Cheyenne!

We've toured a great part of Wyoming, but not the lower portion of the state, so decided that we would "finish off the state" and start in Cheyenne for a few days (while waiting on our mail) then head across the state towards Utah.  That way we will see Laramie, Rock Springs, the Flaming Gorge, Evanston and then out we go towards Salt Lake City!  That's the plan...but who knows, we often "turn left" as our friends well know!  ;-)

But first, we are exploring Cheyenne!  Being the capitol of Wyoming, that was the first thing I wanted to go see...well, shucks, it's under a multi-year renovation and all closed up!  ;-(   Looks like it's going to be really nice when it's all done next year....oh well...at least the outside dome was uncovered...

So, if you can't spend time exploring the inside of the capitol, you go visit the inside of the Historic Governors' Mansion!  This is the first residence provided for 19 governors and their families from 1905-1976.

The mansion was intended to be a home of the people and was never enclosed by a fence or had on site security.  The mansion underwent an extensive restoration in 2004 and is decorated with furniture and collections from the previous residents.

As we entered, someone was playing the piano in the Drawing Room.  Fun!  You are given a map, and allowed to wander on your own, which is so nice, and different than so many other historic homes.  Afterward I had a delightful chat with the ranger on duty, not only about the home, but about the area in general and places to see along our route.  Such nice people here!

Afterward we decided to take the Trolley Tour and get a 90 minute guided tour of the whole town.  It starts at their historic Cheyenne Depot which used to be the Union Pacific Depot back in 1887 which is built in a "Richardsonian Romanesque" style.  It's really quite something to see...quite beautiful inside and out.

This was our first "sighting" of the Boots...these are all over the city.  They are 8' tall and each painted by a different artist & theme....like other cities have horses, or cows, etc.  Here's a couple...

We saw some wonderful "painted ladies" from the 1800s, the home of Nellie Tayloe Ross (c1920s) First female governor of Wyoming, the US Marshall's window from 1902 where Tom Horn was arrested and then hung for murder (last person ever hung in WY), and a "Big Boy" train locomotive which is pretty rare!

We ended our day with a stop at their brand new Grand Conservatory in their Botanic Gardens.  It had just been open two weeks, so it still has a lot of work left to do, but it's going to be a nice addition to the park.  Next door is a children's area called The Paul Smith Children's Village that was really special.  If I would have had something like this near me when my children were small, we would have been there every day!  All sorts of small-sized furniture, cute tee-pees, secret gardens with a puppet theater, water features to play in, and on and on!  And flowers everywhere!  Wonderful place for adults and kids!  I didn't want to leave!  ;-)

A long day..and it ended nicely with a beautiful sunset...thank you Cheyenne!

...kicking back in Cheyenne,  Marie

If you wish to view the rest of the photos from this trip, you can at my Flickr account at:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/74905158@N04/