In 2008 a dear friend was getting married in Denver. Another dear friend and I decided to head out to Colorado a few days early to make a long weekend of it. We flew to Denver and drove up to Cheyenne through the craziest windstorm I’ve ever experienced. I thought the wind would blow us off the highway. That night, I thought the wind would uproot our hotel and send it flying.
The next day I realized that my packing job hadn’t been as stellar as I anticipated. I was headed from Denver, post-wedding, on a trip to DC, Dubai, and Hyderabad, India before returning to Chicago. My packing leaned toward business casual and I realized I hadn’t brought any shoes that weren’t heels. To TJ Maxx we went. Later, in Cheyenne, I bought a pair of cowboy boots that I lugged around the world with me.
The wind kept up all weekend. It was crazy by local standards (we asked).
The absolute highlight of the trip (minus, of course, the wedding) was our visit to Terry Bison Ranch. We were the only ones there on a blustery day in early November so Natalie and I got a private tour on a mini-school bus. We rode out into the field and our guide threw pellets that attracted the animals.
First, a temperamental yak; the rest of the mixed herd wouldn’t come near until that guy was sated and ambled off. Next, bison. Bringing up the rear (my favorite!), beefalo! A beefalo is what happens when a randy man-cow (or man-bison) mingles with the ladies of the other herd. Baby bison are actually smaller than baby cows, so mama-cows can have beefalo as easily as mama-bisons. Science. Beefalo are slow because they have cow-legs and bison-bodies. Also, they taste like beef but are lean like bison (or so claimed a coworker when we got to India. I’ve never eaten one).