THERMOPOLIS — Lesleigh Ann Schaefer, or Leigh to her friends, has driven 100,000 miles on her 2019 Subaru in the five years since moving to Thermopolis, Wyoming.
The majority of those miles have been on backroads, where she has taken tens of thousands of scenic photos. She posts her favourite photos on the popular Facebook page Wyoming Through The Lens, where she has amassed a devoted following who admire her one-of-a-kind images.
These days, however, Leigh only takes photos from her backyard as cancer ravages her body and she prepares to die.
Hospice has recently been established to ensure her last days are as comfortable as possible.
Her adoptive family and friends have rallied behind her. Most importantly, Schaefer has ensured that her cat, Teddy, has a forever home.
Schaefer’s body is shutting down, so she can’t explore as much as she used to, but she’s grateful for the adventures Wyoming has provided.
“There’s still places I would like to have seen,” she told me. “I’ve always wanted to visit places in the south, near Jeffrey City. And I never went rafting on the Wind River.”
Wyoming’s Beautiful Backroads
Despite the places on her list that she didn’t make it too, the 72-year-old has seen a lot of unique places and strongly encourages others to get off the main highways to experience what Wyoming is really all about.
“I just want to shake people and say, ‘Take the back roads.'” “You don’t know what you’re missing,” she said. “It’s so spectacular.”
She has made friends all over the world who are astounded by the beauty of Wyoming in her photographs, which they had no idea existed. A friend from Florida once drove through Wyoming and commented that there was nothing there.
“I just laughed,” Schaefer replied. “She had no idea.”
She told her friend that once you get off the highway, you’ll be able to see some of the most beautiful scenery around.
Her body is confined, but not her spirit
The cancer diagnosis came unexpectedly.
On May 10, she went to Anchor Dam to take spring photos, which was just another adventure for this spunky lady. She was prepared and had checked for alerts before leaving, but she had no idea how smoky it was in the foothills of Owl Creek Range.
The smoke was so toxic that she had a severe coughing fit while driving home.
She began having difficulty breathing after that and eventually checked herself into the hospital on May 31.
“I just walked in and said, ‘Air — I can’t breathe,'” she told me. “They got me on oxygen and did a CT scan, which showed a 2.5-centimeter mass in my left upper lung lobe.”
By the second week of June, another scan revealed that Schaefer had both pancreatic and lung cancer. Three lymph nodes were also affected.
She had driven herself to Billings for the doctor’s appointment, which would be her final car trip.
“It was just the last time I got out,” she told me. “It’s just too hard right now. “The cancer is spreading rapidly.”
Schaefer chose not to undergo a biopsy, chemotherapy, or radiation treatment because he had previously overcome cancer.
“I just opted for comfort care until it’s my time to leave this earth,” she told me.
As she prepares to die, Schaefer is content with the life she has lived and the places she has visited.
“You know, it’s OK,” she said. “I’ve made peace with all of this.”
The photo safaris
Even when the pain is less severe, Schaefer continues to post photos on social media and respond to messages of love and comfort from all over the world.
“The photos are my gift to people,” she explained. “Some people that see my photos are homesick and may never make it back to Wyoming.”
She also mentions that many people in Wyoming have never seen the areas she has photographed.
“Sharing these places is what drives me,” she went on: “And I love photography and Wyoming. To me, it is one of the most beautiful states in the entire United States.”
Schaefer, armed with her phone’s GPS and a map, recalls only being truly lost once: when 15 Mile Road above Meeteetse vanished on her.
“I lost the road and wound up on a two-track,” she told me. “I couldn’t turn around and had to open a couple of gates before I finally figured out where I was.”
This adventure did not discourage her in the least. This forward-thinking attitude has given her the courage to face her cancer head on.
“I’m always determined,” she explained. “I don’t get nervous.”
The Wyoming Family
As she navigates her final days, Schaefer knows she is not alone. Her family made a recent visit and she has friends who are making sure she is well taken care of.
“I have a little family that has adopted me as ‘Grandma Leigh,'” she went on: “And I have so many friends, so many offers to help.”
Schaefer visited Wyoming for the first time in 2009 and was blown away by the beauty of its national parks. She returned to visit and fell in love with a small town in the heart of the state.
“I thought, ‘Oh, what a cool little town with the world’s largest hot mineral springs,'” she told me.
She didn’t know anyone in Thermopolis when she moved there in 2020, but that soon changed as she became a part of the community.
She used the town as a base and made daily trips to take photos. These photographs are her legacy, and she is ensuring that they, like Teddy, find a loving home.
She has organised thousands of her photographs, which will be viewed long after she is gone.
“I have a little over 1,000 going to the state park,” she was saying. “My sister-in-law has my hard drives, and I have the most alarming number of photos on my iPhone — 80,000 pictures that almost matches 80,000 miles that I drove on backroads.”
Schaefer stated that she lived her life as she drove it.
“I can’t tell you how many times I said, ‘OK, I’m going to turn around here,’ but then I keep going,” she told me. “I just want to know what is around the next bend and that’s how I kind of lived my life.”
As she wonders aloud what the next bend will bring as she departs this world, Schaefer remarks that it would be cool to take pictures in heaven and send them to Earth.
“That would make a lot of people feel a whole lot better about going to heaven and believing in God,” she told me. “It would be the coolest thing.”
Schaefer is grateful for the rain, which has made her final days in Wyoming green and flower-filled. She said she has enjoyed each season and is grateful for the opportunity to share the state’s natural beauty.
“We are here to learn,” Schaefer explained. “To love and take care of each other.”
Her friends in Thermopolis agree.
They are asking people to participate in a greeting card shower, sending Lesleigh Ann Schaefer their love and greetings via card. Her address is 803 Big Horn Street, Thermopolis, Wyoming 82443.
