Cheyenne Wyoming - Frontier Days

Cheyenne, Wyoming

Cheyenne Frontier Days

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Next on our agenda was Cheyenne Frontier Days. This was our ultimate destination that everything else was scheduled around. This is an annual festival that started in 1896, to celebrate rodeo and the western culture. In 1968, I attended this festival with my high school band from Alton, Illinois.  Our school sent us to enter the marching band competition in the main parade. Believe it or not, the ”Marching 100” from Alton, Illinois won first place! It was a great experience for a teenager and I vowed to return one day. And here we are!

Cheyenne is the largest city in Wyoming and has the land to spread out into the countryside. This area is pretty much a high desert landscape, with small hills surrounding the area. It seems that the city is still growing, with many new neighborhoods outside the city limits. Warren Air Force Base is located in the area. Along with that, the Air National Guard resides at the air base. We also found everyone there to be so friendly and welcoming.

When we arrived at the RV park east of town, we found a spacious site with full hookups. This location was nice since it was not on a highway (noise) and was very quiet. The park was about 6 miles from the event. We were setup and felt at home, but ready to party at Frontier Days.  We then drove into town to Frontier Park to get information and get oriented on the location and the best route. The information personnel were very friendly and helpful. The CFD schedule brochure allowed us to plan the next four days and the events we wanted to attend. We purchased tickets to the rodeo and the Championship Bull Riding events. We had already purchased tickets online a few months ago to attend the Luke Bryan country music concert. So, we now had our four day schedule lined up. We returned to camp and prepared some dinner, and get rested up for the next four days.

The next morning, we awoke by 6 am to go into town for the free pancake breakfast. This event is held for 3 separate mornings and is free to everyone. It was held at the depot square downtown, which is adjacent to the large railroad yards. It’s amazing how fast they can move thousands of people through the lines; we were only in line for about 5 minutes before we got our food. That day there were over 5000 people served! It’s just one of the CFD experiences. We didn’t expect the breakfast to be so delicious; each person got 4 pancakes, butter, syrup, 2 slices of ham and coffee! Everything was yummy and we hung around and listened to some of the live country music. What a hoot! After walking around downtown for awhile, we headed back to camp to relax and get ready to go to the rodeo. The rodeo began at noon, so we changed and got to Frontier Park by 10 am. We had some lunch there (fair food), walked around looking at the vendors booths. Kurt was in search of his ultimate cowboy hat. He’s so picky (Kurt picky?), so he looked around and tried on many hats. Nothing was just right. Close to noon, we entered the rodeo arena. It was so exciting to finally be there! We had been looking forward to this for a few months. This rodeo is the “Daddy of ‘em All”. One of the longest running rodeos, since 1879. There was a grand entrance with all the CFD dignitaries, rodeo managers, beauty queens, local politicians, etc. Then the rodeo proceeded with the bull riding, bronc riding (saddled and bare back), steer wrestling, team steer roping, barrel racing and the finale, wild horse racing. The wild horse racing is s such a hoot; they bring in actual wild horses and there are a few teams each with 3 cowboys. They have to catch the horse, get a bridle and saddle on it and then race it around the track. These horses didn’t want to cooperate, but the cowboys did their best. There were about 4 of the 10 horses that actually made the complete ride. It was so much fun to watch. This rodeo lasted for over three hours. We will never be able to see another rodeo like this one. Guess we will have to come back someday!

After the rodeo, we went back downtown to check out some bars. We walked around awhile and found that most of the businesses were closed, except for a few bars and restaurants. We did stop in one bar for a drink, and then headed back to camp for the evening.

The next morning, we were back downtown for the 9 am parade. CFD has three separate parades during the festival. The parades are pretty much the same, with the majority of the participants being horses. There were several marching bands, many horse groups, antique stage coaches and wagons of all sorts, antique tractors, antique cars and trucks, military groups, Indian dancers and various local clubs. The parade was about 1 ½ miles long. It was very enjoyable and also very patriotic. This parade is so well organized, which makes it a great event for all the visitors. After the parade ended, we headed back to camp to take the dogs out for a walk and have some lunch. We relaxed for awhile and got ready to go to the bull riding championships that evening. The CBR started at 8pm, so we went early to go see the Indian village, where we watched a group of Indian dancers and then ate Indian Tacos. We also walked through the vendor’s exhibits and Kurt was able to find the perfect cowboy hat.

The CBR bull riding event was very exciting. We got to our seats early and settled in for the big event. The arena was setup in a smaller area, since it was only bull riding. The chutes were setup closer to the seating area, which made it much easier to see. This was a big event, the national finals! The cowboys that qualified for competition were the best 20 in the nation. The arena also has two large screens to see the action up close. The competition was fierce and amazing. These cowboys and the bulls were top notch. The event lasted about 1 ½ hours, until the final cowboy was named the best bull rider in the country. A young cowboy named Wesley Silcox from Utah won the competition and a nice check for $275,000. Not bad for a few 8 second rides! Wow, what an exciting night and a full moon to boot! After the event, we went over to the Buckin A Saloon for a couple of drinks. The band was awesome and the drinks were ice cold.

Our last day at CFD began with the pancake breakfast again! We just couldn’t resist as it was so much fun the first time. It was tough getting Kurt out of bed that morning, as the night before was a real party event. We went back to camp after breakfast to relax and get ready for the night’s concert. We had tickets to see Luke Bryan and Thompson Square. We headed to downtown before 5pm to hang out and then go out for Mexican food. I really wanted to get to Frontier Park early, since the concert started at 8, and Luke is a very popular country music star. We had dinner around 6pm, but at that point we knew we were running late. We drove to the park and was not able to find any parking space, all lots were full and even the surrounding neighborhood’s street parking was full. By this time it was close to 7pm, so Kurt dropped me off at the front gates and decided to go to a “park and ride” lot. He drove to the parking area and waited for the bus to arrive. In the meantime, I was waiting outside the gates for him to get there. It began raining and I was able to find a dry spot under the eve of a building. Kurt called me and said that the ½ hour bus had not arrived. The bus finally arrived at 8pm, so we missed the opening band, Thompson Square, who we really wanted to see. Kurt finally arrived just before 9pm, and Luke’s band was just setting up. We finally got to our seats, as the rain was coming down. The only good thing was our seats were under the roof, so we could stay fairly dry. Luke finally took the stage around 9:20, which was late due to the rain. We were totally underwhelmed! We had seen him in West Palm Beach when he opened up for Jason Aldean, and he was much better then. I guess success doesn’t always mean you get better. Anyway, the night was pretty disappointing. That’s too bad because we paid a lot for the tickets. Oh well, I guess we couldn’t have every night being perfect.

We had decided to stay an extra day just to get rested and ready to continue on our journey. We slept in late, then had a nice breakfast. This was a down day, where I was able to laundry and get some housekeeping done. Kurt went on a bicycle ride around the Cheyenne greenway. He also took the dogs for a truck ride to get them out of the RV for awhile. He then made the Walmart provisioning trip and we were ready to move on down the road. Next stop, Devil’s Tower in northeast Wyoming!

Cheyenne Frontier Days was such a wonderful experience and we truly enjoyed our time there and in the city. The western life style is awesome. We have found Wyoming to be such a friendly state; everywhere we went the locals were so helpful and welcoming. We hope to come back again one day and spend more time in the state; there is so much to see.

Thermopolis & Casper Wyoming

Thermopolis

Fountain of Youth RV Park

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The drive to Thermopolis was mostly through high desert, with some areas of rocky outcropping formations and cliffs. We stopped about halfway through the drive at a rest area out in the middle of nowhere. It was nestled into a very small canyon like area, which was beautiful.  Before arriving in Thermopolis, there was another major road construction area. For about 2 miles there was no asphalt, only gravel on the road. This really slowed down our drive time and was very frustrating. We finally arrived in Thermopolis and headed through town to the north side, where Fountain of Youth RV Park was located. We had chosen this one because it had availability. We had read reviews that it wasn’t such a great place. When we arrived, the owner greeted us in his golf cart, wearing only ratty looking shorts and no shirt. That would make any city person a little creeped out. It was not so bad, as we’ve seen much worse. But the facilities were adequate with full hook ups. However, there could have been some basic maintenance and it would have looked so much better (like some paint on the picnic tables). It was named Fountain of Youth, as they had their own hot springs pool on the property, but based on the general maintenance, I decided that I would not be getting in their pool!  We didn’t settle in too much, as we were only going to be there for two nights, so we just made the best of it.

We then drove back into town to go to the visitor center. We were able to get information that we needed on our intended activities for the next day. Kurt wanted to do a kayak float on the Big Horn River, which flows right through town and along the Hot Springs Park. We then drove south through town along the river to find where a put in would be. We did find a boat ramp upstream of town where he could launch. He would end at the Hot Springs SP and take out at the boat ramp there. We drove a little south into the Wind River Canyon, which was amazing. We turned back as we would be driving through there on our way out of town.

The next morning, we drove Kurt to the put in boat ramp. This park was named Wedding of the Waters. The surrounding lands in this area were once inhabited by the Arapahoe Indians. After the land changed hands to the US government, there was a treaty that was signed between the US and the Indians. The river was named Wind River and the US named it Big Horn. The treaty allowed the river within the reservation to continue to be called Wind River; but outside the reservation, it would be known as the Big Horn River. Kurt took off and merely floated downstream, as the river was running very fast. The boys and I headed back to camp so I could drop them off at the RV. I then headed to the Wyoming Dinosaur Center. WOW, I couldn’t believe how many dinos were there and the extensive exhibits. In the Hall of Dinosaurs lies "The Thermopolis Specimen" the only Archaeopteryx in North America, "Jimbo" a Supersaurus, one of the largest dinosaurs ever mounted, and "Stan" a 35-foot T-Rex and a Triceratops, the Wyoming state dinosaur. They even had a working laboratory inside. Visitors could watch the archaeologists working on cleaning rocks to expose the fossils. My sister Terrie would love this! They sponsor several digs in Wyoming to get their specimens. This museum has been named one of the top ten in the US. Kurt called me and he had arrived at the take out boat ramp. I went to pick him up and we went back to the RV for lunch. After lunch, we headed north about 15 miles to a tiny town called Kirby. There we took a tour of the Wyoming Whiskey Distillery. This is a fairly new whiskey plant, started in 2009 by a family from Jackson, Wyoming. They are in their third year of releasing the whiskey for distribution. We then were able to have a taste testing and it was very good (however, I am not a big whiskey drinker) but it seemed very smooth for sipping. At this time, it is only available in Wyoming, so we purchased one bottle to take home and share with our friends at Christmastime! Can’t wait for everyone to taste it.

After the tour, we went back to the RV and picked up the dogs, then headed to the Hot Springs Park. We walked around the hot springs on the boardwalks and also across the swinging bridge, which goes over the Big Horn River. After our walk, I headed to the State Bath House to soak in the mineral waters. Kurt took the boys to the river so they could get in and cool off.  It was a nice way to end the afternoon.

For dinner, we had decided to go try out a Mexican restaurant in town. Prior to that, we visited a local bar called Macs. While we were in Flaming Gorge Rec Area, we met a couple that was from Thermopolis and they told us to make sure and go to this bar. It was very nice and there were a lot of locals in there. And they had a pool table, so Kurt had to put his quarters on the table and challenge the players. They were all very nice and I spoke with some of the ladies while the guys played pool. We stayed there until about 9pm, then headed out to eat. Well, this is a small town and by the time we got to the restaurant, they were closing. Bummer, we really wanted to eat there. At this late hour, our only choice was McDonalds or Pizza Hut. Kurt went into Pizza Hut and we ordered a takeout pizza and wings, then went back to eat at our RV. After dinner, we began preparing to leave the next morning.

Thermopolis was very interesting, but for us, it is not a “go back” destination. We were ready to move on to Casper, Wyoming the next day.

Casper, Wyoming

Fort Caspar Campground

Our drive toward Casper took us through the Wind River Canyon. The Wind River/Big Horn River created this amazing canyon, as the river flows northward toward Thermopolis. The highway is very near the bottom of the canyon, with the railroad running on the opposite side of the river. At some points, the canyon can be up to 2500’ high. It’s very strange; while driving on the highway, it appears that it is a downward slope, but the river is running upward in the opposite direction. The canyon was beautiful with high rocky walls and formations.

We arrived in Casper and checked into Fort Caspar RV Campground. This is on the grounds of the historic Fort Caspar (it is spelled with an A, unlike the city’s name). There are some historic buildings still on the site and a museum with historic information. This campground was pretty much a large gravel parking lot with full hookups. It was adequate and we were glad to have full hookups. The North Platte River flowed around the park, which was on a large peninsula. The back half of the property was left as a preserve and there was a nature walk along the river. After we were setup, we took the dogs on this trail and they loved it, as we let them off leash. Later in the evening we had dinner and relaxed watching some TV.

After dinner I received a very sad email from my sister Cindy, who lives in North Carolina. Her husband Tommy had been battling pancreatic cancer for almost four years. He had been doing remarkably well with chemo and was living a very good quality of life. He was in the hospital in ICU, as he had contracted pneumonia. By the next morning, he was quickly losing the battle and passed away peacefully just before noon. This was very painful and sad news for our family and we were shocked that he went so quickly. At least now he is with God and no longer has any suffering or pain. Tommy was one of the most kind, laid back and caring persons that I’ve ever known. He will be missed so much.

The second day in Casper, I was not able to go out and do anything after hearing the news about Tommy. I just stayed in the RV and had a very sad down day. I prayed for Tommy, my sister and his family. My sister had insisted that we not come to N. Carolina; she wanted us to continue our journey and not change our plans. Tommy would have wanted that for us.

While I stayed at camp, Kurt decided to drive around town and check out Casper. He went to the visitor center to check on kayaking and mountain biking. No one there was able to give him any detailed information on mountain biking, but he did find out about kayaking. The N. Platte River runs right through the city and is mostly used by locals to float in tubes downstream. Along the River is an 11 mile paved trail that travels along the river, the Platte River Parkway. This trail links downtown with other areas of Casper and several parks. Kurt took the bike and rode most of the trail, which ran just nearby the campground. Later he came back, got the dogs and took them for a ride to look for kayak put-ins and take-outs. This determined his plan to go kayaking the next day.

On the third day, I decided I needed to get outside and enjoy the beautiful weather. Tommy would want us to be happy. So, Kurt and I took the dogs for a hike on Casper Mountain. This was an awesome trail called Garden Creek Falls. The trail went back up the creek to a beautiful waterfall. The boys enjoyed getting in the water and playing. After the short hike, we took another trail that led up the mountain on one side of the waterfall, back down to the creek, then back up to the mountain on the other side of the falls. It was pretty steep in some places, and ended up being about 2.5 miles. Along the way were wonderful rock formations and great views of the plains. Also, the view of the city was awesome. The dogs were getting hot and tired, but we all survived and enjoyed the hike. The dogs had been stuck in the RV for the last couple of days, so it was great exercise and they needed to get outside.

After the hike, we went back to the RV for lunch. Next, Kurt wanted to kayak the N. Platte. I agreed to run shuttle for him, as I wanted to get some shopping and laundry done. His paddle on the Platte River was about 9 miles, but only took him a little over 2 hours. He did enjoy it, mostly watching the young people who were tubing on the river and having a fun time. I picked him up at the take out, which was at a large river park called Whitewater Park. At this park, the city had built a series of 5 artificial rapids to allow kayakers to learn to paddle these white water rapids. It looked like so much fun and was such an unusual feature for the city to create. While Kurt was paddling, I was able to get our shopping and laundry completed.

When we got back to camp, we began preparing for our departure the next day. We were excited to head to Cheyenne, which was our ultimate destination on this trip. We were going to be there for 5 days of Cheyenne Frontier Days celebration.