Western Swing 2013 - 11 - Cody, Wyoming

In a previous blog, Byron mentioned about the aqueducts (water canals) built throughout this area. After looking into more information he has the following to report. Perhaps you will find it of interest.

In Wyoming, all water is owned by the State and has been managed through a priority system dating back 150 years or so. If a property has specific water rights attached to the legal description, those water rights stay with the land when it is sold. Since Wyoming is a high desert, semi-arid climate with average rainfall being 6 to 10 inches per year, water is like gold. As a result, supplemental water is needed to grow crops or keep a landscaped yard looking nice. Irrigation rights on smaller parcels are usually part of a larger water right and are generally shared with neighboring smaller parcels. There are irrigation districts that cover a larger area and oversee the water rights in that district. There is a yearly charge for the access to water. That assessment covers the maintenance of the canals and ditches in that district. Fees vary from district to district. Many times in a neighborhood with small parcels, there will be an association with a master plan to follow. As stated earlier, water is like gold in Wyoming. From the fertile ground, lush crops can be produced but only if water is available.

This morning we worshipped at the Cody United Methodist church. The congregation’s original sanctuary is across the street and now serves as an art gallery. The present facility is modern with the highly peaked roof so it can shed snow. The service was rather traditional in nature and of a semi-liturgical style. We did read the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi -- Lord, Make Me an Instrument of Thy Peace -- in unison. Since they have no choir during the summer months, two women sang a very nice arrangement of the hymn, “Hymn of Promise”, by Natalie Sleeth. It was well done. We had not heard it before and later found that it was in the more recent version of the United Methodist Hymnal. The message was about being instruments of peace even in the midst of life’s storms just as Jesus offered peace when the disciples feared the storm when crossing the Sea of Galilee.

HYMN OF PROMISE

In the bulb there is a flower; in the seed, an apple tree;
In cocoons, a hidden promise: butterflies will soon be free!
In the cold and snow of winter there’s a spring that waits to be,
Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.

There’s a song in every silence, seeking word and melody;
There’s a dawn in every darkness, bringing hope to you and me.
From the past will come the future; what it holds, a mystery,
Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.

In our end is our beginning; in our time, infinity;
In our doubt there is believing; in our life, eternity,
In our death, a resurrection; at the last, a victory,
Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.

Natalie A. Sleeth

© 1986 Hope Publishing Company

The Diesel RV Club rally got underway today. The club is made up of more than 700 members spread across the southern provinces of Canada and the lower 48 states of the US. Though about two-thirds of attendees came in yesterday, the remaining one-third rolled in today. The first even was a welcome meeting with social hour followed by heavy hors d’oeuvres that followed.

In the opening meeting we were made aware that Tuesday would be the photographic scavenger hunt with different routes available for the trips. We are to divide up in to groups with two couples per carload and head out for an adventure. Since this is our first rally with this group, we’ve been assigned a couple to host us at meals and for Tuesday’s trip. We’ve decided to head to Red Lodge, Montana and make it our terminus since the suggested loop through Beartooth Pass and the northeast entrance of Yellowstone may be closed. (Late snows have kept the road closed.) Our understanding is that Red Lodge was in the middle of a coal mining area. As a result, it was a more wealthy part of the state. Though a tremendous mine disaster closed the mine nearly eighty years ago, the substantial buildings still exist or have been restored with care. We’re looking forward to the opportunity and will report with more photos, of course.

Today’s photos include two, beautiful shots that show springtime in the Cody area. Yes, spring come “late” here and doesn’t last long. Summer is right on it’s heals and is over by the week before Labor Day when fall sets in just before the long winter.

Wild flowers grow in the bed of a creek with snow-capped mountain

of the Beartooth Range in the distance.

A layer of white, limestone-like rock above layers of red rocks 

in the background. The sloping line is a downhill grade of the

railroad tracks.

We hope you are enjoying the blog of our trip. We’re aware a few of you are following and have looked on a somewhat regular basis and are appreciative.

We’ve missed the thunderstorms and tornados. We are grateful. However, we also know that those elements are a part of nature as much as the bright sunshine and other wonders we are able to behold.