Years ago, a national early morning talk show weather person once commented on an abyssmal winter storm out here, adding, “but that’s all right, because no one lives there.” Let’s find out.
Cody-Powell area here, wife and three daughters (I’m the quiet one), Critical care and Emergency nursing. As close to this Hobbit’s liking as can be found.
“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door. You step on to the Road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to.” My sentiments, indeed. Regards!
Hey WyomingBill RN, nice to talk to you again. On a prior post you noted that some LDS were lookingat land in your area; arethey still doing that? Have they bought any? And, how decent are you land prices? (currently trapped in NJ, but love the great outdoors)
How far is your commute to work?
Thanks, Grace! Caught pneumonia in early January, toughed it out for a month before caving in and seeing my internist (pride is an inconvenient thing…)still feel like a broke a rib.
This whole area has had a large LDS population since the early 1900′s; they made irrigation possible throught this are where we only get 10 inches of rain a year (less the last few)-a survey at the local high school showed 84% of the students were LDS, and probably that proportion of our neighbors are, if I had to guess. Nice folks, and we have great rapport.
Land prices? Best to let you look: http://www.codyenterprise.com/classifieds/?loc=detail&main=Real%20Estate .I guess they’re impressive by NJ standards.
The commute is about 1/4 of a cup of coffee to Cody and 3/4 of a cup to Powell; 15–20 minutes max door to door. For a work environment, personally Powell can’t be beat, though Cody’s OK, too. Give em a look-will give you a tour of the sights if you want to visit…
Sorry you were so ill; nurses do make bad patients! Sounds like heaven on earth! And such good neighbors.
A building lot where I live, 100′x100′ goes for $125,000+. New homes on tiny lots are considered poor for under $300K. And almost all the new homes here have 2 brand new SUV’s parked outside.
If I could talk the hubby into it, would love to take you up on your generous offer. Are the hospitals in your area doing any panflu planning?
At my hospital (about 250 staff), Respiratory Therapy is the only group who’s expressed any interest; most of the MD’s know liitle about pandemic flu in general and H5N1 in particular-have tons of info that I’m going to be distributing to different groups, and have ordered some “Ask me about Bird Flu” buttons, one of which I plan to wear, solo-THAT will give a true idea as to how indifference/support/denial there really is. One table-top exercise about a year ago, then nothing. Hope to have better luck generating interest with the patient base through the buttons, and let that filter back to the administration and clinics.
In 1989, we paid $69,000 for a 2500 sq. foot bilevel, two acres of land, 5 bedrooms and a walk in root cellar- my ‘Bag-End;’ That’s why Tolkien has a special meaning. Afraid to go anywhere else, but always open to visitors. There’s a saying for folk who live near Yellowstone-we have 9 months of winter, and three months of company :=)
WyomingBillRN-the buttons are a good idea. At my place of work- a large university based hospital in Philadelphia, I’d likely get terminated for wearing them.
You were smart to get your home and land when you did. We have a 1800 sq foot 2 story 4 BR 1.5 bath on about 1/3 acre that cost us $29,000 in 1976; we’ve wanted to move, but needless to say, the housng/lands costs have risen faster than our salaries or equity! :(
9 months of winter- certainly not for the weak of heart!
I am just wondering what Wyoming people think this state is doing and if they are taking this serious. I know our paper doesn’t say anything. I live in northern Wyoming and I know if this does become H2H, thing are going to get like a bad never ending blizzard and the stores are going to empty out fast. Lot of people live here in campers and motels because of the housing shortage. Just wanted to hear from other Wyoming people.
Hi, SuzyQ!
Glad you posted here-I’ve followed your posts the past month with some interest; have known for the longest there was someone else in this state, just couldn’t prove it. Was thinking of joining the Idaho or Montana boards, but now its official. Wyoming has two-now we are somebody (an old Steve Martin bit from “The Jerk” comes to mind-just need a phone book). There are still others; as I saw a post or two a couple months back from attendees to Mike Leavitt’s conference in Cheyenne, unless they’re sneaking in from from Colorado; we need a fence (Centennial State friends-I’m kidding. Watch me smile… ;=) .
Your post above made me do some reading; I’ve had a copy of Wyoming’s pandemic plan (at least the current, second draft) and sat down last night to read it-very interesting and very specific-and it’s only 58 pages. Here’s the link: http://wdh.state.wy.us/epiid/wpirp.pdf .I would highly recommend printing and becoming familiar with it. For one, there are locations for mass immunization centers in each county. The plan has different phases which are implemented according to the current WHO phase (A WHO phase 3-Pandemic alert-triggers Wyoming phase 2 (out of 6) plan, or early pandemic alert. There’s also alot about vaccine security. It takes about an hour to read, but I feel much better informed. Thanks for the prompt.
People here in Park county largely have only a vague awareness of the problem or are just plain lacadaisical; alot of people here, like there, store supplies to the hilt anyway-it is the forgotten state, land of perpetual ice and snow, (my oldest daughter at age 6 wanted to know if she’d see igloos here, as that’s what grandpa told her to expect); there has been no real mention in the Cody paper, or any other area newspapers, though Powell had a good write-up last week that indicates some concern from the editor, at least. I’ve seen some articles in the Casper paper, but that’s about it. At my hospital there is no preparation to speak of. Last year there was a state-directed tabletop excercise that drew a half dozen attendees, and last month there was a bird flu poster outside the ER, which has since been taken down. The only interest I can find is with Respiratory Therapy and some of the EMS folks, but none among the department heads. As posted above, I’ve worn an ‘Ask Me About Bird Flu” button the last couple of months steady, and have only garnered a couple of comments from patients and staff. Oh, and a couple of inquiries as to where the televisions are at Wal-Mart (“Sorry, I’m just looking.” “Oh.”).
I’m hoping that’s about to change. I’ve done a QI (quality improvement) study for the hospital which I’m going to submit in the next week re: the amount of PPE’s (personal protective equipment) we have in inventory, and it’s sufficiency for dealing with a single 90 day pandemic wave; am seriously considering posting it under a seperate thread for peer review. In short, a week or less supply of gowns, N-95′s and surgical masks. Gloves almost stretch the full term, but allow only one change per day-am still revising the math but it’s looking grim (maybe NBC Dateline can do a special on this).
Last month I attended a talk by Donal O’Toole, Deartment head of Veterinary Sciences at the U of Wy and Director of the Wyoming State Vet Lab. He spoke of the near certainty of avian flu arriviing in North ASmerica, of plans to test over 1000 wild birds in the state this year, currents state of the disease around thje world and other related topics; when I asked him what steps individuals should take now, before the advent of H5N1 on our shores, he looked surprised and gave a one word answer-“Nothing.” When the time came, Wyoming Department of Health would issue such instructions as necessary. There were about 30 atendees; almost all where Audubon Society members.
Hope all is well there; stay the course.
You’re right. There ARE other preppers in WY. Currently staying under the radar, but prepping along.
Thanks for the post. It amazes me how you read other city, not in Wyoming, that are taking this serious. I have seen 2 very small articles in our newspaper on the back page. I live in Campbell County which is having a huge population boom due to the power plants and methane gas. I see a lot of people living in motels and campers that no way would survive for any long period of time. I know our hospital isn’t at all prepared for what could happen. I have talked to family and tried to get them to prepare and they are so stubborn and dumb that they think as long as you don’t eat chicken you can’t catch it. Some think I am wacko that they won’t even talk to me. It don’t bother me, but It will be hard when they are needing help to have to turn them down because we are preparing for us, family of 5 to think about. I can’t stock for 20 more people. We are hunters and I guess if nothing else we can hunt to feed all of them. I am preparing for one family member that will come and stay because she has health problems and lives alone in an apartment. She will be taken care of. I have a very small house and couldn’t support to many.
There are some in Wyoming who are following the advancing storm of avian flu closely. We are reading much and saying little on these blogs. The Wyoming Department of Health and the county public health offices have been working for some time now to develop plans to meet the threat. In my county, we (PH) have been trying to educate the public for several months. We have been recommending that everyone prepare to be able to self quarantine for several weeks (months if you can afford it). We’ve been stressing the importance of handwashing, good respiratory hygiene, staying home if sick, etc. to minimize exposure. We are designing a home study course to teach home care of the sick in a disaster. We’ve put articles in our local papers periodically now for several months. We’ve taken presentations to over 1000 people by way of civic organizations, local government agencies, churchs, clubs, etc. And just recently we’ve started to organize local Pandemic Flu Community Task Forces made up of local government, utilities, law enforcement, emergency management, health care providers, schools, and others. Our hospitals are aware of the threat and are working with us to the degree they can. With limited resources and staff they do the best they can.
It’s a challenge to present the threat in a clear, balanced way. We were asked to prepare for smallpox, or some other bioterrorist attack and since those have not yet happened, it’s important that we share our message in such a way that we do not lose credibility.
As are most counties in Wyoming, we a large in land and small in population. Many plans assume many hands to get the job done. In our situation, many people wear many hats and we have to scale our plans down to what we can actually expect to be able to do. Hence we feel that empowering the people to be able to take care of themselves is what we can do best. Knowledge is power. I would advise checking with your local PH office - ask for the PH Response Coordinator for information about how you can help. If not enough is being done - perhaps your concern will prompt more action. And as we always stress - any preparations we make for a pandemic won’t be wasted. It’s a good idea to be prepared for any out of the ordinary event.
All in all - I would not want to be anywhere else in the world than our beautiful wild Wyoming. My husband and I also hunt, fish and love the outdoors and our small ranch and animals. Our neighbors and friends are private people, but in a pinch we pull together. Our challenging land and climate encourage the strong to stay here and not only survive but thrive. Keep up the good work you’re doing to prepare and look out for each other!
I just wish our local paper would publish more for people to be aware of what is going on. I know a lot of people that do not have the internet and they have been watching the paper for information and they haven’t seen any. I think the newspaper should devote a flyer in the paper telling people about what is going on and how to prepare for the possiblity. I believe the more informed the less stress there could be on our local authorities.
What news from the West, wily Wyomingas?