End of summer has a different meaning to a lot of people.
Sticklers will tell you that the Autumnal Equinox marks the changing of seasons. Football fans can be a
bit over-the-top with their arguments about whether fall begins with the first college or professional
game of the season.
Here in the home of the Great American Adventure – Cody Yellowstone – there is a healthy contingent
that goes into seasonal mourning after the final Cody Nite Rodeo is held.
For students, summer is over when school starts. Don’t get me started about the school year
commencing before Labor Day; it’s just plain wrong.
Personally, I wave goodbye to summer the day after Dan Miller’s Cowboy Music Revue calls it a wrap
for the year. Don’t even try to get a hold of me on Sept. 30 as I will be curled up in a ball and feeling
sorry for myself after the previous night’s finale.
When Dan Miller’s Cowboy Music Revue shuts down for the season, certain people call it the end of summer.
Regardless, now that Labor Day is behind us we see a definite change on the streets, trails, streams
and paths around here. There are fewer kids with just about all the schools back in session. We do
see, however, a good share of families that home school their children and choose to turn the trip
here into a learning experience. I truly love to participate in impromptu lessons by sharing my
thoughts on the region’s history, geology, wildlife and plant life. While I know so many people who are
experts in these areas, I think I do a decent job of accurately hitting the highlights.
But my favorites are the adult travelers who are rediscovering our country as they travel the roads
and take the time to “see a lot of a little.” Some of these folks are freshly retired or have figured out
ways to work from the road. Many have self-supporting adult children, and they feel now is a good
time to expand their travels.
I can usually pick these people out of a crowd. They have a content and relaxed look as they walk
through our farmer’s market. These are the travelers who don’t even try to see Yellowstone National
Park in a single day.
I find this group to be among the most curious of our visitors. Kids will always soak in everything you
tell them, but the adult visitors combine old and new experiences into a perspective that I find
intriguing.
Now that I think about, maybe I will get over my end-of-summer funk this year with a multi-day trip
to the park.
Until next week, I am lovin’ life – and takin’ my time – in Cody Yellowstone.
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