Casper - August 15

I flew into Casper late yesterday afternoon, watching a beautiful full-horizon sunset turn into a totally enveloping azure sky. From the air, the territory south of Casper looks like moonscape. On the ground, it is an oasis of trees surrounded by brown, with a significant mountain range (Casper Mountain) to its south. I drove up to the top today, with enough hair-pin curves, sheer drop offs, and popping ears to make me wonder how I'm going to handle driving in the "real mountains".

Casper is a beautiful and prosperous city. It is, I have learned, all about oil and gas. Private jet terminals dominate the small airport. At a population of 55,000 it's the second largest city in  Wyoming., behind Cheyenne. Headlines in the morning paper make me aware of two things. 

First, in Gillette (the city I visit next week, which produces one-fourth of the coal in the US): "Coal backers blast federal reforms." It was a significant mass meeting. Conservationists were very outnumbered. The meeting was attended by both of Wyoming's US Senators - John Barrasso and Mike Enzi - who, I learned today are not only Republicans (which of course I knew) but they are also Presbyterians.This makes my journey even more  interesting.

The second headline was "Yellowstone park officials euthanize bear that killed hiker". Be warned. Sad for the bear. Much sadder,of course, for the hiker.

A question to consider and explore: Can religious belief ever trump - or transform - economic status? (It is not lost on me that Donald Trump is also a Presbyterian, he  says.)