Getting Started!

So I have been in the States now for almost three weeks. Having visited many times before, most things are not new to me. But coming to live for a year is a unique opportunity to study these strange creatures we call Americans in their natural environment.

For our headquarters we have chosen Powell, Wyoming, population 5630 in a State of approximately 563,000 (the least populated State in the US). With a land mass equivalent to New Zealand. It is as different from Wellington and New Zealand as you can possibly get. Wyoming is desert bordering the rocky mountains, its elevation is high and so in the Summer it can get to 45 degrees and in the winter it can get to -45 degrees. It is extremely dry but in the mountains it snows heavily and the run off in the summer is massive. The area relies heavily on irrigation to farm the land and wherever the water does not touch it is a barren wasteland.

Powell is in the North West corner of the state in what is called the Big Horn basin. It is completely flat but in the distance surrounding it are the Big Horn and Beartooth Mountains. Past the Beartooths to the west are the rocky mountains that separate Wyoming from neighbouring Idaho, and which include the US national park jewels, Yellowstone and Grand Tetons.

Yellowstone is worth a special mention. It is a huge caldera (inverse volcano), which the Rocky Mountains run through. It is the equivalent of Rotorua and Taupo, with geysers, boiling mud and hot water rivers. It big difference is that it is home to America's BIG wildlife - buffalo, elk, wolves, moose and bears! People come in their droves from all over the US and the world to see it, making the entrance towns of Jackson Hole and Cody (half hour to the south of Powell) major tourist meccas.

Powell is largely a farming community, but it does host a significant junior university, Northwest College. So young people from all over the region come here to study. So there is a varied mix of farmers, labourers, academics, and students. Being in the mountain west the people are mostly conservative, republican and religious. They enjoy the outdoors, with hunting, hiking, boating, and four wheeling in the Summer, and skiing, and snow mobiling in the Winter. Much of the land in Wyoming is unusable for much so the Government owns much of the barren parts and opens it to the public for recreation. Because the state is large and towns are small there is a lot of driving to get to anywhere else. The closest big city is Billings, Montana one and a half hours drive to the northeast.

So we have come Lyndi and I with our five boys (14 - 6) to experience small town America and to be close to Lyndi's parents who retired here from Seattle 9 years ago. Its going to be an adventure, I hope I do a good job of taking you along for the ride.

Wikipedia about Powell

Powell fields with the distinctive 'Heart Mountain' in the background.