You know that you live in a small town when something like this is posted in the window of the one barber shop in town. Especially when that one barber shop is one of a small thimbleful of open business on a mostly empty and boarded up row of buildings on main street.
While I had a whole bunch of empathy (kidney stones are damn painful), I admit I laughed. Maybe I just didn’t expect it of “The Scissor Wizard”.
As many of you know, I have called Cache Valley, Utah, my home for 20 years. Cache Valley is truly one of the prettiest places in the world. It is a small valley that is surrounded by the most beautiful ring of tall, breathtaking mountains.
It’s located at the top of the Utah/Idahoborder and is made up of several small towns that surround the largest city, Logan.
You have to drive through some insanely beautiful canyons to reach Cache Valley.
We did hit the population to put us in the metropolitan category, but we are very small and have been on the top of Forbes “safest metro areas” ever since.
I live in Cache Valley’s first settlement, it’s a small town called, Wellsville. The population has grown from 25 in 1856 to about 3,500 in 2010. Most people are LDS (Mormon) and 97% are Caucasian.
This move has been an adjustment.
It often surprises people that I am not a fan of change. Oh, I can handle small changes, I thrive on those in fact, but big changes are a big NO.
Especially moving.
I have only moved 3 times in my 14-years of marriage to Jonathan. While my home isn’t splashy or huge, I love it. It’s my dream house. And if I have my way, I will be carried out of it feet first.
Still, while I love the rural feel of where we live, you have to give a few things up to get it.
We only live 10 minutes from Logan, but it might as well be a lot more, honestly. I am used to having quite a few options right outside my door for movies, shopping, dining out, etc. Here, you have quick access to one gas station and that’s about it. Like I said…most business real estate where we moved is boarded up and abandoned.
It’s sad.
What is even more sad to me are the historic old homes that are a major part of the town’s history that are empty and slowly rotting to pieces.
Luckily, there are a lot of these pioneer era homes that have been lovingly restored.
And the most significant building, the Wellsville Tabernacle, was closed in 2010 because of structural issues that no one can afford to fix. It will be a big loss and shame if this building is lost.
While there are some negatives about living here, I love it.
We love the space and beauty.
We love our home.
And we love the people and our neighbors. I saw my next door neighbor pulling his little boys on a sled behind his motorbike. (We live in a closed off and tiny subdivision with one entrance/exit so the street is super safe for this.) It was so adorable I had to take a photo.
I think I will adjust better when I am more able to get out and about.
Still, I don’t have many complaints…this has been an interesting place to get to know. I hope it stays that way.
