I moved to
Lusk, Wyoming seven years ago. It's hard to believe I have lived here this long. Nine years ago I was saying, "'m never moving to Lusk! No way, no how!" Never say never. I don't know why I so against moving here. I had the view of an outsider, and now that I've lived here for seven years, my view and outlook have changed. Yes, Lusk has it's faults, but all-in-all it is a great little town. Here are my favorite things about this town...
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| The Black Hills on a brisk fall day. |
1.) Location! Lusk is situated in a great location. We are only a two hour drive or so from the
Black Hills, a three hour drive or so from the
Rocky Mountains, a 2-3 hour drive from the numerous mountain ranges in Wyoming, and
Yellowstone is only a 5 hour drive away. Granted, the closest Wal-Mart or Mall is a 1 1/2 - 2 hour drive away, but if you want to take a long weekend for a family vacation you don't have to go very far at all. Also, Lusk is only 32 miles from where I grew up. I get to see my family whenever I want to and Pacen gets to hang out with his grandparents, great-grandparents, and aunts quite often.
2.) Small town atmosphere! Lusk has a population of about 1,500, which is small, but not nearly as small as my home town with a population of 291. Lusk is in the least populated county in the least populated state in the nation! There are faults to living in such a small town, but I think the benefits far outweigh them. Yes, everybody knows everyone's business and you can't seem to do anything without it being the talk of the town within an hour, but when a person is in need of help it is there. We have had many benefits for locals who have cancer or other medical problems and it is absolutely amazing to see the town come together to help those in need.
Along with the town coming together to help those in need, it also comes together to support functions and such. Every year during the second weekend in July the town comes together to put on a
pageant based on the history of a butte that lies south of town. It is a huge deal and so many people volunteer to help so that the show may continue in the future. We also have many locals that volunteer to help or participate in plays and dance shows put on by a small theater group.
Being a small town also means it is much safer. Not totally safe, but a lot more safe than many other places. Our crime rate is super low and the crime we do have is done mostly by bored teenagers and punks. It's safe here for kids to ride their bikes around town and for them to walk to and from school.
3.) Our Library. For a very small town we have an amazing library. I am an avid reader and I love that I can mosey on down to the
Niobrara County Library and find what I am looking for. If they don't have the book I'm looking for they can borrow it from another library in Wyoming. Not only do they have all kinds of books and children's books, they also have a huge collection of movies. I even checked Zumba out a while back.
The library also does programs for the local kids. They have after school programs for different age groups. Typically it's 1st & 2nd grades and 3rd & 4th grades. They also have a few RIF (Reading Is Fundamental) programs throughout the school year where they put on a play and do an arts/crafts session and the kids get to choose a free book to take home. They also play movies on some afternoons through the Summer.
Not only are there programs for kids, but there are also programs for adults. Everything from book discussions to movie discussions to wine tastings and poker.
Their website offers an array of things. You can now find virtual books to check out for an e-reader you may own. They have genealogy, tons of links to all things Wyoming, links to numerous local businesses, access to many legal forms, and access to WYLD CAT, which is a Wyoming Libraries Database. Through WYLD CAT a person (who has a library card at a Wyoming library) can see if any libraries in Wyoming have the book they want to read, they can access a website for language learning for free (I plan on using this to learn German and a few other languages), they can prepare for tests, and do many other things.
So, those are my favorite things about my town.
Today I'm linking up at
CentsationalGirl.
"Human nature cannot be studied in cities except at a disadvantage--a village
is the place. There you can know your man inside and out--in a city you but
know his crust; and his crust is usually a lie." ~ Mark Twain
"No I cannot forget where it is that I come from, I cannot forget the people who love me. Yeah, I can be myself here in this small town, and people let me just what I want to be." ~ John Mellencamp
P.S. I have way more pictures I could put on here but I'm on a new computer and all my pictures are on an old computer that is acting up big time. I have them backed up, but everything is in a jumble on my external hard drive. The links I added to this post will give you more of an idea of what my town is all about.
