I’ve recently been reading Shreve Stockton’s book The Daily Coyote, about a native New Yorker who fell in love with Wyoming. After moving to Ten Sleep, a town of a couple hundred people close to the Bighorn Mountains and not much else, she was given a tiny coyote pup (a lovely story, but I won’t spoil it: read the book!) and started sending daily photos of little Charlie in emails that became known as The Daily Coyote. This book describes her life with young Charlie and her experiences acclimating to Wyoming life. It’s a delightful read, and I’m enjoying the author’s experiences as she learns about Wyoming and living here. Some of her adventures feel familiar to me.
You see, I was born in Atlanta and expected to spend my life there, but I grew up visiting Wyoming every summer. I always described Wyoming as where my spirit lives, and I came out as often as I could. My first wedding was in Wyoming even though almost all of my people came from the east coast and almost all of my ex’s people came from England. (THAT was an experience.) I cried every time I left the state until I bought a home in Cheyenne in 2013 and knew I had a place to come home to.
My dad, my last living relative, died in 2017 after a long journey with dementia. My former husband, with whom I had much unfinished business even though we’d been divorced for nearly 7 years, died unexpectedly just 40 days later. As soon as I could, my soul dog Gracie and I headed to Wyoming for a walkabout. I spent weeks driving, hiking, journaling—putting myself back together—in the Snowy Range, on the hot high plains, in the Tetons. My friends back home tracked me by my cell phone, worried about my safety, but I felt more comfortable alone in nature than I ever had in the city. My grief slowly began to settle. Finally, I returned to Atlanta to resume my life—or so I thought.
One sunny winter afternoon, I sat at my desk in my 15th floor condo and watched as a hawk glided by and then returned to circle outside my window. That’s when I knew it was finally time to go home — home to Wyoming. Home to open spaces and wind. Home to the land of blue skies and sunshine. Home to discover my new life.