Carried Away
by Cathy Orr
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Photo courtesy Doug Berry/Telluride StockZ
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Once
you’ve “felt” the West,
it stays with you.
Driving
east from Lovell on U.S. Highway Alt 14 on the western slope of
the Big Horn Mountains in north-central Wyoming is as close to
flight simulation—without a plane—as I can imagine. At a 10
percent grade, the road quickly takes you from just over 3,000
feet elevation to more than 10,000, where you are afforded an
unbelievable bird’s-eye view of the Bighorn Basin, a roughly
7,300-square-mile earthen “bowl” so vast that canyons,
mountains, badlands, a river, caves, and an archaeological site
are all contained within its terrain. From my passenger seat, the
ground to my right disappeared, seemingly under the car, and I
felt a powerful urge to jump into the driver’s lap to keep from
falling into the abyss.
While
tourism brochures highlight what’s in the Basin, perhaps its
most impressive and photogenic feature is its big-ness. Buttressed
by the Big Horn Range (over which I was climbing), the Basin sits
off the highway like a gargantuan platter filled with—at least
from my airy vantage point—nothing but virgin country… and
wind. 
Above
the Basin, along the highway, surrounded by alpine meadows, rocky
outcrops, and stands of pine, a lulling wind continually blows, as
on a continental coast, carrying not the scent of the sea, but the
fragrance of the frontier. Despite the many years I’ve lived in
the West, when I travel—even familiar routes—I still have to
stop and feel the wind press against my face, a different
experience than sticking my
head out the window. It’s one way I remember a place, letting it
linger upon me the way a loved one’s perfume or cologne does
after a hug.
Photo credit Al
Rendon/courtesy of San Antonio CVB
As
I’ve traveled the West, in every place, I remember it for
something I felt there. We at American Cowboy think you’ll feel
pretty excited as you ride with us again through the 17 Western
states of our Fall Travel Guide, through places just as
breathtaking as the Bighorn Basin. From Nebraska to
California—and everything in-between—you’ll love every
minute of your time in the West. We hope at least one place sticks
with you… breezes into your life… and brings you back for
more.
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