Centennial Valley

I spent six summers and five winters in Laramie, Wyoming. I was there for graduate studies, but that only took up about 40% of my time. I was a runner then.

If you drive 40 minutes west of town, Summer looks like this painting. Winter doesn't.

My first winter in Wyoming, 1997, was crazy cold. It was below zero for well over a month. Back then I drove a Subaru GL wagon and did all the maintenance myself in the back lot of the university dorm. I recall pulling the transmission fluid dipstick out and finding it had become a pink popsicle about 1/2" thick.

I sent this painting to John and Joan in Aspen as a thank you for buying me a wide belt sander. John spent time in Wyoming, working along the southwest stretch - the Red Desert - if memory serves. When Hil and I visited them at their house along the Roaring Fork a couple years back, I saw two framed pieces hanging on their wall. The first was a beautiful full sized oil painting of Joan's father in the field with his gun dogs. The second was an early corporate logo for the Snowmass resort that went in across the road. Maybe this painting will find a place near one of those.

A William Matthews composition.