Coming Home

Thomas Wolfe once wrote, "You can never come home again." All respect to Mr. Wolfe, but he was wrong.

My name is Dallas Fields. I grew up in Saratoga and graduated from Saratoga High School in 2005. I then attended the University of Wyoming where I earned a Bachelor's of Science Degree in Physical Education.

Since then I have worked as a fitness instructor, teacher, and coach. For the past five years I have been living abroad in France with my wife and son. During that time my motivation for coming home grew every day.

I missed the simple things such as my jogging route in town where I got to see the mountains in the background. I also missed the scenic drives up to the Snowy Range or taking a soak in the Hobo Pools. I missed the state of pizzas from the Kum & Go on a Friday night or yelling at the deer to get out of my yard.

The further away I was from home the more I learned to appreciate what I had. Simple things like my neighbor, Mr. Jones, putting wood in our wood pile for us out of the kindness of his heart or a person stopping to ask if I need help plowing out my driveway. People take care of each other in the Valley and that teamwork is something I missed while being away.

Growing up, my mother taught me the importance of learning the value of a dollar and encouraged me to take a job delivering newspapers starting in second grade. I learned the value of hard work and how to be responsible from my first job delivering newspapers to the neighborhoods by the sawmill.

The cold winters and getting up early every day made me mentally stronger and taught me how to persevere. The customers showed me the importance of caring and taking care of others when they offered me baked goods as a thank you for my hard work.

I thought about the times people from the Valley looked out for me and helped set me up towards a path of success. The people here have helped me find work and gave me friendly advice when I asked for help.

Most importantly I wanted to come home and spend time with my Mom.