WLM | my Wyoming craving
By Garrett Fisher
Images by Garrett Fisher
M
ost of my literary pursuits are something of
a combination of a battle cry, aviation, and
a dose of creativity. Charging into the skies
with my underpowered and uncomfortable aircraft,
I set off for some destination that looks great sitting
in my comfortable office. Then, on the way to said
dangerous and silly destination, I notice something
pretty on the way, fly over there instead, and when
I use up my fuel, I have to change the entire plan and
I forget the first thing I went after.
The Star Valley is the epicenter of this kind of
“planning,” culminating in my ninth book, Flying the
Star Valley.
Being based in Alpine lends to a certain mathematical
reality: that almost all of my flights start and end
in the Star Valley, including the ones where I stay
on task and head far off. That results in a situation
where I have thousands upon thousands of unplanned
photographs of this section of the state, a product
happenstance flying over time.
The Star Valley is unquestionably beautiful. It may
be one of the most fertile inhabited valleys (at least by
appearance) in Wyoming, due to lower altitude and
higher moisture content. Situated with mountains on
both sides, it’s an island of artistic beauty, surrounded
eventually by arid regions on three sides, and much
higher terrain heading into Yellowstone.
Many times, I set off to explore something in the
general vicinity of Alpine, heading west off into Idaho,
or further south out of the valley. Most times, I end
up wandering up and down the Salt River Range,
heading down the valley over farms and rolling fields
and back up over the summits, cruising at 10,000 feet.
Sometimes I reverse the order, in both cases opting
to remain closer to home than to head off into other
areas. It is simply more beautiful here than some of the
lower and dryer sections found both in neighboring
Idaho and more desolate expanses of Wyoming.
The thought crossed my mind to put a book together of
the photographs I was accumulating, specifically while
flying over Thayne, Wyoming. I distinctly remember
the dialog I had with myself: “Seriously? There are
what, 8,000 people in the entire county? Do you think
anyone will actually buy one of them? Ok, fine, forget
it then.” Some time later, here we are, and the book is
done, despite my intentions to the contrary. Some of my
best work has come from being close to home.
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