Open carry vacation to Wyoming, day 2
Doing this back where I’m from would get you a year in prison (if you weren’t shot by the cops first):
But in Wyoming, it’s legal and nifty to protect your life. That’s part of why we’re moving here!
(Note: We’re crossing our arms in all these so you can see the guns. We didn’t cross our arms the whole trip, lol, just in the pix.)
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DAY 2: So, we left the hotel in Provo. We were really psyched to enter Wyoming, and we were not disappointed. It’s a wonderful state, we love it, and we can’t wait to move!
Provo. Pretty town. Can’t open carry though. We did see some college students marching with M1 Garand rifles, practicing drills. You’d only see that California in a Military setting. This was at a community college. But unfortunately, we couldn’t get a picture of it.
Mister Hedgie liked Provo too:
Outside of Provo (Provo Canyon):
FINALLY! Wyoming line:
Immediately, there’s lots of fireworks places. Here’s one called Pyro City!:
We stop in Evanston to put on our guns. I look down in the parking lot. I see it. I’m outside. I’m not breaking the law. I feel like I’m walking on the moon for the first time, just like I thought I would:
Debra Jean’s happy too:
We went for breakfast at the Main Street Artisans Cafe & Gallery in Evanston. It’s a fine place with a nice, hippy-ish vibe, cool art on the walls, and Bob Dylan on the stereo. We open carried. Everyone noticed our guns, no one had a problem with them.
There’s a lot we saw in Wyoming that we didn’t get pictures of: 1 wild bison, lots and lots of antelope, and for some reason, there’s a lot of seagulls in Wyoming. I don’t get that, I’ll have to ask someone. But here’s some ground squirrels prairie dogs:
Click on this next photo and see it big, see how many ground squirrels you can see standing up behind me:
I talked to two young truckers on a long haul from Wisconsin. They asked me what kind of guns DJ and I had. Only time anyone asked about them all day. They were really polite, and curious. A retired man who grew up here talked to me about ground squirrels, and about how he shoots ‘em with his .22 to help his neighbors (cows and horses break their legs in the ground squirrel’s burrow holes).
We stopped in Rawlins, open carried, no problems. Took some photos, but they were too boring to share.
We open carried at the Burger King in Casper near the intersection of the 220 and the 87 (by Evansville). People who worked there were super polite to us. We forgot to take pix though.
Below is me leaving the Kum & Go in Buffalo. (Buffalo is a BEAUTIFUL town. We could retire there. It’s wonderful and quaint and sweet.) No problems open carrying there (or anywhere we went).
On the street in Buffalo:
We were really even more polite than we usually are, we considered ourselves emissaries for open carry, and wanted to reflect well in all that we did.
Here’s a stunning scene, with Alcova Reservoir:
All in all we had a great day, and the only time we saw an Obama bumper sticker was ON A CAR BEING TOWED BECAUSE IT HAD BROKEN DOWN.
We love Wyoming!
Tune in tomorrow for more on the Open Carry Vacation to Wyoming!
June 5th, 2009 at 4:46 am
Ground squirrels? I suspect those are what we call prairie dogs. Isn’t that what you guys use “poodle shooters” for? LOL
See you Saturday!
June 5th, 2009 at 7:19 am
Arizona is an open carry state as well, so visit any time.
And that’s a prairie dog, as ML has indicated. Resist the temptation to open fire on them when you see them. Though many a rancher would probably be OK with you taking a bit of target practice out on them. Could be a season on them now. They were classified as varmints in Oklahoma and thus subject to serious lead poisoning often.
My grandfather started a rescue program, moving colonies from developing areas to various state parks and lakes.
Enjoy the boonies.
June 5th, 2009 at 7:35 am
MWD, Glad to see you are having a good time. Looking forward to some more pics.
June 5th, 2009 at 7:36 am
Evo and MamaLiberty -
I called them “Prairie dogs” and the retired Wyoming resident corrected me and said “ground squirrels.” So I was going by what he said. But I thought so. They are prairie dogs then. !
MWD
June 5th, 2009 at 7:51 am
I’ve been to Buffalo, WY. Only spent the night there. But, from what I saw, your description of the place as “quaint” is accurate. Pretty sure the gas station on the main road closes at 6PM. I’ve also been to Evanston. It’s a decent little town.
June 5th, 2009 at 8:01 am
Great stuff Mike - what a treat to feel so at ease with OC …… just as it should be everywhere - can but dream. Armed society = polite society etc.
Only saw 2 stand up squirrels in the big pic - maybe I need new glasses - those’d be called P’Dogs yeah, down South?
June 5th, 2009 at 8:18 am
Well, there’s three, but I can’t see the third one well either.
=–
From Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prairie_dogs
Prairie dogs (Cynomys) are burrowing rodents (not actually dogs) native to the grasslands of North America. There are five different species of prairie dogs: black-tailed, white-tailed, Gunnison, Utah, and Mexican prairie dogs. **They are a type of ground squirrel.**
June 5th, 2009 at 8:19 am
So I guess the retired guy was right, but only technically. Everyone calls ‘em prairie dogs, so we will too.
June 5th, 2009 at 8:21 am
MWD,
I can tell you’re truly excited about coming here to WY. Like a POW who’s been busted out of a prison camp and can taste freedom for the first time in years, or perhaps for the first time ever.
You’re right about being extra friendly or being on your best behavior. I consider myself an “ambassador” for the gun owners up here in WY. Rifles and hunting are big up here, OC is not. Nobody minds, but it is still unusual. That’s why I’m frequently asked if I’m an off duty cop. My reply? “No, I’m just a citizen exercising my 2nd Amendment rights.” That gets them to thinking. It takes a little courage for the general public to ask an armed stranger about his weapon, so don’t be surprised that most people look, but don’t ask. A polite nod and a smile to the lookers will usually put them at ease. I feel more comfortable OCing when accompanied by my wife. She doesn’t OC. But certainly a man, with a wife in hand is not even a possible threat as would be a man alone. See my point.
After a while you’ll find which places you feel comfortable OCing. Even though legal to carry in a bank in WY, I don’t do that. My choice. I just feel weird. Also, shopping malls for me are a no no. Why? Dunno. I even carry inside the county building here in WY without problem.
One more thing. I usually practice what some call “semi-open carry”. Blue jeans, dark shirt, black holster and black gun on one side, black cell phone holster on the other. Keep my elbow tucked over the gun when waiting in line at the fast food places. Many people don’t notice it. Think it’s just another phone or ipod or simply don’t carr. Perfectly legal. Doesn’t quite call out “I’VE GOT A GUN” like your photos do. That’s just my style. Your mileage may vary as they say.
June 5th, 2009 at 10:52 am
Prairie dog. Ground squirrels look more like . . . well . . . squirrels. Can’t tell how big it is in the pic though, it could be a gopher. They look pretty much the same only prairie dogs are bigger.
Funny to think how many times I’ve stood in that same parking lot, never spied any Californians with guns though.
Mr Q
June 5th, 2009 at 11:16 am
wow you look real tough with your gun
June 5th, 2009 at 5:11 pm
These were under a foot tall. And we have seen no open carry anywhere in WY, except with people we know.
June 5th, 2009 at 5:14 pm
># stan Says: wow you look real tough with your gun.
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I don’t feel tough. I feel free! And safe!
Since you live in Virginia, you can open carry too, by the way.
MWD
June 6th, 2009 at 11:33 am
That’s the key, the fact that you haven’t seen very many people open carrying. You don’t need a gun to be safe in Wyoming, but if you want to have one, you can. Freaking beautiful isn’t it?
I live in Montana, but I’ve spent more than a fair bit of time in Wyoming, and as I mentioned in a comment on a previous post, the only people I’ve seen open carrying in all my years in either Montana or Wyoming were either ranch hands that popped into town for something and probably forgot to take off their six shooters, or hunters with a sidearm either heading out or coming back from the sticks. I carry when I’m hunting, and when I’m riding my ATV in the mountains, other than that I have no need or desire to crunch my kidneys on a heavy hunk of iron every time I sit down, LOL.
If they were “under a foot tall”, they were probably prairie dogs. A gopher is more like “under six inches tall”. Except when they bolt unsuccessfully across the highway, which they have a habit of doing. Then regardless of whether it’s a prairie dog or a gopher, they’re about a quarter of an inch tall.
Did you notice the disproportionately high population of rabbits north of Casper? I haven’t been down there in several months, but for the last couple years there’s been an absolute population explosion of bunnies in that part of the country. Maybe the coyotes have thinned them out by now, but they were sure thick the last several times I went through.
Mr. Q
June 6th, 2009 at 1:28 pm
I got to know a Vietnam Vet in my 16 years in NY,
he said everyone was equal when everyone has guns, all the petty macho bullshit disapears.
A 5 year old with an AK and the 4 star general had equal respect for each other.
I am about to get my carry permit here in TX, mostly because of the cottonmouths on the lake here, AND I actually had to run to help a neighbor out who had some wasted guy trying to break in even though he saw them in the house. If you blind them with a Q-Beam, then show them the gun, they do what you say. I never had to point it at him. He had swastiKKKa tats and such.
He was very polite while we waited for the local guys with badges (on our side this time).
as the old guy I took shooting lessons from while in high school,
“there is only one reason to point a gun at someone,
and that is to kill them”
and I still haven’t done that.
June 7th, 2009 at 3:54 pm
They are Kum and Go stations here in Oklahoma too… I always thought that would be a name better suited to a brothel, than to a gas station.
marion
June 7th, 2009 at 4:02 pm
lol!
I think that’s why we stopped there!
MWD
June 7th, 2009 at 7:15 pm
We had Kum and Go’s here, they’re in the process of changing the name though. Guess maybe somebody finally told them what it reminded them of, LOL. Now they’re all called Quick Trip or something like that.
June 7th, 2009 at 11:06 pm
>Wister3 Says:
….A 5 year old with an AK and the 4 star general had equal respect for each other.
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Depends on how well the 5 year old can shoot, lol!