Settling in

The other day I switched my car registration to Wyoming, which I feel is a sign that I actually do live here now. The Wyoming license plates have a mountain range (I'm told it's the Tetons) in the background and a bucking horse in the foreground. And of course half the plate is taken up by big sky. Wyoming has no vehicle inspection, so changing registration is pretty painless. You go to the courthouse, and a county sheriff (wearing wranglers and cowboy boots) checks that your car is not stolen, and that's about it. Then you get to prove that you deserve the new plates by putting them on your car in freezing conditions.

Other signs of settling into Wyoming are a little more subtle. I have a wallet full of Laramie-related cards, including a library card, Safeway card, movie rental card, and WyoOne card. I bought 2 pairs of cowboy boots at a second-hand store, and I actually have worn them in public. I now own a tent (bought second-hand for $25), and am very sad that there is way too much snow in the mountains to use it (and will be for the next 6 months). I am learning to deal with the fact that Laramie does not plow, sand, or salt residential streets, and so if I manage to get my car to start (difficult in -20 degree weather), stopping at intersections is not guaranteed. I have discovered that your snot will in fact freeze in temperatures below -10, and that your skin doesn't have to be exposed to get frostbitten. I have learned that ice can and will form on the INSIDE of windows without storm windows.

And lastly, for all you Yale folks who have enjoyed Elkfest, know that I participated in butchering an elk on Thanksgiving morning this year. I'll spare you the photo here; it's already on facebook.