Free Pancake Breakfast!

I packed up my tent and gear early this morning so that I could attend the Boy Scout’s Pancake Breakfast in Cheyenne, Wyoming.  I was told that it’s a free event and a “must-see” for newbies to the Cheyenne Frontier Days.

How big could it be?  Well, after I parked my car and walked three blocks to the event, I was handed a free bottle of water and ushered down the street.  Then I was told the line wrapped around the block.  I was offered another bottle of water and greeted with a tray of free cups of coffee.  The line moved quickly.  The stores were open and ready for business and a band was playing music.  This all started by 7 am!

When I arrived at the head of the line, it was an assembly line.  I was given a plate and fork and a Kiwanis member told me to keep moving.  Then pancakes were placed on my plate by a woman followed by another person handing out pats of butter.  My cakes were topped with syrup by a man pouring from a jug and I was directed to the final stations of ham, coffee, and milk.  Bench seating was set up for thousands to enjoy the feast while listening to a band playing.  Gotta love the fiddle before 8 am!

Did I forgot to mention “The Flap Jack Show” going on?  The photos will tell that story.

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Summer festivals and events remind me of why the USA is a great place to live and enjoy life!

“The Mighty Big Boy” retired in Cheyenne

I’ve always had the wanderlust, a natural gypsy, a free spirit.  Sometimes it takes someone from another part of the world to remind me that there is so much to see and appreciate right here, in my back yard.  Well, the back yard of the where I live…at any given moment.

It took someone halfway around the world to pique my interest in stopping in Cheyenne, Wyoming to see “The Mighty Big Boy” coal-fired engine that was designed to pull a 3,600 ton train between Cheyenne, Wyoming and Ogden, Utah.  He wrote to me, “Yes, Cheyenne is important place for train history in the world. Big boys ( 4-8-8-4 train ) is a monster train in the world and Challenger is 2nd monster,and all born in Cheyenne.”  I had to go see it.

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Arriving in Cheyenne without directions, I took the exit for the Capitol.  The road split and I went left, not realizing until later that I was driving away from the capitol.  I hate to stop and ask for directions.  I actually enjoy getting lost if it takes me somewhere interesting, so I kept driving.  Eventually I took a right and drove until a park appeared on my left, so I turned in.  Holliday Park, the retirement home for Old Number 4004, “The Mighty Big Boy” engine.

I was there, along with a few people, mostly men.  Apparently the fascination with trains is a “boy thing” and isn’t limited to boys in the United States.  After all, the man who directed me here is from Indonesia.  I love that no matter where you go in the world, there are things, patterns, and interests that all people share.

I took a few photos and read the information.  I’ve been wandering, living, and working in the southwest for a few years and love the “Wild West” history of pioneers, cowboys and indians, outlaws, the Santa Fe/Mormon/Oregon trails, and mining.  So much history here!

More information about “Big Boy” can be found at the Cheyenne website and Steam Locomotive website at:  http://www.steamlocomotive.com/bigboy/.

Enjoy the Ride!

 

 

 

Extending Heaven

“Focus Your Energy.”  As I was organizing photos on my computer, I came across this one that I took in Seattle, Washington.  It was a window display at one of the outfitter stores in the downtown area.  It caught my attention because much of the past few months I have been spending a lot of time thinking about where I focus my energy, choices I’ve made, and what I want to manifest in my life.

This past Sunday I was listening to a download from Agape International Spiritual Center titled, “Heavenly Choices” which seemed to be exactly what I needed to hear.  Rev. Michael Bernard Beckwith talked about extending heaven where you are at in the moment.

It’s not a new concept to “live heaven on earth,” but there were a couple of stories that brought it home for me.  One in particular was about a group of people from a spiritual conference who decided to dine at a small, understaffed restaurant all at the same time.  Instead of being frustrated with the lack of service staff, cooks, and bussers, these conference attendees helped the restaurant out by taking orders, bussing, and doing anything they could to “extend heaven” where they were at in the moment.  They did not focus on the negative by complaining or blaming, they simply acted in selfless service.

Inspiring.  I thought about that story and how I could do my part.  It was obvious.  I’m a seasonal employee at a ranch-resort and as a server, part of my job is to take meal orders and deliver food for my co-workers.  They are responsible for finding me, placing their orders, and clearing their dirty dishes from the employee dining room.  So, how could I “extend heaven” beyond what my job requires?  I already love the idea that we serve our co-workers and do my best in delivering meals to front desk staff, so why not add occasionally clearing their plates from the table?  As long as it doesn’t interfere with my duties of serving the guests of the resort, I decided that this is a way that I could extend heaven.  It’s my way of  “washing their feet” to honor who they are, no matter if they clean rooms, cleaning fish, mow grass, cook, work the front desk, guide, etc.  They are as worthy as I am to be served, appreciated, and respected.

Focus your energy on extending heaven.