October 5, 2026- Hana took her first, and second, single steps this afternoon. She dropped down, after each one, but the process has started. We will continue assisted walking and encouraging her scooting, until she builds her gait.
The other good news is about Papa. My semi-annual physical showed that I am 75 going on 55. All markers are excellent. I will next go for a check-up in nine months, instead of six. I credit the little girl keeping me busy, and the steady diet that we have here-lots of salad greens and organic meat, vegetables and fruits.
HANA’S NOTE– I’m a little scared to walk too much by myself. Papa will stay with me until I can.
EXPANDING CIRCLES: Wyoming- I have been in the Cowboy State five times also- to the Cheyenne Frontier Days, in 1972; with Penny and some Baha’i friends, in 1982 and 1984; twice solo, in 2013. Each time, the visits have presented challenges and each time, I’ve come out stronger. Wyoming has a hard, but bracing beauty.
The turf- Most of western Wyoming is covered by the Rocky Mountains. There is a small arid region in the far southwest. Eastern Wyoming is mostly high plains. The state is drained by the Gallatin, Madison, Yellowstone, Wind/ Bighorn,Tongue, Powder, Little Missouri, Niobrara,North Platte, Laramie, Green, Snake, and Bear Rivers, along with their tributaries.
First Nations-Wyoming is the ancestral home of the Shoshoni, Arapaho, Cheyenne, Crow and Ute peoples. In addition,. Bannock, Comanche(Numunuu), Dakota, Kiowa, Kiowa Apache and Pawnee passed through the state, in the course of hunting. Only the Arapaho and Shoshoni remain in Wyoming, residing on and around Wind River Reservation. Wyoming’s people largely escaped the conflicts that raged between Native Americans and settlers in Idaho and Montana, There was a brief skirmish Jackson’s Hole, in 1895, sparked by a decline in the elk population. Elk were a major food source for the Bannock people who lived there. They were also lucrative for big game hunters from elsewhere, whose visits were a source of income for settlers. Rumour mongers claimed that the Bannocks had killed all the white settlers in Jackson, which was false. In fact, a blind Bannock elder was the only person known to have been killed. One white infant was separated from mother , and never found. The U.S. Army restored order in the area. The Bannocks returned to their reservation, with only one of their members being arrested for poaching. He was posthumously exonerated by the Supreme Court in 2019.
Where I most feel at home: Afton, Jackson, Grand Teton, Yellowstone, Ranchester, Spirit (“Devils”) Tower, Medicine Wheel.
Where I most feel at peace: Snake River, Spirit Tower, Medicine Wheel
NEXT: Montana
