Grace: I am the apprentice to the storyteller. This would be my fifth year telling the stories. We anticipate that I will become the next storyteller in 2029.

Nancy: Tell me what being the storyteller means. 

Grace: Being the storyteller, to me, is a huge honor. It's a privilege. It's one to not be taken lightly. I will be the fourth storyteller up on the mountain for this particular setting. It'll be a hundred years. I'll be the first that's not family related. I started coming up here in 1991 and I remember following Rebecca at her heels, just fascinated with her stories and following her through the woods. I really have not left her side since.

Nancy: So tell me, anything else you wouldn't mind sharing about your life around Casper, Wyoming?

Grace: I grew up, born and raised in Casper, Wyoming. So Casper is part of my life. There's just something about Casper. It breeds different people. We're a little stronger and hardheaded. We're stubborn. We can deal with the wind. No big deal. 

Nancy: Do you have any stories that you think of when I ask you to share a story about your life here? Any particular ones you'd like to share? 

Grace: Honestly, it's June. I look forward to being up here on the mountain every June 21st, regardless if I'm just hanging out or helping put on this event.

Nancy: Aside from being part of this community, is there anything in particular you look forward to? Like the setting [or] the forest? Tell me more. 

Grace: I enjoy going to the concerts in the park on Thursdays. They've been going for almost, what, over a hundred years? My dad's part of the band, so it's a Thursday night tradition for two months [out of] the year, just enjoying the park. I enjoy NicFest. It comes and goes too fast. 4th of July is always one of my favorites at the event center. Always putting on our Halloween costumes over our snowsuits for Halloween.

Nancy: So just to close up, what do you think it means to be a modern day person from Wyoming or a Wyomingite? What does that mean to you? 

Grace: To me, it means that you're innovative, you're stubborn, but in a good way. Meaning you can tackle no matter what life throws at you and no matter what situation. I remember going up, being in the wind, having to deal with the snow and the wind, and unfreeze water pipes. There's some true grit that comes through that. 

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