Sunday, February 22, 2015

Vintage Vacations...Spirit of Steamboat!

The Spirit of Steamboat
 
I am a Western Girl...I was born in the West immersed in the stories of cowboys and pioneers.  We tend to travel in western states, seeking out old mining towns and places where hard-bitten folks struggled to carve out a life in a harsh desert environment. As we gaze upon the ruins of their dreams, we can almost hear their voices in the dry winds that drift sand through the streets of their towns, stacking tumbleweeds against rusted barbed-wire fences. 
 
Yes, there are towering mountains in the West, mountains draped in the green of pine trees and lacy veils of tumbling waterfalls.  Mountain vistas are cooling to the parched eyes of a desert dweller.  My Mormon ancestors looked to the mountains as they crossed through Wyoming on the pioneer trails.  I am grateful to live at the feet of some of the most beautiful mountains in the West...but my heart is drawn to desert places and ghost towns.  
 
Wyoming Map
 
With only an hour's notice last Monday, we packed our bags for a quick trip to Gillette, Wyoming.  George's company does industrial painting and sandblasting...one of our specialties is water treatment plants.  In order to bid on the one in Gillette, George needed to attend a pre-construction meeting on Tuesday.  Gillette is 9 1/2 hours from Highland, located in the upper right hand corner of the state.
 
Bucking Horse on Wyoming License Plate
 
Anyone who travels in the western states knows that there are long empty stretches of highway.  Families may play "License Plate Bingo" on their road trips.  As a child I would watch for the bucking bronco on the Wyoming plates.  Nowadays, we listen to audio books when we travel...it makes the time pass a lot quicker.  We love the "Longmire" books written by Craig Johnson.  Walt Longmire, the crusty sheriff of fictional Absaroka County is an intriguing character.  The author weaves a lot of Wyoming history and lore into his tales.  In his short book "Spirit of Steamboat" I finally learned the story of the famous bucking horse...the longest-running license plate motif in the world...Steamboat.


"Steamboat"  A VB-25J
A transport version of the Mitchell B-25 bombers from WWII.
 
On a stormy Christmas Eve, Longmire and his friend Lucian Connally must find a way to fly a desperately sick child to Denver.  Finding a plane and pilot is proving to be next to impossible, but they finally end up on an old WWII plane called "Steamboat."  During the trip Walt recalls to himself the story of the famous bucking horse.  Known as the "Lord of the Plains" or the "King of the Hurricane Deck," Steamboat was a horse that could not be ridden. 
 
Steamboat was born in 1894 on the Foss Ranch in Wyoming.  He got his name from the whistling sound he made when he breathed, the result of slamming his head against the ground so hard that he broke the cartilage in his nose.  Solid black, with three white stockings, Steamboat enjoyed the attention he received in parades and Wild West shows.  He was docile when handled, but could not abide a rider.  Steamboat's whistle was the last thing many a cowboy heard just before hitting the ground.
 
"Old Steamboat"
 
In the mid 1930s, Secretary of State Lester C. Hunt commissioned  Denver artist Allen True to depict the horse and rider as the design for the 1936 Wyoming license plate.  He was the paid the "princely sum" of  seventy-five dollars.  There is controversy over who the rider is.  Many a Wyoming resident would like to believe it is their own grandpa, but it is widely believed that the rider is a composite of every cowboy who ever rode a bucking bronco.  And maybe...just maybe...the horse isn't even Steamboat.
 
Steamboat's Biography
 
Author Candy Moulton says, "...Steamboat is really the symbol of Wyoming in every sense of the spirit..."  Steamboat's story did not have a happy ending.  The legendary horse was injured on a barbed-wire fence during a lightning storm in Salt Lake City.  He fell victim to blood poisoning and had to be put down...some say with Tom Horn's gun.  According to legend, Steamboat was buried in Frontier Park in Cheyenne.  But some old-timers will tell you he was carted off to the city dump where he was destroyed.  I, for one, hope that isn't true.
 
 
I-80...the Lincoln Highway
 
The next time you travel west on the Old Lincoln Highway and see a license plate with the bucking bronco and his rider hanging on for dear life...I hope you will think of Steamboat and tip your (metaphorical) hat to the horse that embodied the Western Spirit.
 
 
 
 
A few images from Wyoming...enjoy!







 
 

 





Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Sweet Valentines Swap!

Special Delivery...Valentines Swap!
 
I just love holiday swaps...it's so much fun to create something special for a new blogging friend.  Let's face it...if I didn't do swaps I would probably flunk out of Holiday Crafting University.  Swaps stimulate our creativity...without them I would be standing around in my craft room with a stupid expression on my face, unable to focus.  I need an assignment...and a deadline!  I joined a Valentine swap hosted by Viv of Viv Out on a Whim.   She matched up swap partners and I was so fortunate to get Cindy of  Prairie's Edge Farm.  She makes the most beautiful Shabby/Elegant things.  The soft colors are like the sweetest of treats...the icing on a wedding cake or a rose patterned plate of petit fours.
 
 
I don't think I've ever seen a more beautifully decorated tin.
 
 
These are the colors my romantic side craves.

Tiny embellished box was filled with lovely trimmings.

Anyone who knows me, knows I adore small boxes.
 
A tag this beautiful deserves heirloom status.

 
A bookmark worthy of resting between the pages of a Jane Austen novel.
 
A few of the lovely embellishments she included. 
The tin was filled with fun items for crafting.

More vintage Valentines.

Two wonderful cards. 
 I am still learning the art of card making.
 
1939 Snow White and the Seven Dwarves Valentines.
 
The set of cards I used for my Valentine Party Tin.
I just printed the whole set at once and cut them out.
Enlarge or decrease as needed for your project.
 
I posted many of things that I sent Cindy a couple of weeks ago.  She received the whole Snow White treatment.  So I will let her post about her package if she so desires.  Thank you so much, Cindy for the beautiful treasures you made for me.  And thank you, Viv, for hosting this fun swap!
 

 
Is your Sweetheart a "long little doggy?"
I found a few Doxie Valentines in my file...enjoy!