Wide, Wonderful Wyoming

After a short, pleasant drive north from Estes Park, we saw the bison on the hill, 

and soon after were welcomed to wide, wonderful Wyoming.  We set up camp at AB RV Park in Cheyenne, Wyoming.  We have passed through Cheyenne several times, but have never spent time here.  We decided to take a few days and look around a bit.  

A walk around downtown showed us some beautiful old buildings and a number of boot sculptures.  

Many cities have similar-themed art...Austin has guitars; Louisville, race horses; San Angelo, sheep; Custer, Bison.  We always enjoy them.

Cheyenne itself has a number of interesting museums and historical sites.  John and I strolled through downtown and spent a pleasant couple of hours in the Wyoming State Museum adjacent to the State Capitol.

The exhibits from Wyoming's past include this coach, which once carried visitors on tours of Yellowstone NP.

Afterward, we sought out one of several highly-rated brew pubs in the downtown area.  Sanford’s Grub & Pub had an amazing number of brews on tap, and John picked out a good one. 

We saw the size of the portions being delivered to adjacent tables, and opted to split one of their enormous burgers, accompanied by cajun fries and onion rings! 

I could hardly eat for looking at the array of signs and memorabilia that covered every inch of the walls and ceiling.  It was mind-boggling.

In camp, we met two couples parked adjacent to us, and shared a delightful evening at the park’s A.B. BBQ Restaurant, located on-premises.  We were skeptical when they advertised “Texas-style” BBQ, but we were not disappointed.  My 1/3 rack of ribs was tender, and rivaled our Texas favorite, Rudy’s BBQ…and that’s saying a lot!  Our thanks to Jim & Karen Lucas, who were stopping on their way to Arkansas, and Joe & Gay Knight, who were headed home to Tennessee, for good conversation and shared experiences.  I hope we will meet again.

Joe and Gay stayed over another day, and the four of us headed for Curt Gowdy State Park a few miles west of Cheyenne for what we thought would be a short hike. 

Not!  The path wasn’t exactly level…in fact, it resembled a roller-coaster.  

Up and down we went, scrambling over rocks and pondering which fork in the trail to take, until we came to the Hidden Falls.  They weren’t as spectacular as we had been led to believe, but it was a beautiful hike and we enjoyed cooling our heels in the clear, swift water.  

The dogs wore their packs, and were mostly obedient…taking frequent short excursions out into the bushes to look for bunnies or voles, and into the stream to cool off.  

On the way back, we picked raspberries beside the trail,

and watched the kayakers and paddle boarders on the glassy surface of the reservoir.

We had been told the hike was 4 miles round-trip, but my Fitbit recorded 5!  We were certainly ready for lunch and a nap when we returned to camp.

After supper at a nice, local Thai restaurant, we visited a while before turning in for a well-deserved night's rest.  Gay and Joe's beautiful senior sheltie, Brodie, wasn't up to the hike, but he certainly enjoyed some special attention sitting in Gay's lap.  We'll look forward to seeing Joe and Gay if we travel east, or maybe meet up with them next year on our travels.