Wyoming got a lot less red on Saturday. And boy, am I inspired.

Combined, thousands of people gathered in cities throughout Wyoming as part of the national “Hands Off!” peaceful protests against Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and their attempt to ruin everything “the land of the free and the home of the brave” is supposed to stand for.

It was a moment of hope when that feeling has been in short supply for everyone watching the nightmarish Trump Train barrelling across the country as people worry about so many things. Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Workers and students living here legally swept from their homes and put in jail. Abandoned allies, especially war-torn Ukraine, facing a future fraught with danger.

Plus, a plunging stock market and skyrocketing prices for groceries and other essentials. I wonder how many Trump voters who were worried about the thriving economy we had will be happy when they check out at the supermarket today.

I asked Facebook friends from around the state to fill me in on what happened at protests. They offered some great insights about a day when Democrats, frustrated Republicans and independents united to show their disgust with the “Department of Government Efficiency” headed by Trump’s top donor, the increasingly unhinged Musk.

You know the times are really changing when you see a cowboy in ultra-red Cody on horseback carrying a “Down with DOGE” sign. The lines in the city were four blocks long when the march began.

One of the participants was Ryan Chafee, a first-time protester.

“I was worried I would be one of the only people in attendance,” he wrote. “My fiance and I were relieved to see a bunch of like-minded people here in little ol’ Cody.”

The event reminded Chafee he’s not crazy for feeling the way he does about how the country is rapidly going downhill. 

“I heard speeches and stories that made me feel like I’m not just screaming into the void,” he wrote. “My fellow neighbors and countrymen were all exercising their rights as citizens. It was a very positive experience despite the frustrating nature that made all of us gather.”

One of my favorite signs of the many Wyoming protest photos published is one in Cody: “Grandma worked in the B-42 factory to free her great-great-grandchildren from fascists and Nazis.”

Janine Boyle Cole of Cheyenne wrote that she went to the Capitol in honor of her father, a World War II prisoner of war. 

“I went today for my dad, for democracy,” she explained. “This country is amazing with all the diversity and I don’t want to lose it to this corrupt administration.”

In Casper, someone dressed in a very creative Bigfoot costume, expressed his ire at one of Wyoming’s biggest Trump sycophants, U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman, with this awesome sign: “Why are you hiding, Harriet?”

Tom Rea of Casper told me he struck up a conversation with a protester he guessed was a Trump voter. “There are so many friends I can’t even talk to anymore; this Trump stuff is terrible,” the man said. “My retirement fund has lost $60,000 in the past month and a half.”

Lindsey Hanlon of Cheyenne, where more than 300 people rallied at the Capitol, felt compelled to attend the protests “because they represent everything about Wyoming that Trump and his enablers seek to destroy: community, creativity, passion, bravery and empathy.”

“The Trump regime is turning a firehose of awfulness on us to make us fearful, compliant and lonely,” Hanlon wrote. “He is destroying the institutions we trust and actively encouraging people to turn on [one] another.

“The Wyoming I grew up in didn’t believe in bullies and in kings, and we are not going to quietly accept people deconstructing our home,” she added.

Amen. That’s exactly how I feel. As a “military brat” whose father’s last assignment was at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, I dreamed of moving back to my temporary hometowns in California, Pennsylvania and New York, or Tennessee, which most of my relatives adopted as their new home in the 1970s.

Many readers have suggested over the years that I go back to where I came from. I know that would please them, but there’s not a chance it’ll happen, folks. Wyoming has everything I want: small cities, extraordinary landscapes and friendly people.

Well, I would change a few things, like less wind and snow. And the state’s politics. When my family moved here, Democrats could actually get elected. When I began my journalism career and started covering the Legislature, I saw how different sides of the aisle could join together to pass good legislation. 

It was the antithesis of today’s Freedom Caucus, which is chock full of people who want the power to tear down the separation of church and state so they can pass bills that fit their extreme religious beliefs. That’s why the Legislature’s agenda consists of banning abortion, punishing LGBTQ individuals and joining Trump in destroying the federal government. 

We need legislators committed to improving life for hardworking Wyomingites, building a more diverse economy, and providing a better safety net for the poor.

Chafee thinks political compromise is still possible here. “I am reaching out with love to anyone on the other side of the picket line, talk to me,” he wrote. “Although I may be considered a ‘political adversary,’ you might find we agree on most of the things in our day-to-day life.”

This isn’t just a pipe dream. I think the protests that attracted more than 2 million people throughout the U.S. are building blocks to greater things and better times. The numbers in Wyoming — including more than 400 in Laramie, 300 in both Casper and Sheridan, 150 in Rock Springs — are signs that Wyoming will be a part of the growing anti-Trump movement.

Protests were also held in Buffalo, Gillette, Jackson, Lander, Pinedale and Sheridan.

Here’s a confession: When I’ve called myself an optimist in this column over the past dozen years, I was kidding. But now I’m pleased to tell you I’m finally hopeful, for real.

While anti-Trump demonstrations played out in about 1,200 cities, including a protest that drew more than 100,000 in Washington, D.C., and a small one near the president’s home in Florida, he was playing in a senior tournament at one of his golf courses.

The White House released a statement saying that Trump placed first in his second-round match-up, followed by Sunday’s bulletin that he won his own tournament!

What a great way to end his pretty horrible week. Trump started a global trade war that angered most of the world, and watched as Wall Street braced for a possible recession of his making.

Trump decided to play golf even after being roasted by veterans’ groups for skipping a ceremony that honored four fallen service members. Then came the protests.

Now, it’s time to keep the momentum going. Many people all over the state now realize they are not alone; people share their vision for improving our nation and stopping the administration’s destructive action.

It’s difficult for both progressives and moderates to engage with strangers without knowing if they are going to be dismissed or bullied for being in the minority.

In the wake of these protests, it’s important for those of us who want the country to move in a positive direction to unite. Talk to your friends, neighbors and anyone you can persuade to come to the next rally. If each person encourages at least one or two people to turn our for the next protest, and these recruits follow suit, this can lead to monumental changes. Nothing happens immediately, but be prepared for the long haul. It will be worth it.