>>METROPOLIS OF THERMOPOLIS

You know, I've learned that life in a small town isn't everyone's cup of tea. Life in Thermopolis is different than what I'm used to. It's small...very small. On the town website, it boasts about how the elevation of Thermopolis is greater than its population.

Luckily, the small-town life works for me. I think it just might be my cup of tea.

I will admit I was apprehensive about moving here. One thing I worried about was not having a Walmart in town.

But here's the trade . . .

When we lived in Utah, Curtis had to travel almost an hour each way to work EVERY DAY of the work week. It sucked. That was 2 hours a day spent in rush-hour in a stuffy, uncomfortable car. It is draining to have to commute like that.

Now-a-days, his work is literally 5 minutes from home. Walmart, on the other hand, is 50 minutes from home, but I'm okay with that. I'll take those extra 2 hours a day I get to spend with my hubby. It's a much better trade if I do say so myself. And when we do have to go to Walmart, a 50 minute drive is not that bad. Even in the city, it can take about that long just making one's way through traffic to get to the store that is only 10 miles away. And seriously, who needs to go to Walmart more than every other week or so? You may think you do, but you don't. Trust me.

Plus, if we didn't live in this small town, then I would have never gotten stuck right dab in the middle of the homecoming parade this weekend. Yep, I got stuck driving right between 2 floats. I was dropping off some lunch to Curtis at work and I had no idea a parade was going on. Of course, there wasn't much traffic control, so one wrong turn and I found myself right in the middle of the parade route. Awesome! All I could do was smile and wave. It seems like awkward stuff like this is just the story of my life.

Now, for your enjoyment (if the above story wasn't enough), here are some pictures we took while driving around the State Park today (Thermopolis is home to the Hot Springs State Park).