cheyenne, wyoming

i have been to this state before. also, i never even knew this state existed. becasue, really, what the hell is in wyoming? i got myself pumped up about the idea of coming here while i was still in denver, i started looking for my next move and saw that cheyenne was near and since i had never been there and it would be another state line to cross, i marked my course and did some research. and then, i got excited.

there was just a whole bunch of free things offered up and if i was enraptured i could experience the 113th annual "frontier days" festival. that starts on july 17 and i have no intention of staying here that long.

i got up early-ish and in my truck, it was the first time in awhile and i had forgotten about the process of selecting a spot to sleep and then sleeping and getting up there. but i got up and wanted to find a place to sit and have some breakfast. i drove out to highway 85 with the intention of going slow and looking for a place then hitting the road. well, before i knew it i was cruising at 75mph and there is nothing around me but cornfields.

something i never knew about denver and the colorado towns is that they are mostly on the edge of the mountain range, i had always imagined then nestled in the middle of the rocky mountains. the effect is that if you are facing north and look east you see plains as far as the eye can see and about 1000 miles further. if you look west peaks climbing 3 miles into the air are smiling down on you. it is really amazing. and now i am pretty sure i am done with the mountains for a fair bit.

my drive was cornfields, flatness, some windmills, but mostly grass land. it was striking how few trees there were, i wondered if there were ever trees here and decided that there probably werent. my reason being that here on the east side of the mountain the weather patterns wouldnt give much rainfall. i havent checked it out to see if i am right, becasue i dont really care either way.

i was amazed at how close cheyenne was. only 50 miles away and i was driving headlong toward it. there was no stopping the momentum, there was nothing around, every 15-20 miles i would come up a tiny town where i had to slow to 40mph, but i was in cheyenne by 9am. and i wasnt quite in awe.

the capitol building

the city is tiny, only 50,000 people. i think the tallest building is the capitol building which reaches a mere 146' into the sky. the city didnt seem very alive, and i was still itching for breakfast, i found a place and got down. after eating i picked up the drive again, but only for two blocks. because then i came upon the capitol building.

i parked outside of it and took off pieces from my batbelt, capitol buildings always have metal detectors and it is just a hassle. that done i made my way to the door. the first thing i came upon was a bronze statue of a woman. this state was a geyser of womens rights back in the day. well, kind of. the territory of wyoming wanted to become a state, so territorial leaders gathered in 1869 or so and discussed ways to become a state and start a charter for a constitution. one woman showed up as a territorial leader and it was unprecedented. at the time no western country had allowed women the right to vote, and the men asked her why she should be allowed in this club.

the plaque

she offered that if women were allowed the right to vote and own land and sign legal documents and such it would help bring women to the territory. that appeased the men at the gathering, one of the requirements that wyoming was lacking in its quest for statehood was population. also, there was only 1 women for every 8 men in the territory at the time. so, when wyoming drafted its constitution and assumed statehood it was the first government to allow women the right to vote. the federal government wouldnt relinquish this right until 1920. over 50 years since the wyoming charter.

i walked into the capitol building and what? nothing. there were no metal detectors, no guards, nothing. the first thing i saw was the governors office with the door open just to my right. then i saw a state police desk with an officer clicking around on a computer. then to the left was the info desk, but no one was there. i signed into the register and took a map and started walking around. eventually i came upon a tour in progress, but it was at the end of it. i really enjoyed the lady who was giving the tour. she kept trying to get people to move to wyoming.

some of the reasons she gave: the winters arent that bad, sometimes all the streets out of town will be blocked by snow by the city itself will still function, you just cant get in or out; there is no income tax and the property taxes are very low; the mosquitoes are small, and there arent very many bugs in general; she gave others, and there were more hilarious ones, but thats all i remember right now. i decided i would go back when the next tour started and see the beginning.

swamp is to coal mine as

then i left and had two hours to explore. just around the corner was the wyoming state museum, also free, so i took the chance. just outside was a large cowboy boot. these appear randomly throughout the town, they are interesting. inside was a desk and some information, i took a tour book and guided myself. there was a bunch of blah blah blah history on the first floor, similar to what i saw at colorado museums, because these are basically the same place. there were some nice diorama's and one in particular was an ancient swamp next to a modern day coal mine, that was interesting.

then i went upstairs and it was much better. there was a new display of western furniture created by someone who loved to used burls or tree knots in his designs. i watched a short film on his life, then i moved on. there was an old outhouse at one point. i opened the door and there was a cat on it. i laughed very loud for a quiet museum and chuckled to myself for a few moments. then i turned around. there was a tv with old home movies from the 1920s to 1950s of a family exploring wyoming. it was hilarious and started laughing aloud again.

i walked around the museum more, there were some displays on japanese people that lived here during ww2, because one of the concentration camps for japanese people was in wyoming. there were some dolls, some native artifacts, and the rest was a blur. i finished in there and walked around outside for a bit. eventually i got tired and had to move my truck. i looked for some wireless, and found it at the capitol building. i still had a half hour before the next tour so i went in with my computer and tried to connect, but it wouldnt let me. i did some typing and then put my computer away and started the next tour.

the lady was still hilarious. she was 80 years old (she told us) about 5'1" and loved to talk. she was full of history. she did such a good job explaining things and interacting with the people on the tour. but her long windedness did get to be too much at times. we explored and learned more history about the capitol. she talked at length about some of the early congressional sessions in the state. apparently when wyoming was founded it was a strong democrat state, but by the 13th congress was split in half. democrats and republicans, she said that neither side would budge on any issues and eventually one of the democrats tried to change his party affiliation and a brawl broke out.

speaker of the house!

one of the republican members took a portrait off the wall and smashed it on a democrat. that was eventually rehung, but the hole where the head went through wasnt fixed, it became part of the history of the capitol as she liked to put it. she said after that congress adjourned and didnt come back into session.

shortly after that i left the tour and went out exploring more. i just started walking the city, going to some shops and exploring. kind of looking for the post office but not finding it. i stopped in a flea market and bought some beads. i stopped in a bar and tried to get a drink but the tender wouldnt acknowledge me so i left after sitting like an idiot for about five minutes at the bar. then i found this neat old hotel.

one of the things i like to do is explore hotels, try to find my way around things, and act like i belong there. i spend a good while trying to get on the roof but to no avail. eventually i left to move my truck, but i just got my computer and came back to this hotel, where i have been typing furiously for the better part of an hour. listening to a very skilled pianist play, charging my computer and enjoying being in from the heat. also, i have pictures but cant upload them right now. sorry.