Radunich Rants and rambles: The Platte Valley: Still an undiscovered gem

My first summer spent here in the Platte Valley was definitely one to remember and included things I’ve never done before. I’ve soaked in the hot pools, gone floating down the river, hiked beautiful trails, witnessed competitive lumberjacks at work, been to rodeos and horse shows, seen several live musicians perform, sampled great Dutch oven cooking, watched outdoor sportsmen hurl axes and knives, mingled with Old West pioneers giving tours at Living History Days, and, most recently, seen cowboys get thrown around like rag dolls at Bullfest.

After spending such a great summer in a fun-packed area, I have to ask, “Why is the Platte Valley still unknown to most Americans?” Better yet, why is Wyoming still such a lowly-populated state? Even with such a low unemployment rate?

According to the Wyoming Dept. of Workforce Service, as of June 2013, Wyoming had a 4.6 percent unemployment rate (fifth-lowest in the nation), and Carbon County’s was 4.4 percent.

So, with that in mind and all the fun things there are to do here in this valley, as well as the entire state, why haven’t the masses been moving here?

Before I moved here, I was one of the many people who had never heard of Saratoga, Wyo. I couldn’t have even told you where Rawlins was without looking at a map. Once I got here, I was surprised at how Saratoga had not been “discovered” yet, and still remained a small, Old West-style town almost frozen in time.

I was even more surprised to find online that in the past 30 years people have been fleeing the Platte Valley. According to the U.S. Bureau of the Census, Saratoga went from 2,410 people in 1980 to 1,678 in 2011, and Encampment and Riverside also showed downward trends. In Carbon County’s other two “large” towns, Rawlins went from 11,547 in 1980 to 9,203 in 2011, and Hanna went from 2,288 in 1980 to a mere 835 in 2011. With low unemployment, low crime and plenty to do outdoors, why hasn’t our area been growing with people over the past three decades?

I think part of the reason we haven’t really grown here is that not enough small-town lovers know what the Platte Valley has to offer, or that it even exists. What we need for Saratoga is more promotion, whether it’s through the internet, magazines, newspapers, TV, billboards, radio or what have you, to bring more visitors, tourists and possible future residents here. Once more people who love small towns hear about the place and come visit, more of them will want to move here and stay permanently. Good promotion worked for Jackson, which had fewer than 5,000 people 30 years ago, yet is now a world-known major ski and resort town with nearly 10,000 residents as of 2011.

The downside, however, is that when thinking about the majority of Americans in 2013, I assume the fact that our towns here are so small could also prevent a lot people from moving here. Sure, there are people who prefer to live in small towns, but I believe the majority of Americans today like living in or close to big, medium-sized cities or suburbs, where they know they can get everything they want and need, or be easily entertained at any time.

In today’s convenient America full of major chains and artificial thrills, I’m sure many would refuse to live somewhere that didn’t have, or wasn’t close to, a Subway, Wendy’s, Applebee’s, Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Best Buy, 20-screen movie multiplex, giant mall or shopping plaza, water slide park, amusement park, etc. You get the idea.

As for why Wyoming as a whole (population: 576,412 as of 2012) has never seen a population boom on a major, state-altering scale, I’m guessing the fact that we are the 10th-largest state and have the lowest population out of all 50 (and also lower than Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico, if those are counted) may be what makes us seem undesirable for many people. Wyoming has also always had one of the lowest populations state-wise throughout history, even as one of the biggest states size-wise. Some people may hear things like that and think Wyoming must be a deserted, barren wasteland of nearly nothing, especially when you figure that population-wise you could fit almost 15 Wyomings into New York City (8.3 million people as of 2012) or almost seven Wyomings into Los Angeles (3.8 million people as of 2012). The fact I stated earlier, about how I think the majority of Americans like living in or close to big, medium-sized cities or suburbs, also applies here. Our only cities with more than 40,000 people (and less than 70,000) are Cheyenne and Casper, but even a city of 50,000 people may be considered too small for some out-of-staters. In our much more populated fellow mountain states like Colorado, Utah, Arizona or Nevada, 50,000 people would only be about the size of a small or medium-sized suburb for what those states would call big cities. I’m sure “Denver-ites” just 200 miles away might laugh at us for calling Cheyenne or Casper “big cities,” when their city by itself has more people than our entire state.

Whether it’s because a lot of people don’t know about us or dislike the small-town life, several folks out there are clearly missing out on what the Platte Valley and state of Wyoming have to offer. I’m glad I was able to experience a summer in one of America’s hidden gems of the Mountain West.