I've never been really "girly," but I'm also not exactly what you'd call "outdoorsy." So when I accepted a position as the Information/Publications Manager with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department last spring, friends and family were more than a little skeptical.
"You don't hunt or fish," was the standard response.
"I don't have to hunt or fish to enjoy Wyoming. But I support hunting and fishing and really do want to play a role in conserving our wildlife and heritage. I love Wyoming and our wildlife resource is a big part of who we are as a state," I'd explain. "Besides I love the outdoors."
After working in the agriculture industry for several years, I was ready for new challenges but still believed in working for a cause and protecting our natural resources and rural heritage. The mission of the Game and Fish and its dedicated staff convinced me it was a job I'd love and could do well.
I'm not altogether without skills or ability. I have a college degree in communications and experience in writing, editing, web design and policy. Initially, I launched my career with the National FFA Organization, but decided the Indiana grass wasn't greener and moved back to the Cowboy state. After some graduate work in agriculture economics and a stint with 4-H, I spent the last several years working for the Wyoming Association of Conservation Districts. That eventually lead to a position with the Wyoming Game and Fish.
But the part about loving the outdoors, well, that may have been stretching it just a smidge.
"Weekly outings to the dog park, mini-golf and Wyoming Cowboy football games hardly qualifies as loving the outdoors," my dad told me.
I admit it, I'm more comfortable riding horses, showing hogs and playing sports than trap shooting or hiking in the high country. This outdoor novice may be more than a little out of her league here at Game and Fish with lifetime hunters and skilled anglers. My idea of roughing it is Motel 6 when I forget my blow dryer. I've never hunted, I barely fish and my outdoor adventures were confined to trekking back and forth to the Capitol in dress shoes in January for the legislative session.
Thus began my quest to become a true outdoor woman of Wyoming. I wrote about these goals and my efforts in a column for the Game and Fish E-newsletter, sharing my progress and follies with my readers. Some months I wrote about Game and Fish projects I covered, teaching about the work of the Game and Fish or wildlife conservation. Sometimes I shared funny stories about my attempts to immerse myself in nature. Later, after I’d fallen in love with my now husband (herein referred to lovingly as Outdoor Guy), I’d tell funny stories about our relationship with the outdoors and each other. And some months, I just wrote what was in my heart. Hopefully, my readers enjoyed reading about my misadventures as much as I enjoyed trying to accomplish my goals.
Now, Outdoor Guy and I live in Ten Sleep, Wyoming, at the Wyoming Game and Fish hatchery. He still works for the agency, while I’m trying to launch a writing career. We share our home with three hairy dogs and all spend out time learning more about one another and enjoying all the beautiful Wyoming landscape has to offer.
This blog shares excerpts from my columns and stories of my life as I adjust to life in rural Wyoming and take on new phases of my life as a wife, freelance writer and resident of the great outdoors. This is my quest to find my my inner-outdoor woman.
