A Couch in a Field

Yesterday took us from the Wyoming train yards of Cheyenne to the Tetons of Jackson Hole. Passing beautiful scenery along the way, hills dotted with blue tinged sage bushes changed to mountains trimmed in pristine white. Cattle poked along through the sage, munching as they walked. Well, all except one white faced bull, who after finding a good spot on the fence for a chin rub, looked very content. Slowly, the trees became more populous and the pines stood higher, flecked with tiny cones. 

Among all of the sights, smells and views in the middle of the day, a couch sat out in one of the fields. No building were around, just the cows and a couch in the middle of the ranch. Oher than thinking that it was a rather odd spot to put a couch, I didn’t give it much thought.  

When I was last in the Teton area, we were camping. I walked out of the laundry house and looked up at the night sky to see a sky I had never seen before – the Milky Way was spilled across the sky in brilliant color. I couldn’t keep from staring, mouth agape, doing some sort of a happy dance there in the dusty drive. 

My expectations were high coming back to this area; I have been dreaming of that sky. Last night, Dad and I headed out to the National Elk Refuge. Driving past the limits of town and keeping an eye out for elk, we kept looking to the sky. Sitting there with the heater running, we waited as the sun slowly went down. A moth fluttered against my window, and caused me to jump at the unexpected movement. Eventually, the sky darkened, the stars came out. Hello to the starry sky I had missed seeing. It was then I remembered the couch in the field. I have to give credit to whomever put it there. What a perfect spot to star gaze! Free of the glare of city lights, surrounded by curious cows, the view must be spectacular.