The High Lonesome
Howdy, my name is Chip.
I am a rancher in the southeastern corner of Wyoming.
I live in a state that is still pretty young comparatively speaking, and I
have seen or experienced a good deal of it’s history. My background and hobbies
have enabled me to learn and experience many of the things that make Wyoming
unique. My family homesteaded here nearly a hundred years ago and we have
grown with the young state.
My Dad remembers the day the U.S. Cavalry patrol stopped at the place to water
their horses. They were out looking for a bunch of Souix Indians that had
jumped the reservation and were out on a horse stealing raid.
When I was a young boy I met and talked with a very old Souix Indian. He had
been at the Battle Of The Little Big Horn, when Custer and his command
were killed.
He had been a young boy and had been told to stay out of the fighting, but
he saw some of the battle from a nearby hill.
I have driven the old "Cheyenne to Deadwood Stagecoach" with an
8-horse hitch, lived in a Tipi, trapped beaver in cold mountain streams, hunted
with a muzzle loading rifle, talked to my son during “Desert Storm” via satellite,
and now I talk to my friends all over the world on this magic box.
I guess when I look back on it, my life has been pretty eventful. I rode a
horse 4 miles to a one room school between neighboring ranches. There was
one other student and one teacher. It was 40 miles to high school and I graduated
in the largest class in the history of the school. There were 13 of us.
I have met three United States Presidents, two cabinet officers, I don’t
know how many senators and congressmen
and I am not a politician.
I’ve gotten drunk with, been in shooting contests with, been hunting and
fishing with movie stars. I was trying to break up a bar fight one night,
and a future Governor of Wyoming stood back to back with me, I hauled him
and his wife around the state after he was elected.
My wife Linda and I were both in law enforcement for years. I was a Wyoming
Highway Patrolman and my badge number was #25. Linda became a Deputy Sheriff
and with a little coercion on my part with the Sheriff, she wound up with
the same badge number as me....... #25.
We now live back on the ranch 40 miles from Cheyenne, Wyoming. It is
40 miles to the nearest grocery store, and so quiet that there are times
I can here the rumble of trains on tracks over 20 miles away.
I call this place "The High Lonesome."
Linda and I have a hobby called "Buckskinning." It's the re-creation
of the lifestyle and skills of the old mountain men of the 1820's and
30's.
Now I spend my spare time visiting with my friends on the internet and
writing stories about mountain men and cowboys and a feller named "Iggy."
You can learn more about all of this
by reading my stories below.
I've dug ditches and dinosaurs and worked at the United Nations. Some
day I am going to retire and start riding the grub line again and
meet all the wonderful people I have met on the internet.
You know when I get to thinking about it,
it has been quite a ride.
See ya down the trail!!!