Like most Wyomingites, spring is the season that is most
confusing to me. The season is bi-polar.
It cannot decide if it is winter or summer!
But when it
comes to beauty is there a time of year when the state is more beautiful than
in the spring?
The sparkling
green of new growth of grass reflected off the canyon rocks with a few white
snowdrifts here and there – that is the picture of colorful beauty.
And our
mountains are so white with snow. Our
Wind River Mountains, which run from the northern edge of Sweetwater County,
through Sublette and Fremont Counties and end up in Park and Teton Counties
were often called the “shining mountains” by the early pioneers. You could see them from a hundred miles away
as the snow would glisten.
And this
description also applies to the Big Horns, the Wyoming Range, the Sierra Madres,
the Tetons, and others around the state.
We spotted the
Winds from a long ways off during a recent trip where we were returning to
Lander from out west. That long range of mountains truly glistened in the
bright sun. The scene of the brilliant blue sky and the snow-packed mountains
was magnificent.
Perhaps the
most beautiful area during this trip was the huge box canyon known as Red
Canyon about 30 miles southeast of our home.
It is a bright red but with the new growth of green grass and those
above-mentioned snowdrifts here and there – well, it was a sight for sore eyes.
Best part of seeing it in the springtime on this trip, though, was that a dry
highway passed through it. South Pass can be a bugger this time of year.
That area is
also home to the vast Red Desert, which is one of the largest unfenced areas in
the United States. Its basin is unique because the Continental Divide splits
and goes around it and the assumption is that no water leaks out of it, headed
either east to the Atlantic Ocean or west to the Pacific Ocean.
In the spring,
though, the area should be called the Green Desert as it truly blooms.
Outside of Wyoming,
in much of the United States, spring is a time of tilling the soil, putting out
flower plants, and long walks in short sleeve shirts.
Now here,
spring often offers something quite different. Wyoming’s other seasons are
quite predictable. For example:
Summer features long sun-filled
days, low humidity, the bluest skies in America and cool, wonderful nights. It
is a time of golf and of camping. It is a time of enjoying five hours of daylight
after work and birds chirping in the crispy, early-morning air.
Fall is when
the famous brown and gold of Wyoming comes to light. Many visitors and
newcomers are often disappointed in the over-abundance of these colors in our
landscapes. Veteran Wyomingites feel
just the opposite. Many people actually prefer fall as their favorite
season. It is time for the annual
hunting trip, which means heading to the upper country or the high prairies.
Winter is
snowy with long nights, wind chill factor concerns, and closures of mountain
passes and major highways. It is a time
for snowmobiling, skiing, and watching football and basketball on TV. It is a
time when we all bundle up and make sure we are prepared for any emergency.
But springtime
in Wyoming, wow! Normally it is mud season, but not so bad so far. Our fierce
winds have dried things out in the valleys.
Temperatures have soared into the
70s and it is balmy much of the time. April is actually our wettest month of
the year with lots of wet, heavy snow
I heard an expression by a TV
weather reporter, who kept referring to their all-time record cold weather as
coming after they had had a “false” spring.
My favorite
way to describe Wyoming’s four seasons is: Almost Winter, Winter, Still Winter,
and Construction.
Lander’s Del
McOmie shared a funny weather description that he found on the Wyoming Going
Blue Facebook page. It included one really cool season called “sprinter,” which
I think is now.
Meanwhile up
in Jackson, where they had record this winter, a huge pile of snow is causing
concern. It is the result of 12,000 dump
truck loads of snow and it is gradually melting.
It has been
named “what in the Sam Hill” after Sam Jewison, the public works director. He is hoping it will be melted by Memorial
Day.
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