The North Platte River

The North Platte River runs right through downtown Casper. Bailey & I went exploring to discover a really nice walking trail on either side of the River. I am quite sure the warmer the days get, the more time we will be spending there.

Ride 'em Cowboy!

I pass these Mustangs on on 2nd Street multiple times a week. But, really I think they would look good outside of SHS. Go Mustangs!

Furniture Barn er, Wharehouse

This is where every piece of furniture & appliances in our house came from. The Barn is packed wall to wall with STUFF. It is really hit & miss. There are some really, really nice pieces & there is some stuff that I wouldn't furnish, well a barn, with. They are willing to bargain with you & they deliver. What more could we ask for? Next up on our list of "to purchase items" -- a dining room table & bedroom set.

They Ain't Kidding!

Natrona County Public Library

Yesterday I went to get a library card. I was able to restrain myself and only check out five books. I will admit that I was a bit shocked at how BUSY that place was on a Tuesday morning. I was there right at open and the parking lot was full.

I spent an hour browsing the shelves. A bit discouraged to see their "new releases" were not what B&N would consider "new releases", but I suspect the good ones were checked out. I picked up a few books by authors I adore, but had not been able to find some of their older stuff.

Keep an eye on my other blog for the reviews to follow.

Sanfords Grub & Pub

Yes, we are eating out a lot. But there are so many local restaurants to explore and check out. So far this restaurant has moved to the top of our "take out of town visitors to" list. We do believe that ALL of our Dad's and even some of our Mom's will love Sanfords.

The theme of the restaurant is all automotive. You walk in & the hostess keeps the menus in a large Craftsman tool box. There are cars, motorcycles, and other automotive paraphernalia all over the restaurant. We could have probably spent a week taking pictures, but unfortunately I forgot my camera. I know, I know.... How could I ? Right? The pictures aren't the greatest of quality because I took them with my cell phone, so for that I apologize.

Oh! And outside the restaurant?? There are old abandoned cars littering the parking lot. It really is pretty freaking cool.

Last, but not least. My wonderful husband!

Bliss

Our Dining Room!

I didn't want to post a picture until all of the boxes were out of the dining room. I spent all last Monday cleaning up, finding homes for boxes and getting things presentable. This picture was taken standing at the patio door. You can see back to the breakfast bar and the kitchen. The hallway on the left leads to a powder room with the attached laundry room. At the end of the hallway is the front door.




And this is where my books live. LOL. Along the one wall in the dining room. As you can see, I require more bookshelves, but the floor will suffice for now.

Totally Random

On our drive up the mountain last week we saw this right off of the main road. How random?

Saturday Afternoon Drive

Last Saturday David & I took a drive up the mountain. Here are a few pictures from that trip. I feel so incredibly blessed to be living amongst this beauty. My camera does not do it justice.










This is the view from one of the pull-offs on our way up the mountain. That is the view of Casper!

Heading back down the mountain.

I will never tire of this view.

I took this picture sitting in the car while David was putting gas in the car.

Forget Starbucks

These little shacks are ALL over town. Where you least expect it, this particular one is in the K-Mart parking lot. We were going for a drive up the mountain & wanted to stop for hot drinks before we ventured upward, but unfortunately these little pit-stops are closed on Saturdays. It is closer to the house than Starbucks, so I have no doubt that I will be a customer in the near future. Cool, huh?

Edited to add:

I stopped by today for a Chai Tea Latte. The employee was so nice and told me that the little "huts" had been around Casper for loooooooong before Starbucks came to town. That particular hut had been there for fourteen years. That is a lot of coffee!! She said Starbucks had been around for about two years, and they hadn't really noticed a decline in business. Good for them!

Bailey Dog

I know some of you out there have been wondering how Bailey Dog is adjusting to the big move. It was a bit rough at first. Puppy Dog had a hard time adjusting to the hardwood floors. He is used to running to the front door or to the back door to go potty, but he hasn't figured out how to work his brakes on the slick hardwood floors. I admit it is a bit funny, watching him go sprawling, but I worry about his hips.



We bought him this large rug with rubber backing for the living room. He KNOWS it is his and does not wander too far away from the sanctuary of his piece of carpet. He is a bit happier now because we have started to replace his toys. For those of you not in the know, his toy box did not make the journey from Kansas City. His beloved bed did, but the toy box was left behind.


As you can tell, he is THRILLED to finally have something to chew on other than paper towels. Overall, I think Bailey Dog is doing fine. He can survive anything as long as Mom & Dad are nearby.

Our Living Room (excuse the mess)

I have gotten some requests for pictures of our new home. So I am going to make you suffer with a different room each day. LOL -- First up, our living room. Our living room is actually my favorite room in the house. I love the big fireplace, but we have yet to have a fire. I love the way the t.v. looks over the fireplace. We got the couch, the end tables, & the little table next to the fireplace all at the same place we got the washer & dryer. The ends on the couch recline.

We sold everything when we moved out her, and let me say, it is easier to sell stuff than to buy stuff. Slowly but surely, we are filling our home. Maybe by the summer thaw our house will be fully furnished and ready for guests.

Here's what's happening on our street!

Our neighbor, John, was standing outside waiting to leave our driveway when I walked out and saw what was happening. He commented on the man hours it took to clear our street, and he is right. Ever since we moved in, there has been about a three feet wide hurdle of ice and sludge that we had to cross to get into our driveway. They cleaned it up today. The weather has been warm this week, but to John's point, it probably would have been April before it all melted if the City hadn't stepped in to help.

Logan would have loved it. The ice proved to be a problem even for the big graters. At one point it was on two wheels trying to scrape the ice up. I am sure it is pretty mundane to some of you, but I thought it was cool.=)

A sight for sore eyes!

You have no idea how thrilled I was to see these two appliances cross my doorstep. I did laundry at the laundromat (as opposed to the LaundraMUTT - real business in Casper) early last week. It is not a business I wish to frequent often. We went today to pick out these beauts. We went to the same place we got our couch. An old barn converted into a used/discounted furniture store. It is real hit & miss with the product they have. We got lucky today & found these Kenmore, Super Capacity, Washer & Dryer for $300. In case you didn't know, that is a hell of a deal.

The timing couldn't have been better. I am wearing my last pair of clean socks. So guess what we are doing today?

The biggest little town in Wyoming.

One of the things I really like about Casper is the downtown. It is a thriving, authentic "small town" downtown. There are diners, shops, and movie theaters. It kind of reminds me of Shenandoah, all of the downtown area. When I wandered down one afternoon, country music was being piped from somewhere and you could hear it everywhere you walked. Yeah, I guess we ARE in the Wild, Wild, West!

Anyone up for a movie?

In downtown Casper you have a lot of entertainment options. There are several pubs, restaurants, a coffee house, and five movie theaters. Yes, I said FIVE movie theaters. All within a few blocks of each other. But there is some history to these theaters. Wiki gave me this info:

The Rialto Theater in Casper, Wyoming was built as the New Lyric Theater^[2] in 1921. It was constructed with 800 seats by Henry Brennan who had a successful Vaudeville house, on which he based the new cinema.^[3] He almost immediately sold the building in 1922 to new owners who invested $50,000 in a remodeling project designed by Casper architects William Dubois and Leon Goodrich. The reopening in 1922 featured the William C. deMille movie Nice People, a silent film that was accompanied by the Chicago Netto Ladies Orchestra. In 1928 the Rialto began to show talkies.^[2]

The Riato measures 50 feet (15 m) by 100 feet (30 m) on a prominent corner site. The brick facade is plain in form but the brickwork is extensively detailed. A tall neon sign marks the corner, replacing the original metal sign and a marquee was added, covering the original leaded glass transoms over the storefronts. A tall parapet adds to the apparent mass of the theater. Storefronts on both frontages house retail shops. On the interior a balcony is reached by two curving stairs on either side of the lobby, replacing a single grand stair from the first design.^[2]

The Rialto continues to operate as a cinema. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.^[1]

Pretty dern cool, huh? Rumor has it that one of the theaters downtown is a dinner theater, but I didn't find any information on it doing a quick search. I think more research is in order. In the mean time, I think we will go watch a movie.

The View from the mountain.

David & I went to the new Olive Garden for dinner (OMG - you would have thought it was a Tavern on the Green given all of the local fuss over it!) then we went for a drive up the mountain. The wind, OMG, the wind, it was all David could do to keep the car on the road with both hands, there is no way I could handle a car at the top of the mountain. But the view, the view was worth it!

Please excuse my crappy camera & know that this picture does not do the view justice.

Johnny J's

This is Johnny J's. An authentic 50's diner where you can get everything from a malt to a Frankie Avalon burger. You can choose to sit at the counter or in the vinyl booths straight out of Happy Days. The food is yummy & the atmosphere is PERFECT! It is fast becoming our favorite place to eat in Casper.

The View from our new bedroom.

Home Sweet Home

I turn the corner & this is what I see...

The View from Wal-Mart

The front yard at the company condo.

Welcome To Casper

In the scrapbooking world, there is a thing called Project 365. It is where you take a picture every day of the year and blog about that picture.

I am going to tweak that just a bit. On New Years Eve, I got married. On January 2nd, we started our journey to our new life in Casper,Wyoming. My family & friends have been a bit worried about me being a thousand miles away. Now they can follow our life in Casper and follow along as we explore our new home.

First up. On this cold snowy day.