I Am a Motorcoach . . .

. . . with a word about bullying. Previously my programming, data accumulation, and experience had failed to fill me in on this phenomenon. The word has come up, of course, in conversations among my passengers. On more than a few occasions I have even heard an impatient passenger blurt the suggestion, “Just bully your way through them. You’re bigger than they are!” It took a few of those traffic induced comments to put together that they were talking to me. But I still had no indication of what action it was they wanted me to perform. I could only conclude that compliance with the bully expectation was outside of my programming by design. But then today . . .

I did it. Not intentionally, but I did the bully thing. Entering a very tight right turn, I adjusted my approach speed to allow a car entering the turn from the opposite direction to pass well in front of me before borrowing real estate from the other lane sufficient to make the turn. What I did not account for in my speed adjustment was my appearance. I was programmed with acute self-awareness, necessary for managing the facts and specifications of me while getting around in the world. But I lack self-consciousness, that peculiar passenger sensibility about one’s appearance to others. I now see its usefulness. Appearance matters. There was nothing I would call “close” about the situation, but I must have looked huge and terrifying to the person in the passing car. The maneuver she performed (according to several of my passengers) was a “scream.” I had never encountered one before. Expressed trauma, I would call it. Lesson learned. From now on I will wait back to create extra room, choose another route, anything but bully.

On to more pleasant recollections: blog two in our current three-blog series westward – Wyoming . . .

Selfies

(which by definition means I’m in them . . . though you might have to look for me)

Waiting for my passengers outside the Irma Hotel. It was built by Buffalo Bill Cody, co-founder of Cody Wyoming (1895), who named it after his youngest daughter. It opened in 1902 ornamented with a cherry wood bar that was a gift from Queen Victoria. During his lifetime Buffalo Bill Cody was among the most famous figures in the world. Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show toured the US and Europe for three decades, entertaining many thousands, spreading the fame of America’s western frontier. Cody built the hotel to welcome guests from around the world, coming to experience a less-wild American West first hand.

The Big Horn Mountains extend northward from the Rocky Mountains through northern Wyoming and southern Montana. The range is majestic beyond further description. Here is a sampling, three Big Horn selfies:          1) Waiting for my passengers to satisfy awe, enough to continue on. 2) OK, this one (the one I’m not in) stretches the idea of selfie. That’s why it is sandwiched between two legit selfies. But hey, it implies me! I was just there, climbing the switchback, leaving behind tire tread on that tight curve and a water trail from my hard working cooling system. 3) “Rocky” impersonation. But this is real climbing (all the guy of movie fame did was climb some stairs, carrying only himself).

MEETING THE NEWS on the roadways of America, first-hand, real time, real world news—going out and discovering the news . . .

COACHING NEWS: Now, here is a beautiful sight – one of my ancestors, a stagecoach, a reminder of earlier days of coaching . . . elite travel. This two-horse coach paused between routes in downtown Jackson, Wyoming. Back when stagecoaches were the standard of luxury land transport, the main advantage was not so much the ride but protection from exposure to various weather conditions (at least for those privileged to sit inside). At capacity (which popularity and necessity often assured) these held nine passengers inside – 15 inches of seat per passenger – and as many as a dozen on the roof. Typically pulled by a team of four horses, the average speed was 8 mph and the average distance accomplished in a day was between 60 and 70 miles. A first class ticket meant the privilege of staying seated when the going got rough or steep. Second class meant the passenger got out and walked in those situations. Third class passengers were obligated to help push when necessary.

HYDROPONIC NEWS: Imagine old urban structures repurposed as indoor farms, supplying fresh, neighborhood-grown produce to nearby markets and restaurants. No dirt, no pesticides, controlled lighting and nutrient-served hydration . . . this is the future of urban farming.

(Unlike selfies, these are not about me, but about travel discoveries I think you’d like to know about.)

Downtown Jackson, Wyoming (often mistakenly referred to by the name of the larger valley in which it sits: Jackson Hole) is famously Must See. And it does not disappoint. My passengers can never get enough of this place. Constructed of an unmistakably western attitude, there are too many uniquely Jackson stores, restaurants, bars, and experiences to see in a day, or even a week.

One place in particular you will want to visit while in Jackson is Vertical Harvest, a three-story hydroponic farm and market. Sustainable, local, urban produce cultivation. It’s an elevation revolution! (From Broadway, take Millward St. south four blocks to W Simpson Ave, turn left and you’re there.)

Quote Of The Day samples

“Frontiersmen good and bad, gunmen as well as inspired prophets of the future, have been my camp companions. Thus, I know the country of which I am about to write as few men now living have known it.” – Buffalo Bill

“There is certain relief in change, even though it be from bad to worse! I have often found in traveling in a stagecoach, that it is often a comfort to shift one’s position, and be bruised in a new place.” – Washington Irving