more dangerous than speaking it!
Let’s get back to Pam’s house which is where we headed around 2 pm. Lee has been having some computer problems so it’s specialist Bryan on the way! So after some tinkering, and looking at the digital pictures that we’ve been taking, we go shopping again. There was a dress that Angel had seen and a talking Winnie-the-Pooh that Bryan wanted for Little Bryan and so it’s back to Wal-Mart.
Around 5 pm, we stopped in to see Lee’s mother Mary for an hour and then it’s the seventh inning stretch for us. At 7 pm, we take ourselves to a private dinner at the Broker, pretty much ranked as the best in town and we pretty much deserve it. Why? Why not? We start off with martinis followed by wine for me and margarita for Bryan. Why? Oh, stop that … actually because the restaurant features two full menus, one American (I have a t-bone steak) and one Mexican (B has tacos). Add to that a variety of deep fat fried appetizers (the various names – vegetable tempura, battered onion rings, etc – attempting to disguise the same covering), salad and soup and whatever I might have forgotten and we were mighty full.
And gone by 9 pm as Bryan and his mom go to the Holiday Inn lounge (the hot spot in town) to have a couple of drinks and spend some ‘quality time’ together. While they do that I get involved in a Jackie O documentary (forgotten how much I liked her – and JFK for that matter); once he gets back it’s lights out by midnight in preparation for our final morning in Riverton.
Tuesday, November 30, a final breakfast of biscuits and gravy for Bryan at the motel; last stops include visiting Howard’s mother Ruth with her young ‘charges’ and Pam’s to organize the kid’s final gifts (we’ve supplemented the dress and Pooh with some cd-rom games and who knows what else – Bryan has kept fairly well to his gift-a-day program).
By noon, we are at the airport for a group picture. Left to right, it's Bryan, Lee, Pam (with Angel), Karen, Ruth, Howard, Cherie, me, Brett and Little Bryan. We have a joint lunch in the terminal before taking off, on time, on our United Express turbo-prop.
We have barely an hour in Denver before boarding our flight to Newark, which also leaves on time! And if we didn’t have to circle in Newark (is this a surprise?), we’d have arrived on time as well. As it is, we’re still home in the apartment and mostly unpacked before 10 pm.
And so ends November.