Growing up on the state’s largest bison ranch south of Gillette, Wyoming, Erin Flocchini had a wonderful childhood. Starting with an unusual teething toy.

“You know how they make those little plastic, not toys, but like chewing things for babies, and they put them into the freezer and then give them to babies while they’re teething?” she told Cowboy State Daily. “Well, ours used to be buffalo bones. They’d put a bone in the freezer from a steak or whatever that they’d cook. And, when we were teething, we’d get buffalo bones for our teething treats.”

It’s a childhood tale Flocchini has found few can top. But it’s also one she used to take for granted.

“I wasn’t real into ranch life when I was a kid,” she admitted. “Which I now regret when I see young kids driving tractors and fencing and

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