LFS: The Storyteller

©2013 Text & Photos by LeeZard Monday September 16 – Rapid City South Dakota-Sheridan, Wyoming Wow, I can’t believe I am heading for Sheridan, WY, my last “official” destination. I wrote from Rawlins, WY very early in my journey but I will break with my “rule” of not repeating for a couple of reasons. Frankly, when I hit Rawlins in July, I wasn’t at the top of my game. I’d just escaped my horrible adventure in Yellowstone National Park and had driven a long way. I stayed only one night and interviewed a small number of people. Their stories were valid and I wrote a short piece. So, Wyoming gets a second, and deeper look – a good thing, as it turns out. In a way, it is unfortunate that Sheridan will mark the end of my search for The New America. In a perfect world, I would’ve headed south, then west from New York City for a longer drive home through vastly different cultures and economies. Ben Stiller’s 1994 flick “Reality Bites” comes to mind, though, becaus...

©2013 Text and Photos  by LeeZard Friday July 19 – Rawlins, WY to Superior, CO I must drive Interstate-80 east for almost 100 miles to Laramie before I can get off the freeway and turn south  on U.S. 287 toward Colorado. Before leaving Wyoming, I see small oil operations and huge wind farms, reminders of the state’s economic underpinnings. Crossing the Colorado state line almost magically changes the scenery from the wide-open range to the beginnings of a more mountainous terrain. First small, then larger rock outcroppings appear on either side of the two-lane highway and soon the front range of The Rocky Mountains floats on the western horizon. I always feel at home in Colorado. I love the mountains and the lifestyle. I’ve almost moved here twice. I’m headed to Superior, near Boulder, to visit my nephew, his wife and their two sons. Of course, I will interview in several different, diverse communities. Frankly, I must stay in the D...

©2013 text and photos by LeeZard Wednesday-Friday, July 17-19, Butte, MT-Yellowstone National Park-Rawlins, WY My spirits are high as I drive out of Butte, MT. I love driving through this beautiful state, Big Sky Country indeed. I am excited to see Yellowstone National Park. Established in 1872, it was the world’s first national park. It’s been on my Bucket List since before there were bucket lists. I am quickly off I-90 east and onto State Highway 359 south, a two-lane blacktop, speed limit 70 MPH. I love driving through this state. SR 359 cuts through a valley in the Tobacco Root Mountains. This is cattle country with pastureland as far as the eye can see. Yellowstone Park is on the Montana-Wyoming border and the closer to the park I get, the more beautiful the scenery. Even though I am driving at 5,000-6,000 ft. elevation, the mountains are still breathtaking. I pull into Yellowstone National Park at about 3:00 PM (MDT) and immediately see my first “Bison Cross...