Avery: I was working at the Rockpile Museum here in town, and I made friends with this gal who was from New Jersey, which I do not know how she ended up working there. It was only for a summer internship, and I don't really... And she was, like, a chemistry major, so I wasn't sure how it happened. But we were both really into Hozier, and for whatever reason, Hozier was playing in Casper that summer, which felt very out of left field.

Big artists like that don't usually come to Wyoming. And so she invited me, and I was a little hesitant at first 'cause I'd never been to a big concert before. And I was like, "Oh, you know." My mom finally convinced me to go. And she didn't wanna drive, because our roads are a lot faster than they are in New Jersey.

And then I found out that, at least for her, it was unusual that our highways didn't have streetlamps. Which I guess New Jersey's a small state, so they could afford that. But I was like, "Okay, you know, we'll drive." I'm used to driving 80 miles per hour in the dark. Like, I can do that. So I went to Casper with her.

It was so great. I think a lot of people associate Wyoming with, like, country music.

And it was, it wasn't that at all. There were a lot of young people there. I did get, have someone next to me vaping weed and blowing it in my face. That wasn't fun. But, like, you know, concert experience prepared me for college in a lot of ways.

And, you know, I go back. All the businesses are closed 'cause, I don't know if Casper just doesn't have a lot of 24-hour businesses- ... or if they weren't going back to 24 hours yet. So we ended up, like, getting a Lunchable and a 5-Hour Energy from- ... a gas station- Yeah ... and driving back. And it was just pitch black in the dark, and we were listening to music.

And I felt bad for her 'cause she had to go to work the next day, and then, you know, I got to stay home.

But yeah. I don't know. I d- it really put a lot in perspective for me that, yeah, they don't, they don't have as... that we didn't have streetlamps- Yeah ... and that was unusual, and that our roads are super fast.

'Cause I remember, you know, telling my stepdad, he's from Louisiana. And telling his parents about our interstates, and he said that they were, like, Autobahn speeds. I'm like, "I don't, I don't know “ And, you know, this is more of a New Jersey thing, but New Jersey, they pump your... their gas for them.

Like, you don't pump your own gas, and I thought that was really strange. Yeah. So I don't know, just sort of a couple unique things about Wyoming that I thought I'd share.

Abdalrahim: Yeah. That's awesome. That's great. I love it so much.

Avery: Thank you.

Abdalrahim: Yeah, sure.

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