Cheyenne, Wyo. By Sarah Lovelace
Strap on your spurs, we’re going to Cheyenne! One thing I am looking forward to while we’re here is trying to find all of the Cheyenne Big Boots. These uniquely painted (and uniquely large) boots will be a fun scavenger hunt for us giving us a distinctive way to see the city. We may want to begin our walk around this city on the Historical District Walking Tour which includes many buildings significant to Cheyenne’s history, such as the Union Pacific Depot, the Ford House and the Tivoli.
This city’s rich and interesting background begins with the railroad industry. Commissioned to help construct a rail line across the high plains, Cheyenne not only helped connect the East Coast to the West Coast, but in turn also made cattle ranching on the plains more accessible than before. The discovery of gold in the Black Hills made the city rich and here again the railroad helped transfer the valuable freight across the country.
Military men at one time stationed at a base here later returned to establish businesses, and wealthy entrepreneurs from England and Scotland set up cattle ranches and hired Cheyenne cowboys to watch after their stock.
Cowboys, ranchers, rich elite, railroad workers, and businessmen, this city has something for everyone, and for happy travelers like ourselves, this is what Cheyenne has for us.
-The Nelson Museum of the West (at left)
-Wyoming State Museum
-Terry Bison Ranch
-Cheyenne Depot Museum
-Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum
(From top) Photo by sometimesong courtesy Flickr.com; photo by Matthew Idler courtesy Cheyenne Area Convention & Visitors Bureau; photo by Matthew Idler courtesy Cheyenne Area Convention & Visitors Bureau
Previous Stop: Boulder, Colo.
