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We chose to spend the Labor Day holiday period in Cheyenne, WY, the capital city for Wyoming.  In Cheyenne, we were parked at A.B. Camping.

The location that became Cheyenne, was originally the site chosen as the point at which the Union Pacific Railroad would cross Crow Creek, a tributary of the South Platte River.  Once the railroad was completed, Cheyenne grew rapidly.  Today, Cheyenne is still a very important rail hub.  In Holliday Park you can see one of the eight surviving world’s largest steam locomotives, nicknamed “Big Boy”.

We enjoyed a trolley tour of the city and heard about some of the characters from Cheyenne’s early days.  We wanted to tour the capitol but found that it is in the process of an extensive renovation with the objective to restore it to its original look when it was completed in 1890.  We had to settle for browsing through the state museum which has an exhibit on the capitol.  Also, around town you will find eight foot tall painted cowboy boots.  These boots are painted by local artists depicting various aspects of Cheyenne’s history.

We drove out west of Cheyenne to the Vendauwoo Recreation Area for some hiking.  There you can find very interesting rock formations that seem to be stacked and placed with gravity defying results.  A little further west you will reach the highest point of Interstate Highway 80 as it crosses the US.  At that same point you will find a memorial to Abraham Lincoln.  This is to note that the Lincoln Highway originally ran through Wyoming very near to the route of I-80.  The Lincoln Highway was the first transcontinental highway for automobiles.  Running from Times Square in New York City to Lincoln Park in San Francisco, it was dedicated in 1913.  Most of the route later became part of U.S. Route 30.  This highway, as a memorial to Abraham Lincoln was the first national monument dedicated to the President, predating the 1922 dedication of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Next stop:  Loveland, CO