Happy Trails: Elna Baker

I meant to review lots of books on this blog, and I haven't done that. But I simply had to review a recent book titled The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance by Elna Baker (I had to check that title three times to make sure I got all the words in the right order). I felt compelled to review it not just because I really liked it, but also because it spoke to me as a Mormon woman who was single until the advanced age of 25. (That may sound young to some of you, but census data from 2000 says that Utah women marry for the first time at 21.9.)

Elna Baker is a 27-year-old Mormon comedian living in New York. She's single. She's lived in New York since she was 18 and a freshman in college. Her book is the most honest account of Mormon singlehood that I've ever read. She's honest about the problems of celibacy, of dating outside the faith, and of gendered expectations for women within the Mormon church. She's very funny, a bit self-absorbed (it's a memoir, so of course she is), and a good writer.

One of my favorite stories from the book is related to the title and involves a fantastic fortune-cookie costume. You can see Elna herself tell the story here:


I highly recommend the book. But if you have preconceived notions about what Mormon women are like (or if you're offended by cursing and talk about sex), prepare to be shocked.

Feeling grateful

I'm extra glad right now to have chosen library science over a PhD in literature. A New York Times article last week said: “Students thinking of going to graduate school in English should understand that right now their chance of landing a job that provides them a livable wage is 50-60 percent,” said Rosemary Feal, executive director of the M.L.A. Who knew it was that bleak???

Thanksgiving in Cache Valley

It's been awhile since we posted here, and this will be brief. We spent a lovely Thanksgiving weekend in Cache Valley. For the first time since June 2007 all the Bowles kids were together! (In intervening years Justin was in San Jose, CA for two years, Nick was in Alaska during the summers, and M&M lived in Illinois and made twice-yearly visits home.) Here we are at the old homestead:
The whole fam

Just the kids (we were in some random order, then someone insisted that we get in order of our age)

And finally, Nicholas has had enough.

Wyoming Territorial Prison State Historic Site

I meant to post about this long ago, but the fall has been awfully busy! So here are some photos of and some tidbits of information about the Wyoming Territorial Prison, built in Laramie in 1872 and closed in 1903. Mike volunteered there this fall and I checked out the site on Labor Day.

First, here's Michael in his prison stripes behind bars.

What Michael actually did as a volunteer was make brooms in the broom factory pictured below. Work was part of the rehabilitation process for inmates at the prison, and the prison operated a broom factory for several years, where the inmates worked every day.

Butch Cassidy was one of the most famous inmates who spent time at the Wyoming Territorial Prison. Here's his mugshot, taken in 1894 when he was imprisoned for 18 months for stealing horses. He got off early when he promised the governor he'd stay out of Wyoming.

Below is a photo of the prison chapel, where the first female chaplain in the U.S. prison system, Dr. May Preston Slosson, held weekly services. (Wyoming is the Equality State!) This room was also used for lectures by professors from University of Wyoming, who came to improve prisoners' minds.

Here's a photo of the outside of the prison.

Wyoming is a really interesting place with an interesting history. There's a gallery in the horse barn (not pictured) with a fascinating exhibit on the first women who served on a jury in the U.S., which happened in Wyoming in 1870. There's also a women's gallery in the prison, with brief histories of the female criminals who served time in the Territorial Prison. It's a great place for women's history.

Winter Already?

Wyoming got quite a bit of snow over the last several days, and the drive between the Denver Airport and Laramie was a little crazy last night! When we got back to town after our trip to New Mexico, there didn't seem to be too much snow on the ground, but we got another dusting last night. Here's the view from our living room today. I hear the temperature will warm up into the 40's today, so the snow should melt. But if we keep getting storms like this, maybe I'll need to keep my snow shoes handy.

Balloon Fiesta '09!

Melissa and I spent the weekend in Albuquerque with Bob and Emily, and we went to the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta! We had a blast (thanks Bobily for hosting), and we want to share a few of the photos we took at the Fiesta. Here they are, starting with the Dawn Patrol - the team of balloons that ascends first to check air conditions - and the beautiful New Mexico sunrise. (There's a reason they call it The Land of Enchantment.)



















Thank you Bobily and Albuquerque for showing us a great time!

Wyoming Rendezvous

A View of Devil's Tower National Monument

Over the past four days, Melissa and I had the excellent opportunity to tour part of the state of Wyoming. Each September, a member of the University of Wyoming's media relations staff organizes the Wyoming Rendezvous for new UW faculty and staff. It's a way for new employees of the university to get to know more about Wyoming and its people, and it's a great public relations campaign for the university.

The first stop on our tour was Cheyenne where we ate lunch at the old train depot (pictured below) and heard presentations about some of the major research initiatives at the University of Wyoming. The initiatives include a new supercomputer being built just outside Cheyenne and energy research including coal gasification and carbon sequestration. Coal gasification is a process in which coal is turned into a gas, and the gas is used to produce energy. This is more energy efficient than burning coal the old-fashioned way. Carbon sequestration is the process of capturing the carbon dioxide emitted by burning coal and injecting it into the ground in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

After our stop in Cheyenne, we drove up to Gillette, Wyoming, which is up in the northeast corner of the state. It took us all afternoon to make it to Gillette, so our only activity once we arrived was dinner.

The next morning just after 7:00 a.m., we were off to the high school in Gillette where we met with school administrators and a few students and teachers for breakfast. The president of the University of Wyoming, Tom Buchanan, had flown up to Gillette that morning and met us at the high school. After breakfast, our group hopped in the van and drove to Hulett, Wyoming (about an hour away from Gillette) while President Buchanan and other UW administrators stayed in Gillette for an assembly with students.

On arriving in Hulett, a tiny town of about 400 residents in a beautiful valley near Devil's Tower National Monument, we met a UW trustee and Hulett's school principal. The school is K-12 since the town is so small, but the school is really nice. (Wyoming has excellent education funding because of all the energy revenue the state receives.) We met with students and answered their questions about going to college and the University of Wyoming. After a while, President Buchanan arrived, and the students had time to ask him questions. This was one of my favorite parts of the trip because the students were very interested in President Buchanan. They asked him great questions, and he related to them extremely well. One of my favorite moments was when a student asked, "What's the best major you guys offer?" President Buchanan said, "The best major is whatever you like. If you don't like one major, then that major is no good for you." Another student asked where she could house her horses while she went to college. Anyway, they were really great, and the UW president was extremely personable. I thought it was an excellent way for the university to reach out to high school students.

Next on the agenda was lunch at the country club in Hulett, followed by a tour of UW trustee Jim Neiman's sawmill.
This is a photo of the view from the country club where we had lunch. Just below the overlook is the sawmill we toured. In the distance, you can see Devil's Tower (on the left) and a couple of buttes.
Here's our group putting on hardhats and inserting earplugs before going into the sawmill.




After our tour, we all loaded back into the van for a visit of Devil's Tower, a very exciting moment for our group.

In this photo, you can see a climber on the cliff face. Melissa and I spotted three climbers, but others in our group said they saw four. We learned that it usually takes an experienced climber about three hours to scale Devil's Tower and one hour to get down.

The trail around the base of the Tower is a little over a mile and doesn't take too long to walk (depending on how often you stop to look at the Tower). Once you get close to Devil's Tower, there's kind of a hushed feeling. Many Native American tribes regard the site as sacred, and Melissa and I certainly felt the urge to be reverent while we were there.

This deer we saw on the trail was not at all afraid of people.

After our walk around Devil's Tower, we went to our hotel to get cleaned up for dinner. We were served a delicious catered dinner at the school where we ate with Mr. Neiman, the trustee who was hosting us, and school officials and community members. I sat next to a representative from the state legislature, and Melissa and I met a state senator that evening as well. Rubbing shoulders with politicians and high-level university administrators was a new experience for both Melissa and me, and we had a blast! What made is so great is that everyone was completely down to earth and friendly. We absolutely loved our day in Hulett.

The next morning, Saturday, we were up early and on the road again. Our destination was the Black Thunder coal mine about an hour south of Gillette. Greg Schaefer, the mine's spokesman and a former UW trustee, gave us a tour of the mine.

This is not the same kind of coal mining operation your hear about in places like West Virginia where coal miners get stuck inside deep shafts. The kind of coal that is mined in Wyoming is fairly close to the surface, so the miners blast down so that they can drive huge machinery up to the coal seams and haul it out in trucks.


This machine is called the dragline. It's kind of like a huge crane that drags away the earth on top of the coal after the miners have blasted away what they can. To put the size of this machine in perspective, look at the bottom left corner of the dragline. You can see one of the huge trucks that haul out the coal, and to the right of the truck, there's a bulldozer. I don't think you can even see the bulldozer without enlarging the picture, but you can see how massive the dragline is.

After our tour of the mine, we grabbed lunch and drove to Casper, Wyoming. When we arrived in Casper, we got a tour of the University of Wyoming's Casper outreach center, which has an important partnership with Casper Community College. UW-CC is also an important hub for UW's Outreach programs, which provide distance learning opportunities for students all over the state.

That evening, we had a very nice dinner at the Petroleum Club in Casper. Once again, we had the opportunity to rub shoulders with UW administrators, who were very gracious hosts, as well as another state senator, and professors and community members. Melissa and I sat with, among other fascinating people, a UW-CC English professor who also chairs the Wyoming Arts Council. He's also on a first-name basis with Wyoming's governor Dave Freudenthal.

The next morning, Sunday, we got to sleep in a little bit, then we were off to the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center in Casper. It's sort of like a museum that tells the story historic trails that all passed through what is today Casper. They include Native American trails, the Oregon trail, the Mormon trail, the California gold rush trail, and the Pony Express.

The view of Casper from the Trails Center.

A diorama of some pioneers.

In this exhibit, you get to try pushing a Mormon handcart.

We thought this was a funny ad for the Pony Express.

After spending some time at the Trails Center, we piled into the tour bus for the last time and drove back to Laramie. Whew! It was quite a trip! The Rendezvous was an amazing way to get to know a few places in the great state of Wyoming. Melissa and I had a great time. We feel like we gained quite an education in industry, and we experienced firsthand just how warm and friendly the people of Wyoming are. We love it here!

The New Apartment

Melissa and I thought that some of our readers may be interested in a virtual tour of our apartment in Laramie. Here's a brief slideshow:

Living Room

Kitchen/Dining Room

Office

Guest Room

Master Bedroom

We also have two bathrooms, but if you want to see them, you'll have to come to Laramie!