Story by Sally Ann Shurmur

Photos by Dan Cepeda

ALCOVA - For three generations of one Casper family, summer living at Alcova Reservoir off Wyoming Highway 220 is a way of life now entering its fourth decade.

Bob and Betty Cates moved to Casper in June 1966 with 9-year-old daughter Debbie. That summer Debbie learned to water ski in the cold water of Alcova.

In April 1967, the Cates rented the second lot off Lakeshore Drive on the southernmost edge of the loop in the Alcova Trailer Park. At that time, it was number 27; the lot number has since been changed to 2.

"Our first trailer was 8 (feet) by 28 (feet)," Betty Cates remembers with a laugh. "We bought it from a lady in Glenrock."

And so it was there that Bob, a meat cutter and Betty, a medical office bookkeeper, spent their summers with their daughter, stretching weekends into extra days here and there whenever they could.

Back then, Betty estimates there were 50 to 60 mobile homes in the park. Today, there are more than 150.

On the west side of the upper loop with a spectacular view of the lake below to the east is No. 41. Visitors first notice the red rock landscaping with potted flowers. It's just up a few stairs to the white lattice-trimmed deck, where bright white furniture with navy blue cushions invites the many guests to sit and relax and welcomes all to "Smith's Cove," as the nautical blue sign proclaims. The deck runs along the entire north length of the 14-by-70-foot trailer and across the east width.

This is the summer home of Debbie (Cates) Smith and her husband, Tim, and their children, Travis, 21, and Kaila, 15.

Having been raised at the lake, perhaps it was inevitable that Debbie would one day have a home of her own there, but it did take some time.

In April of 1978, three days after her 21st birthday and at her parents' trailer, Debbie was introduced to Tim Smith by Linda Sundberg, a longtime friend of the Cates family.

While Debbie had been raised on the waters of Alcova, Tim was a self-described "river rat" from Sacramento, Calif., lured to Wyoming by the lucrative mechanic trade and the oil boom of the late 1970s.

"She got a brand-new water ski for her birthday," Tim laughs, "and she didn't let me help with the dishes. That was almost a deal breaker. What woman doesn't want help with the dishes?"

That memorable month - April 1978 - was also the month the Cates' upgraded from their 8-by-28-foot trailer to a 12-by-60-foot, two-bedroom, one-bath, used trailer that they purchased in Greeley, Colo.

It was there that Debbie and Tim's romance grew in the summer of 1978 and it was there that the extended family celebrated Tim and Debbie's marriage in June of 1979.

Those first years, Tim and Debbie stayed in Bob and Betty's second bedroom while enjoying the lake. Travis was born in April 1985 and the five fit cozily in the Cates' trailer.

In 1987, the Smiths purchased a motor home and spent many weekends at the lake in a cove on the water not far from the Cates' trailer. They also used the motor home for long distance traveling to visit extended family in California and took several excursions with multiple families for Casper Elks Lodge No. 1353 events, which both Bob and Tim are active in.

By June 1 of each year since 1981, the Smiths had put their name in with the Natrona County Parks Department (now the county road and bridge department) as a prospective mobile home buyer in the trailer park.

The format was changed to a lottery system in 1992, according to Tim, and in June 1993, their name came up.

The trailer at Lot 41 was available. Having been owned by an elderly couple residing full-time in Arizona, the trailer had been signed over to another couple and they were the sellers. The road and bridge department served as the broker for both the seller and the buyer.

"The seller sells the trailer through road and bridge and the buyer buys the trailer and leases the land through road and bridge, but the Bureau of Reclamation owns the ground," Debbie said.

Friends marvel at the Smiths' definition of relaxation. Having documented more than 70 people on their deck at one time, the Smiths are known for entertaining large groups. Debbie is not one to read a book and sip an iced tea. A meticulous cleaner and organizer (she gets that from her mom), planning elaborate meals and decorating to fit a theme for any gathering is how Debbie spends much of her time at the lake.

Yet, she says, "to me, it's relaxation. It gets hectic at times but still, being out here by the water, away from town for a day or two, it's relaxing."

While Debbie knows how she wants the interior, it's Tim who maintains the deck and the property and all of the family's "toys," now including a personal watercraft, four-wheeler, water skis and assorted other water toys, as well as a boat owned by the Cates.

"I'd rather come out here and work than work on our house in town," Tim said. "I work harder out here, but I like the lake."

Debbie still marvels at their good fortune in getting the lot they did, which she maintains has the best view of the water in the park.

"Basically, you can sit anywhere and actually be able to see the lake," she said.

From the Smiths' lot 41, it's just a short drive down around the corner to the Cates' lot No. 2, where Betty's trademark purple potted flowers sit among pieces of driftwood she's collected over the years.

There's not much physical distance between the two trailers, and that's just fine with all concerned. The three generations are happiest when they are all together and happiest of all when they are together at Alcova.

Community News editor Sally Ann Shurmur can be reached at (307) 266-0520 or sallyann.shurmur@casperstartribune.net.