Wyoming Official Travelers Journal 2008 - (Page 60) Cheyenne A Forever West Capitol: There’s no bigger event in Wyoming than Cheyenne Frontier Days, the world’s largest outdoor Western celebration. Each year in July, visitors get a taste of the Old West as the “Daddy of ‘Em All” gets underway for 10 days of thrilling rodeo competition, down-home food and drink and amazing entertainment. This year’s event takes place July 18–27, 2008. If you can’t make it to Cheyenne in July, be sure to visit the Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum, which is open year-round, telling the 100-year history of the rodeo. In downtown Cheyenne, check out the Art Deco-style Cheyenne Depot, which houses the Union Pacific Railroad Museum, a renovated (and huge) clock tower and a charming restaurant. Afterwards, take a walking tour of the downtown area, where the Old West and New West blend together. Keep an eye out for the city’s trademark 8-foot-tall cowboy boots, painted by local artists. Don’t Miss: Tour the Wyoming State Capitol building that was built in 1890 from stone quarried locally. Other significant attractions include the Wyoming State Museum (wyomuseum.state.wy.us) and recently renovated Historic Governor’s Mansion. Laramie Quaint and Collegiate: Wyoming may not have a professional sports team to cheer for, but that lack is more than compensated for by the popular football, baseball and basketball teams at the University of Wyoming in Laramie. Visitors can enjoy the purity and excitement of amateur sports year-round. The University is also home to the American Heritage Museum, a museum and library combination where visual arts exhibits and rare book collections are on display. Where else can you see such diverse objects as Hopalong Cassidy’s saddle or Jack Benny’s violin? Don’t Miss: No visit to the Laramie area is complete without a stop at the Wyoming Territorial Prison and State Park (www.wyoprisonpark.org), where notorious outlaws like Butch Cassidy were incarcerated. Photography: (This page left) Old West justice lives on at Laramie Territorial Prision (This page middle) Wyoming’s State Capitol in Cheyenne. (This page right) Nothing beats fairground food at Cheyenne’s Frontier Days. (Facing page) Backpacking through the Targhee National Forest. ©Fred Pflughoft, Richard Cummins, Weaver Multimedia Group/Andrea Golod, Mark Gocke 60 Wyoming Official Travelers Journal
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