The Wyoming Winters

The Wyoming Winters

When Jeffrey and I watched the television show Longmire, we were immediately inspired to travel to Wyoming. It had quickly become my favorite show, and Jeffrey enjoyed it too. We left on November 29 and knew it would be cold, but we couldn’t begin to fathom how cold it would truly be. We got to the lodge around lunch time, where we were greeted by a very friendly woman who introduced herself as Sarah. She told us this was her father’s lodge, and that he would be back soon, more than eager to meet us. She took us to our room and told us dinner would be served at 5:30. We got settled in and unpacked since we planned on being there for a week. After we unpacked, we decided to go skiing. We went down to the front desk to ask Sarah where we could rent some skis. 

“It's about to snow pretty heavily here soon, and I’m sure the roads will be cleared tomorrow so you'll have fresh snow to ski on.” Sarah responded.

We decided to sit in the parlor of the lodge, which had a giant fireplace with glass windows beside it. It was lovely to relax in and watch the snow start to fall. We sat there for hours, talking to different guests from all over America. We met another couple, who introduced themselves as Zach and Lacy from West Texas. They said they flew up to Wyoming to see the snow, since they do not get any where they live. We became fine friends in a mere matter of hours. It was soon dinner time and we all decided to sit together. Sarah's father came to introduce himself before dinner and hoped that we would enjoy the food. They served an amazing 3 course meal beginning with an appetizer of spinach dip. For dinner, they presented us with grilled chicken with mashed potatoes and asparagus. For dessert, they served an amazing brownie with vanilla ice cream and caramel drizzle.

We ate so much food it felt like we were in a food coma. Afterwards, we decided to go back to our rooms and rest a little. Jeffrey and I got back to the room and started to flip through the TV channels. 

“We have incoming news on a very dangerous snowstorm coming into northwest Wyoming. Wind speeds will be up to 120 miles per hour. Residents may lose electricity in their homes, so do not forget to turn on your backup generators.” the weather man said.

“That doesn’t seem too good. I hope this place has a generator.” Jeffrey said as he looked out the window.

The snow began to come down harder and harder and trees started swaying in the wind. Eventually, we couldn't see anything outside of the window. After a few hours it started to get a little colder. Suddenly, the power went out. Jeffrey and I went downstairs to see what was going on. As we got to the bottom of the stairs, we saw everyone panicked and huddling together to keep warm. 

“What happened?” Jeffrey asked.

“The power went out and the back up generators haven't kicked in yet.” Sarah explained.

Jeffrey and Zach started to think of reasons why the back up generators did not turn on. They mentioned that it could have been from the age of the generator. If the generator was as old as the lodge, it could have faulty wiring and signals for when it needs to come on. They came up with a plan to go to the shed where the generator was and fix it while Lacy and I kept the fireplace going for everyone. After a while without Jeffrey and Zach coming back, Lacy and I started to get worried. 

“Have you tried calling them?” Lacy asked.

“I don't have any signal and the wifi isn't working since the power’s off.” I replied.

We started to get more and more worried as time passed. Lacy and I started to talk to Sarah and asked here where the generator was.  She said they kept the generator outside in a shed in the back of the lodge. Even though it was not a very long walk, the blizzard made it impossible to get there. With the winds being so strong and the snow coming down like crazy, Jeffrey and Zach could have gotten buried alive. 

“What if they need help?” Lacy asked.

“I’m sure they found the generator and are just trying to fix it.” I said, still worried about the possibilities.

All of a sudden the lights turned back on and the TV’s were working again. A few minutes later, Jeffrey and Zach came back inside. They took their coats off and went to the fireplace. Lacy hugged Zach and told him how worried she was. I gave Jeffrey a big hug and told him how much I appreciated him. We all sat down next to the fireplace and started watching the news.

“The snowstorm turned into a blizzard!” the man said. “Make sure you keep your generators on and fireplaces going because it's going to be a cold night. However the snow should die down by the time the sun rises tomorrow.”

“Does that mean the slopes will be open in the afternoon tomorrow Sarah?” asked Lacy.

“Yeah, the slopes and the roads should be open by at least noon.” Sarah said.

We all made plans to go skiing the next day. When we woke up, we saw beautiful white snow outside our windows. We could not believe how much there was. We went down for breakfast before heading to the slopes. We filled up on pancakes, fruits, and coffee. Zach, Lacy, Jeffrey and I all went to the slopes and spent the day together. For the next couple of days we spent most of the time with Zach and Lacy. We went shopping, to dinner, and to see shows. We made lifelong friends we never knew we would have had and after all it turned out to be a great vacation, even though we got trapped in a lodge with no electricity or phone service.