Thermop
A green, fertile oasis!
> Thermopolis boasts the World's Largest Mineral Hot Springs. The problem is that Hot Springs have a lot of sulfur, which smells like rotten eggs. So, sometimes, the entire town smells like rotten eggs. If you live there, you don't smell it. Some even come to love it, as did Jander (Jim's Jan). But those who come to visit are sure to bring it up.
> Thermopolis sits down in the mountains in a way where it is protected from the winds that plague so much of Wyo. It is a green, fertile oasis. The snow in Thermop gently falls, as opposed to other places in Wyo, where blizzards attach you at 50 mph.
Trapper's Lodge, Thermopolis, WY
The Curtis Ranch
96,000 acres, the HD or Curtis Ranch is lengendary
> HD (Heman DeLett) Curtis, Muzz's grandfather on her mother's side, became good friends with Chief Washakie, the most famous Shoshone Indian Chief; in fact, one of the most accomplished, well-known of all the Chiefs. The two worked out a plan where HD bought all the fertile, flat land towards Riverton, Lander, etc., which was supposed to be in the reservation but was being bought up by others. He gave all that to Washakie in exchange for Baldy mountain. Chief Washakie always held HD in the highest esteem for everything he did for them.
Baldy was good for cattle, but to be clear, in Wyo it takes about 100 acres to raise one cow, whereas, in Iowa, it takes 1 acre to support 100 cattle.
> Washakie was whip-smart, spending his later years as a chief negotiator for many tribes' Indian Rights in Washington DC. The lands that HD put together for Washakie go right up to the town of Riverton, Wy. Some years ago, the EPA sued Riverton for polluting the air that then blew over Indian lands. By the time the EPA was done, using agreements that Washakie negotiated with HD, for the first time in our country's history, the Federal Government got veto power over an entire town.
> A great side story about Washakie: when the Shoshone were at war withthe Crow, he and the Crow chief ascended what is now called Crow Heart Mountain—A flat-topped extinct volcano—for a winner-take-all battle to the death. The legend is that Washakie, to honor the defeated foe, then ate the Crow's heart while it was still beating. Asked years later if this was true, Washakie tactfully replied: "Youth sometimes does foolish things."
Two other tidbits: 1) Chief Washakie came to Christ at the end of his life. 2) Dana Perino, Fox News commentator, is from Crowheart, Wy.
AUDIO: Chief Washakie
AUDIO: Wyoming History
> Intending to bring badly needed water to the High Desert of Wyoming, HD and the Government built Anchor Dam on the Ranch. Things looked very good as they finished construction and watched the water rising. But one morning, literally, they woke up, and the entire lake was gone. Figuring there was a sinkhole, they poured thousands of tons of concrete into every possible crack for years. But the sinkhole won, and so they eventually abandoned it.
> Pops and Muzz inherited 56,000 acres and then added another 40,000. When compiled, you could stand on the highest mountaintop in the area, and everything you saw was the HD Ranch.
AUDIO: Ranch
AUDIO: Sabbath
> As boys, we would stand at the top of the very tall spillway and drop rocks. This would launch them into the air for what seemed an eternity until they finally exploded like bombs in the dry creek bed. At least someone got some value out of it…
> HD also invented a way to dry fruit that Del Monte wanted so badly that when HD repeatedly rebuffed their offers, they finally burned down HD's operation. The papers had the loss at $10 million.
This is HD's house in Los Gatos, close to San Francisco. Years later it was converted into a high-end restaurant.
> So, off HD went to Thermop to develop Hamilton Dome, one of Wyoming's more prolific fields. Hamilton Dome was so profitable that HD was able to negotiate a 98% override. In other words, HD got 98 cents of every dollar of oil sold. That is an extremely high royalty. So high that eventually, the Oil companies sued on the grounds that royalties that high would stifle future exploration and production. The Wyoming Supreme Court decided in favor of the larger Oil Companies and reduced HD's override to 12.5%. This then became the law for the rest of the US.
Hamilton Dome
HD went to Thermop to develop Hamilton Dome
> HD Curtis was a very adventurous person. When he was young, he headed to Alaska to make his fortune in gold. He nearly perished at sea. His journal contains what he thought would be his last words.
Empire Oil State
Company 1955-1970
Started by HD, the company needed a pilot to get to their ever-expanding exploration quickly. Enter Pops.
> In his later years, Pops loved to tell the story of how he would fly so low to the ground that he was below the top of the rigs. One time, he saw a man standing with no visible support on the very top of an 80-foot tall rig. The man looked down and waved his hat at them. Pops, who was flying so low it was dangerous, was in awe of a man standing on top of that rig taking so much risk. I like to think that man loved to tell his grandkids of the time a plane flew below him…
> Pops was instrumental in much of what happened at the airport. The airstrip sat high atop a mountain with significant drop-offs on either end, one of which took the planes right over Thermop.
> Empire started with a single prop, then graduated to a couple of twin engines, and by the end, it was jets.
> During Empire's heyday, Pops and an associate had to fly up to Billings Montanna for a meeting. On the way, they decided that they would not say a word about themselves. Instead, they would turn everything around to a question about the person. (You didn't know Pops had that sort of thing in him, did you?) As soon as they got back to Thermop, the president called them in and said: "what did you guys do?!" Pops and the other guy were afraid they had messed up. But before they could answer, the boss said: "the people from Billings called me personally and told me you two were the best guys they had ever met!" Pops never forgot that lesson.
In fact, Pops never forgot any lesson. This is one of the things that made him Pops. That and a scrupulous attention to detail when it came to integrity. Oh, and a genuine humility. And…, and…, and… It takes a lot to be Pops. But it can be done.
AUDIO: Oilfield talk! (Adults only)
> Pops worked his way up at Empire, eventually becoming Vice President in charge of Exploration – the lifeblood of an Oil Company. His mother-in-law being the company's major shareholder, certainly contributed to his rise, but the fact that they gave him the most important position spoke to how he earned it.
A couple examples of what Pops brought: before others, Pops saw that consolidation was the wave of the future for companies like Empire. He argued that they had to increase reserves significantly or they would be swallowed whole. So, they put him in charge of exploration.
Before others, he also saw that a refinery in Thermopolis, with no major highway and out in the middle of nowhere, was not ultimately viable. He and a few others worked up a big presentation on how they needed to move to Denver ASAP. The president of Empire did not agree. He felt they could continue as was and didn't want Thermop to lose it's only major employer. So, before long, Empire was bought out, and a bit later, the refinery shuttered.
Pops loved the company, Thermop, their friends, and their life. But he was also a strong realist/pragmatist. He typically saw what was coming well before others and knew that you either adapted or died. As he often said, even though he was deeply sentimental, "you can't stop progress."
Golf Course
Legion Town and Country Club –designed, supervised construction, etc.
> 1st President 1960-1966
Pops designed and oversaw the construction of the Legion Town and Country Club. Situated high on a hill, at the foot of an extinct volcano, it is picturesque with great views. To this day, it is a gathering place for the entire community.
> Pops was the perennial winner of golf tournaments in Thermop and the surrounding communities. Tom Sullivan, a very good friend, and an avid golfer, took over operations at the Club after Pops moved to Cheyenne. Being quite a character – very funny and much loved – he started a new series of plaques naming the Tournament Winners the year after Pops was gone. So, if you go to the Club today, you will see Sully's name for almost the first decade, but no mention of Pops anywhere. Pops had a good laugh when he found that out. The two were best of friends, in part because they both loved a good locker room ribbing. People who didn't know Pops when he was young rarely saw this side of him. But it was most definitely there.
> One year, Pops had Curt caddy for him at a big tourney in Worland. It came down to a tiebreaker – you play until someone wins a hole. Pops was a few feet off the green with his tee shot. As Pops and Curt walked to the green, Curt was so caught up in conversation that he wasn't watching where he was going and stepped on the ball. The top of the ball was even with the grass. Pops had to play it as it laid. Curt thinks that Pops still won the tournament with a miraculous shot, thus further contributing to his mythical image in Curt's mind. Pops remembers it differently.
> But the front lawn was where the most extraordinary thing any of us ever saw happened. The front was a big square, surrounded by the house on two sides, a fence on one side and a hedge on the other.
Our huge St Bernard, Boots, had been scratched by a cat on the nose as a puppy. So, when he grew up, we would periodically get a call from a neighbor who was hysterical about what Boots had done to their poor pet.
One day, the whole family and Boots were sitting on the front deck when diagonally, across the lawn, through the hedge, came this dirty, mangy, half-dead cat with virtually no hair. You could see every rib sticking out from the hanging flesh. Boots was lying on his belly right next to us with his head up, and paws in front like dogs do.
This thing came walking out of the hedge on its last legs. We started to jump up to restrain Boots. But Boots looked at this sickly creature, and then at us, and then back at the cat, and for once in his life, he didn't move. It was as if he was saying, "even I can't go after this thing." Honestly, we all felt the cat was committing suicide.
But because Boots wasn't moving, neither did we. The cat made a straight beeline for Boots. This totally unnerved him. He would look at that cat, then us, then back at the cat, then back at us. He clearly could not figure this out.
After what seemed an eternity, the cat finally walked right between his paws, right up to Boot's nose! Then, she turned in a circle and sat down! All Boots had to do was look down and chomp.
But he didn't. He couldn't. He kept looking at this poor dead thing and then us, and finally, as if to save his dignity, he stood up and walked away!
We took that cat in. It turned out she had a beautiful coat of thick, white hair that was almost magical. So we named her Snowy. And, when we would come back from being out, we would often walk in the garage and catch the two of them together, with Snowy curled up between his paws just like that first day. Boots, embarrassed, would immediately jump up and walk away. But we knew those two had a special bond. It was beautiful.
Snowy later had kittens. Boots never snuggled with any of them. But, he also never attacked another cat.
AUDIO: Boots!
AUDIO: More Boots!
The House on Arapahoe
Pops and Muzz bought a little home on Arapahoe that had to grow quickly to keep up with all the boys there were making!
> Pops and Muzz bought a wonderful little home on Arapahoe that had to grow quickly to keep up with all the boys they were making. So, Muzz, being the ever-inventive architect, essentially designed a dorm. In the bathroom, there was a big, long urinal like you'd see in an older locker room and a line up of sinks so that teeth brushing could be done en masse. Add in a kitchen set up like a diner, with stoves, fridge, sinks, and prep on one side and a slew of round-topped, bolted stools on the other so Muzz could sling hash with the best of them. It was basically a feeding trough. We rarely ate at the Dining Room Table because that just wasn't the place for the survival-of-the-fittest dining we so enjoyed.
> A favorite Christmas memory is Pops collecting all the boxes and wrapping paper and carefully seeing how small a package he could fit it all into.
> Thermop was the kind of life where the kids would go out and play until dark and then come home for dinner. Pops worked long hours but never felt absent. Truly, Norman Rockwell.
> The back yard was party central. There was a big brick deck with multiple tables, chairs, and an oft used barbeque where Pops would cook "snake"— long, thin, round pieces of steak smothered in BBQ sauce. Couple that with two lawns, a tall three-chair swing set, a small pool, a tanbark area, and the foundation of an old house filled with dirt that was perfect for building forts, or marble ski hills, or whatever your mind could imagine…, it was a back-yard was nirvana.
Friends
The Brunks, McReynolds, Grahams, and Sullivans became more of a tribe than neighbors.
> Pops and Muzz had lots of friends. But Hugh and Emma Graham, Rob and Jennie McReynolds, and later Tom and Jeannie Sullivan were the gang. Three of the couples lived within a block of each other. And many of the kids matched up age-wise. So we took virtually every vacation together.
There never appeared to be an argument, disagreement, issue, or anything else that separated them in all those years. There may have been, but if so, it was cleared up quickly. From camping to skiing from Sun Valley to Jackson Hole, from boating on Boysen Reservoir (where when you were water skiing you would occasionally hit a ball of rattlesnakes) to picnics, and so much more, The Brunks, McReynolds, Grahams, and Sullivans became more of a tribe than neighbors.
> One story from a picnic at Boysen Reservoir that became a family saying. A large group of friends were having a picnic after a busy day of water-skiing. Suddenly one of the wives began to choke on her food. Her husband, in perfect deadpan, asked: "If you don't make it, can I have the rest of your sandwich?" Everyone fell down laughing. But then they realized he was serious. They rushed him to the hospital, and sure enough, he was having a stroke!
Still, can't let a near-death experience ruin a good line, so pretty much anytime someone chokes even a little bit, the Grahams, McReynolds, and Brunks will ask: "if you don't make it, can I have the rest of your sandwich?"
> One day, in his mid 40's, with five kids, Pops came home with a sports car. It only had two doors and was very fast. Pops always loved hot cars, and this was the hottest car in town. We all feared he was having a mid-life crisis.
> Another day, he came home with a VW frame and a kit to make a dune buggy. He thought it would make for a great project to do with his boys. Months later, when he finished, alone, we all drove it.
Jackson Place 1965
The property has to be experienced to truly be appreciated.
> After Mudda and Fadda passed, the folks bought the 95 Ranch in Jackson, Wy. Sitting just below the Tetons, on a tributary of the Snake River, at the top of a little finger of private land that juts into Teton National Park, the property has to be experienced to be truly appreciated. It is breathtaking in every direction. And it became the place where we went every chance we got.
The property has a main house and three small cabins. It was a Dude Ranch at one time. Add in a barn, a shed, a painter's studio a few creeks, 90 acres of adventure, and it was a kid's paradise. Cue, elk, moose, deer, bars, coyotes, mountain cats, wolves, foxes, trout, migrating fowl, and sso much more, and well, it is about as close to heaven as you can get in this world.
> Summers for the boys meant long days of making forts down by what was then a small tributary. We'd take air compression pop guns and poke the end of the barrel into the soft, damp, rocky soil to get a load of buckshot. No one ever told us not to do that because we might shoot our eye out. In fact, no one ever told us much of anything to do or not do. Now we call it free-range parenting. Back then, it was, "boys will be boys."
Pops never played those kinds of games with us. He was too busy fixing something, repairing a fence, or building yet another thing Muzz had designed. Looking back, the love he expressed in the way that he took care of everything was astounding…
> For Pops, winter weekends in Jackson meant about 30 minutes in the house to get warm before he'd have to suit up to head out again to pull yet another snowmachine out of some ditch, creek bed, or snowbank. There were no other homes in the Meadow, which gave the kids over 100 acres in which to get stuck. And, snowmachines then were not the sleek, relatively light, powerhouses they are today. Instead, Skidoo made great big, heavy sleds with one ski and two tracks. It seemed to weigh as a car. If we really burrowed in, Pops had to fire up the Thiokol to pull us out. Good times… Poor Pops.
> Then we got fancy. Not many people will ever own their own Thiokol. For us, it was a game-changer. Pops loved the mechanical nature of driving it and could make it sing…loudly. But the surprise was seeing petite Muzz powering through deep powder and then wheeling it around on a dime. For all her ladylike qualities, those tough old broads in early Wyo pictures who pioneered the West had nothing on Muzz. She did smile more, though.
> In the 60's and 70's the snowpack was so deep that by Christmas, the buck and poll fences were totally covered. That, coupled with how few houses there were in the Meadow, meant it was too expensive to try and keep the roads open. So, we had those two track Skidoos with one ski that could pull a sled designed, in part, by Muzzy. 2-3 people could sit on the deck floor, and another could ride standing up on the back like a dogsled. We'd load those sleds up with groceries, luggage, and bodies, and off we'd go for the 2-3 mile trip. Muzz had full snow machine suits for the girls so they could slip into one for the ride and and still dress up underneath. It was wild and fun (most of the time) and also usually pretty cold.
AUDIO: Jackson by Snow machines
AUDIO: Jackson by Thiokol or Snow machine
AUDIO: The Facts of Life!
Skiing
> The local ski area for Thermop was Meadowlark. About an hour and a half away, virtually every weekend, Pops would load up the International (the original Suburban) and take the hoard skiing. It was a small hill that started as rope tow, then got a Poma, and ended with a T-Bar (the bane of every little kid's existence since the adult's butt was considerably higher than the kid's).
Mostly, Pops would teach, but every once in a while, he'd strut. And like everything else he did, it turned heads. One time he vaddled down the liftline – very short, quick, sharp turns, made famous by Stein Erickson. The girls swooned, and the guys wanted to be him—definitely the best skier on the hill.
From golf to skiing, to several other sports, he didn't just play, he mastered them.
Young Muzz and Pops on a ski trip.
> Pops quit skiing soon after Teton Village Ski Area opened. From golf to skiing, to several other sports, he didn't just play, he mastered them. But when he did, he was done.
> In one of his last forays skiing, he headed up the Tram at Teton Village to the top of Rendevous Bowl – a notoriously difficult, half-mile-long bowl that starts with a rounding top and then drops into the steeps. Pops took one perfect turn, then another, and then hooked a tip just as he was coming over the lip.
A half-mile later, he finally came to a stop. It was a yard sale. It took Jim, Dave, and Curt several minutes to pick up stuff and finally reach him. When we got there, Pops was still on the ground, collecting himself. Curt skied up, and thinking about another aspect of what had happened, asked: "did you mean to do that?" Fortunately, Pops was just far enough away that the pole he swung at Curt didn't connect.