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Disclaimer:
This site is provided for informational
purposes only. The information here is not intended to diagnose
or treat any condition, and should not replace the care and attention
of qualified medical personnel. Use the information on these pages
at your own risk, and, as with any information pertaining to health,
nutrition, mental health, or fitness, consult your physician before making any
changes that might affect your overall health.
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High Altitude Scenery
Out
here, in Wyoming, the scenery is NOT gorgeous. Wyoming is
primarily sage and buffalo grass, and rocks. The lush hills
in the Yellowstone Park region are the exception, not the
rule.
 High altitude, by its very nature, does not welcome
growing things. We tend to associate much of our idea of beauty
with green and flowering plants. Other than that, we tend
to like the look of snow.
Some high altitude
areas have snow to relieve the sameness. Some do not. Often
the views are stark, striking, or awe inspiring. They are
frequently unlovely. Other times they are breathtaking, and
even humorous.
In the spring,
the splash of green, and of colored flowers which grow at
moderate altitudes can be lovely, or whimsical. Some flowers
seem to just pop up one, by itself, instead of in the clusters
we might expect to find them in.
Nature tends to
go in for drama at high altitudes, I suppose to make up in
impact what she lacks in lushness. Often the colors are muted
and subtle, or displayed in rocks instead of in flora.
Some places in
Wyoming are particularly evocative, with landscapes that remind
us of other more familiar, or even more alien things. When
wind blows dirt into the snow, it looks like baked meringue.
Rock stratas which have been tipped sideways, so that the
layers protrude from the ground, can look like the backs of
dinosaurs. Weathered rock spires look like castles in the
sky.
Since many high
altitude areas are more remote, the scenery is often unspoiled.
There is a great variety, depending on where you go, and how
high. Sometimes the scenery consists of what you are looking
up at, and sometimes it is made up of what you are looking
down on.
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High
Altitude Library
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Editorial Comments throughout this site written by Laura Wheeler (with occasional sarcastic remarks by her son, David). Laura is a 10 year resident of Medicine Bow, Wyoming, where the altitude is greater than the population. Medicine Bow is at 6200+ ft above sea level, and boasts a total of 297 residents from the last census. Laura is an experienced technical, health and family writer.
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