On my first visit to Chugwater, Wyoming, my oldest daughter and I were on a midwinter road trip. We were driving north on I-25, and suddenly the oil pressure in my Jeep started to fall fast. I took the next exit, for a town named Chugwater, Wyoming. We pulled in to town and there was a good sized gas station and store. I turned the car off to let it cool down, went inside, and studied a map. The attendants helpfully informed me there was a Jeep dealer in the next town up the highway, Wheatland Wyoming. They were super nice to us. I sat down at a table and tried to chill out. I realized from my own family background that if this had happened when I was a kid, my parents would have totally freaked out. So I wanted to remain cool, calm, and collected and provide a better example for my daughter. At one point I said to her, “hey, see, it’s going to be OK, see how I’m reacting to it?” She replied, “you mean freaking out?” Well, so I guess I didn’t succeed at that. I still think I did better than my parents would have. Maybe my daughter will be the cool, calm, and collected one. Once the car cooled down, oil pressure returned, and we drove on to Wheatland where we had many adventures getting our car fixed.

To read more and see pictures of the trip, follow along at chugwaterwyoming.tumblr.com