WYOMING, MONTANA AND...GILLIAN

 Vegas de Laroja is married to Gillian Karjala, and his connection to Montana is strictly professional, artistic, and spiritual in nature—as well as personal, given his quest for solitude, the inspiration he draws for his Western imagery, and his formal marital ties.

Vegas De Laroja and Gillian Karjala

Gillian is the owner of Karjala Metal Art Design and Owner and founder Big Basin Materials LLC

They live on a sprawling prairie in Basin County—amidst the distant echoes of the Old West frontier—moving primarily between Montana and Wyoming.

Gillian Karjala and Vegas De Laroja 

Both are dedicated to creative pursuits—ranging from filmmaking (specifically, a short movie about Vegas’s life and experiences across California, Texas, and Montana—as well as Nevada, Maryland, and Pennsylvania) to the creation of unique or limited-edition cowboy-themed objects.

How does Gillian define herself? "I am a woman of the frontier, with a strong cultural identity rooted primarily in American values."

Gillian was born in Colorado but moved to Montana at the age of 18 months, relocating from the city of Trinidad to Basin County.

Gillian Karjala 

Vegas de Laroja also maintains a very strong bond with Wyoming for the same cultural and artistic reasons that link him to Montana: the state embodies the very essence of the "Old West" spirit and cowboy tradition. Wyoming is officially known as the "Cowboy State," making it an essential geographic and spiritual touchstone for his work.

The specific reasons for this deep connection include:

1. Inspiration and historical legends (Buffalo Bill)

Through research and projects related to his television series *The Cowboy Whisperer*, Vegas de Laroja delves into the historical roots of the American frontier. In particular, he has dedicated content and episodes to the iconic figure of Buffalo Bill, tracing a narrative thread that runs from the legendary forests and plains of Wyoming to his historic overseas tours.

2. Wide-open spaces and Western imagery 

The author frequently references the geography and imagery of Wyoming’s vast landscapes (such as the Bighorn Mountains) in his writings and monologues dedicated to the rancher lifestyle. These rugged, pristine locations serve as the perfect visual and spiritual backdrop for the creation of his book and work of art, *COWBOY*.

3. A haven for ranching culture 

Wyoming is home to one of the most authentic ranching and rodeo cultures in the United States. For a director and creative whose signature style is rooted in the authenticity of herders and the profound bond between man and horse, experiencing and studying the rural dynamics of this state is essential to fueling the overarching artistic output of *The Cowboy Whisperer*.

THE VEGAS' COWGIRL - CELERY GRAVES ( Texas USA)

 

COWBOYS & COWGIRLS

 There is a moment in life when change is due to circumstances more than to choices.... even if in the end it is a choice.

It's when you split from a person with whom you have shared everything.
When two people break up many times, work also suffers.

There are men and women who leave, abandon, leave everything for another cause... for another life and another person.
And those who stay are forced to radically change many things, many habits, many mechanisms that were previously ''regular, constant, automatic''.

Many people make it... they manage to reverse the march, to create a different and even better path for themselves.
Many others, on the other hand, ''make do''...trying to alleviate the pain and taking pity on themselves.

However, there are people who remain close even if at that crossroads in life they said goodbye .... people who with their charisma, their trust, their sense of ethics and responsibility remain close to you even after a long time where we don't see each other, we don't touch each other...

At home, in an office, in a R𝔸NCH, however, the sensations change...
Perhaps it is precisely in the R𝔸NCH𝔼𝕊 that there is less time to think about the past and live the ''here and now'' by managing all the strong and hard activities that this type of work implies.

Not to mention the H𝕆R𝕊𝔼𝕊 or the C𝕆𝕎𝕊....when all this gets used to a person who is no longer there....they hear, they approach you and maybe with their snout and eyes they want you give a just reward for your sadness.

But a project, a common space where everything was shared from smiles to tears and even pissed off, hugs, evenings looking out the window at the darkness that enveloped the world...the heart cries.

Warm memories remain inside...

Above all in America I learned two fundamental words that I have inserted not only in my life vocabulary but in everything I write, do, share... they are two words... the first is 𝔽R𝔼𝔼𝔻𝕆𝕄.
The second is R𝔼𝕊P𝔼C𝕋.

If you really love someone and that someone wants to go their way, let them go.
No 𝔽R𝔼𝔼𝔻𝕆𝕄 is more beautiful if there is R𝔼𝕊P𝔼C𝕋
And there is no R𝔼𝕊P𝔼C𝕋 if there is no 𝔽R𝔼𝔼𝔻𝕆𝕄

#work #love #people #project #share #change #ethics #coeur #cowboys #ranchlife #ranch #usa #america #lifestyle

COWBOY

 God created us in his image and likeness...

That's why when someone meets me they say out loud: Oh Jesus Christ!

Clint Eastwood says the world is divided into two categories: those with loaded guns and those who dig…

Then after so many years quantum and attraction laws say that each of us attracts what we are and in any case you attract those who are similar to you...
Now after all these theories I wonder if there is still some madman willing to lose his underwear for a project, a job, a winning idea....

On my way west I always met ''bandits'' who gave me wrong advice and sheriffs who asked me to leave the town because it wasn't for me...
Every now and then I prayed to return to the southeast but the instinct was to carry on with my ideas and projects inside my bag...
( My ideas and projects are so big so I need a 78'Chevy)

Sooner or later I will arrive at my destination...
A destination on that line called the horizon where I will meet a person like me with a Stetson on the head and a big dreamer heart...and we wouldn't need shovels to dig but only bullets to explode called success, satisfaction and victory.

My life is a movie and my name is Vegas...
And it's very difficult to tell you anything about me that isn't a little special...
Thank you Heather Babcock ( my best friend in Texas).