A year in the springs

In thinking about what I would write for this week, I came to the realization that I’ve officially been a resident of Thermopolis, Hot Springs County and the state of Wyoming.

I remember those first few days out here as being a bit nerve-wracking. See, I really hadn’t been outside the comfort zone of my hometown of Alliance, in western Nebraska. The furthest I’d been, outside of vacations or seminars, was during my college years at Chadron — a whole 54 miles from Alliance.

Suddenly, I found myself in unfamiliar surroundings, especially the mountains being a dramatic difference from the much flatter plains of the Nebraska Sandhills, where I knew nobody and the nearest family was four to five hours away. This goes for my wife and children also, as it was still another 10 days before they joined me with a trailer and two vehicles full of our possessions.

I know I wasn’t hard to spot. My license plates and frames, as well as my jacket and several Cornhusker stickers adorning my vehicle pinned me as the “new guy.” And, yes, for those of you who yet to ask I am well aware of what the big “N” on the team flag and logo stands for.

Fortunately, being in the media industry, particularly the newspaper, has afforded plenty of opportunity to get to know the community we’ve called home for the past year and many more to come. Along with covering and participating in regular meetings, we came at a time where there’s plenty happening on the local, state and national political scene, all of which have an impact here, and the local business scene is active.

And let’s not forget the almost constant stream of sports and extracurricular activities at the schools, the best rodeo I’ve seen in a long time, the action of the demolition derby, experiencing world cultures, Oktobrewfest — rain and all — and the holiday festivities, just to name a few. With each, there’s always a new face to see, a hand to shake, a story to tell.

In helping to share the news with the community, you’ve helped welcome us into the community.