Allison: I am the president of the Crimson Dawn Association. I have been that for about three years. When I moved back from Olympia, Washington in 2018, the first thing I did was try to figure out how to become a part of the Crimson Dawn Association. Michelle was holding coffee meetings at Metro, and I saw it on social media. I showed up and I said, “I'm here. What can I do?”

Because this place—I should go back and say—because this place is my joy. I grew up here, on the mountain. My grandparents’ cabin is on the other side of East End Road. If you see the sign there, it says “John Merle and Mike Kennedy”—that’s my family. I would come over here every weekend and spend time with Eleanor Carrigan, who was the caretaker here. My husband Daniel and I would help her out—take trash out, do whatever we could to help her. And she would tell us stories, give us cookies, and we would play up here.

It was my joy to go to Crimson Dawn and just be in the presence of all this beauty.

Nancy: I think first about just this place and identity, since you literally—your growth is rooted in the soil here, right? How does a place like this shape you? How has it shaped you?

Allison: Well, nature for one has shaped me. When you grow up in the quiet of the mountains, and you grow up with the stars and butterflies and hummingbirds—it takes root. And for me, when I moved to the larger cities, I missed this the most. I missed nature. I missed the smell of the cabin. I missed the mist coming up—especially in the autumn.

Those things seem more a part of my epistemology than anything else.

Nancy: It makes me wanna—it makes me want to make a dugout house on the other side of the road and live here.

Allison: Yes. Yes. Because it’s—it’s...

Nancy: We were talking yesterday about the notion of what different kind of broad themes draw people to wide open spaces, right? Whether they are on a mountain or in a valley.

Allison: Yeah.

Nancy: And there's different versions of it. And one of them is magic.

Allison: Yep.

Nancy: And we were talking about—like, one of the questions I asked—I think it was Rebecca?

Allison: Yeah.

Nancy: Was, for her understanding of Neal, and for her, was the magic in the stories?

Allison: Mm-hmm.

Nancy: So like, the magic of receiving a story and being, “Oh, maybe there’s forest fairies.”

Allison: Yes.

Nancy: Or was the magic in the land?

Allison: Oh—itself. It’s in the land.

Nancy: Could you talk about that?

Allison: Yes. So everybody who is up here long enough has a story.

My story was when I was eight years old, and I was with my cousin Daniel—who was not a couple, he’s just a couple years older than me—and I swear we were in the meadow on the other side of East End Road. And the fog came in, and he was on the other side of the meadow. And I started looking for him—couldn't find him. “Daniel, where are you?” And I started just trying to walk back home.

But then I saw something shiny. And I went, “Wait, what's that?” And I walked toward it—and it was the Tin Owl. And I was on this side of East End Road. And from the Tin Owl, I knew exactly how to get home.

So while I was searching and scared and didn’t know what to do—asking for somebody, please help me, as an 8-year-old lost in the woods—there was the Tin Owl, this beautiful sculpture. I knew exactly where I was. I knew how to follow the path and the road back to my home.

Nancy: That’s amazing.

Allison: Yeah.

Nancy: It actually gave me goosebumps.

Allison: Yes. Yes. Just because there is magic in it.

Nancy: There’s magic in it.

Allison: There’s magic here all the time. Every year when the people hit the top of the Beete, something happens. Last year, it was a double rainbow—just went across the sky. And it was bright red, beautiful, gorgeous. After being a 40-degree night with soup, a lot of rain—then here was this rainbow.

The year before was fog. And when they got to the top, the sun broke out from the fog. So there’s always something happening up here. And everybody has a story very similar—of something happening where they are helped or they are saved in some way, especially around this land.

If you belong here, it'll take care of you.

Nancy: I love that. Thank you.

Allison: Yes. That’s beautiful.

Nancy: Do you have any other—because that is like way more than I could have wished for—for a gift. It's a gift to hear these stories.

Allison: Yes.

Nancy: Do you have any other stories of Wyoming as a place and space that has shaped you—that you feel would be fun to share?

Allison: I think for me, living in Casper, it’s been very interesting to look back and see how much culture and art is in this small area. And when I was younger, I used to go to the Nicolaysen Art Museum—when it was in a bus station. And it had this weird Snuffleupagus-looking mammoth that was stuffed. And I loved it, right? We had that available.

And then when I was seven, they moved into the big building. And it was such a cornerstone to my life—being there. A beautiful castle.

And I remember after I received my master's degree, I was in Denver visiting my father. And I had seen that the Executive Director position had come up. And I was like, “Dad, should I apply for this?” And I was like, “I have my master’s. Maybe they’d want a hometown girl.” And I didn’t apply at that moment.

I moved back home two years later with my young son. And up here on the mountain, I met a person named Andrew Schneider—who was on the board of the Nic. And he asked me questions about the Nic. And at that moment, I was boycotting the Nic—because I’d seen an incident happen. I wasn’t happy with the way it was being run.

And he said, “Come be a part of the board.” So I did. And because of the work I’ve done here, people were paying attention—to how we were growing and what we were doing with artists here, how we were building this park, and building a legacy.

And when this job came open again—for Executive Director—I applied. And I got the job.

And so it was like a full-circle moment. It was something I’d always wanted. And I feel like this beautiful land here—and my love of it—helped to lead me into this position of being a caretaker and steward of art in Casper.

And I feel blessed to be in that position. And the magic of it is meeting the right people at the right time, having these interests, and taking those opportunities.

It’s been incredible. And that’s my Wyoming story.

Nancy: Beautiful. Thank you. I mean, I couldn’t have scripted something that was just more beautiful than that. So thank you.

Allison: You’re welcome.

Nancy: It’s so nice to know this about you.

Allison: Yes. Yeah.

Nancy: Thank you so much, Allison.

Allison: You’re welcome.

Note: The transcript above has been condensed from its original audio recording to improve the flow and readability of the story.