Wyoming - Cheyenne

We didn’t intent to visit Wyoming until after the Dakotas.  But while in Scotts Bluff, Nebraska, we discovered we were only about 80 miles away so we decided to take a small detour into Cheyenne to the Wyoming State Capitol.   We stayed at Warren AFB FamCamp; full hookups, $20/night.  Our first day we ventured into the center of the city to see the State Capitol.  Although not the most impressive, it fit our image of a “western” capitol, with lots of dark woods and simple furnishing.  It is one of the few capitols without visible security checks and, most noteworthy, the Governor’s office was on the main floor right in the center of the building.  And best of all, he was actually there and working.  We did not interrupt him to say hello.  

 

We then went into the historic downtown area, near Union Station.  One thing we have noticed throughout the Midwest is that the railroads play a significant role in the history and in the current economy.  Anyone who thinks the railroads are dead in this country needs to visit the Midwest and western states – railroad tracks everywhere and trains moving freight, especially coal, all the time.  Many the night we have cursed the loud whistles as the trains travel through our campgrounds.

We drove west a ways towards Laramie to see the Lincoln Monument.  This monument is situated on the highest point of Interstate 80- elevation 8,640 feet.  This monument commemorates the Lincoln Highway, the first transcontinental highway, with initial construction beginning in 1912.  The highway ran alongside the first transcontinental railroad route and was later designated U.S. Highway 30.  The base is 35 feet tall and the 13 ½ foot bronze bust weights 4,500 pounds.  

 Heading back to Cheyenne, we visited the Ames Monument.  This monument was completed in 1882 and cost $65,000.  It is a 60-foot high granite pyramid built by the Union Pacific Railroad as a memorial to the Ames brothers of Massachusetts.  The two brothers were instrumental in the construction of the first coast to coast railroad in North America.  When the monument was erected in 1882, it stood on the highest elevation (8,247) of the original transcontinental route.  The railroad was relocated several miles to the south in 1901 and the monument is now pretty much in the middle of nowhere, although it is really only about 2 ½ miles on a gravel road from I-80.

As we continued our return trip, we passed through Medicine Bow National Forest.  There is a great campground about a mile off I-80 that I would love to return to some day.  The rock formations are really remarkable, and based on the number of climbers, are a favorite destination for local rock-climbers.  We saw a couple RVs camped back into remote areas where we couldn’t figure out how they even got there.  Roads were way too rugged for us to attempt in the RV!   We drove about 10 miles on a very bumpy gravel road back to Happy Jack Road.  On the way back to Cheyenne, we passed  a Duke Energy wind turbine farm along the road; a natural location based on the constantly blowing winds.

After three days in Cheyenne, we headed east, of all things, back towards Nebraska.   We stopped in Guernsey to visit the Oregon Trail Ruts and Register Cliffs State Historic Sites.    At the Oregon Trail Ruts site, wagon ruts four feet deep are clearly visible in the soft sandstone.    These are the best-preserved ruts along the route west and this site was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1975.  Register Cliff is one of the most prominent places along the Oregon Trail.  More than 700 names of pioneers can be seen carved into the soft rocks.  It appears to be a tradition that continues even today with names and dates into the 2000s.  We never did see a sign forbidding the practice but we didn’t add our names to the many already there.   There were hundreds of swallows nested in the cliffs, and we even saw a pretty good-sized snake – a bull snake according to one of the other sightseers.

We stopped at Fort Laramie National Historic Monument in Guernsey, Wyoming.  This fort was established in the mid-1800s to protect pioneers on their way along the Oregon Trail.  It also played a pivotal role in the Indian campaigns that eventually led to the tribes’ confinement on reservations.  Although soldiers from Fort Laramie fought a number of engagements with Indians, the fort itself was “attacked” only once.  In the summer of 1864 a small cavalry patrol had just returned to the fort and unsaddled its horses.  Suddenly about 30 mounted warriors rode onto the parade ground and drove off the cavalry horses.  The soldiers gave chase but the Indians eluded them.  The horses were never recovered.  After touring the remaining historic buildings, Don and I enjoyed a Sarsaparilla in the “soldiers bar”.  We would have preferred a beer. J  We spent the night at the Army National Guard Camp Guernsey; this was a much unexpected find as it is not listed in our Military Campgrounds book.  We had 20 amp electric hookup which was enough to run our A/C – very nice since it was 94 degrees.

It was just a brief detour into the southeast corner of Wyoming.  We will be returning to see more of this beautiful state after we visit the Dakotas.  Now back to Nebraska.