Evanston

Evanston is a town in the far southwest corner of Wyoming. While many people seem to think Evanston is a town to blow through on the way to Salt Lake City, I am very fond of it and always enjoy my visits.

One of my favorite places to eat and visit is Main Street Artisans. Right downtown on Main Street, this sweet cafe and gallery has just been remodeled for its 10th anniversary. They carry a variety of artwork from Wyoming artists, also art teachers, including Chris Amend, John Webelow, Bill Yankee and Terri Thurman. They make all their own food and it is good--salads, soups, sandwiches and cakes. Not to mention drinks.

Evanston has several other good restaurants. It also has a lovely remodeled depot, and a train yard, I guess it is, which is slated to become a town center. They have most of a roundhouse which they plan to convert to city offices and a plaza. They've already converted the machine house into a community use space for holding events. Elements of the original building can still be seen, including the train tracks and holes in the floor used for working on engines.

Evanston has an active music education and music scene which Bear River State Park along the river.

Lander

I'll probably have to write quite a lot about Lander over time. Lander is one of my favorite towns in Wyoming. For one thing, it is about the size Port Townsend was when I moved there, and I liked that--about 5000 people. Lots of artists, with a core of non-art people who have lived here forever. It has a sweet downtown and some very good eateries. The Cowfish and the Gannett Grill, right next to each other, are two of my favorites. The Gannett is casual--huge salads, pizza, burgers and some more "healthy" type stuff. There's a bar attached and a deck to eat outside. The Cowfish is more upscale with sophiscated Asian and American cross cusine. A section of their menu is called "Bowl Food" and, well, you get this huge bowl of spaghetti, or Thai curry, or other interesting food. The Gannett and the Cowfish share a yard and they have an organic garden which provides herbs and vegetables for salads and flavoring, and the Gannett serves organic beef, too. Definite points in their favor! They have a brewery attached, which provides the beer for the Gannett too. It's a Snake River Brewery, which originated in Jackson, and they have some nice beers. Nothing like that Framboise Lambic I mentioned a post or two ago, but some very good ones. There is also an excellent bakery called Wildflower which bakes yummy fresh bread, makes soup and sandwiches and good coffee.

Lander is a great town to walk in--the Popo Agie river runs through it and there's a river walk which feels secluded and wild. There's a mixture of house styles which is pleasing to the eye. Sinks Canyon State Park is just a few minutes away and this is a park that should be on the MUST SEE list. The Sinks are fascinating and there's nothing like this anywhere in the world--the water goes underground and no one really knows where it goes, or what it does, until it rises further downstream. They know it is the same water because they did die tests. There's a gorgeous hike up to a waterfall, but I don't recommend it for anyone who is not acclimated to the altitude. It is quite a climb, but breathtakingly beautiful--both the way, and the falls. Don't think too hard about swimming, though, because the water is cold. Very cold. Ice melt cold. Teeth aching cold. But possibly worth it on a very hot summer day, as you'll be practically dead anyway once you get there and it will revive you.

Enough for now, as I don't want to just skim over everything Lander has to offer.

Lit Mail

One way to find out about things happening around the state and the region, particularly in Literature, is to read the WyoLitMail blog. The blog is a spin off of a weekly newsletter on literature and other related items in Wyoming and the Rocky Mountain region that Michael Shay produces on a weekly basis from the Wyoming Arts Council. It is a great way to learn about recent books by Wyoming artists and for musings about literature in general.