Last week I took off on a Western adventure courtesy of work to Wyoming--the Cowboy State. Did you know that Wyoming has less than 500,000 residents statewide? Yet is the 9th largest state? Big sky country. I was only in Cheyenne and Laramie in the southeastern corner of the state, but it has given me quite a taste of something unique that I want more of.
Monday afternoon I arrived in Cheyenne in one of the smallest airports I'd ever seen. Smaller than the Columbus, GA, airport! After picking up the rental car I drove downtown to the historic Plains Hotel where I had opted to stay. I have never seen photos of Cheyenne and didn't really do my homework before leaving so I was surprised when it took me five minutes to drive from the airport to the hotel. And I was in the heart of downtown Cheyenne. Once in my room it took me a couple of hours, and an empty stomach, to get me back out of the hotel and across the street to the local brew pub, Shadows, for dinner and beer. It is located in the historic Union Pacific Depot which made it even better. After watching the Giants beat the Jets (boo! but Manning got the snot knocked out of him!) I went to bed.
Tuesday's agenda was to meet with the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Officer and her staff in the morning and then the cultural resources manager at F.E. Warren Air Force Base before driving to Laramie that afternoon. I just didn't have enough time in Cheyenne! If you go you have to check out the Wyoming State Museum and its awesome gift shop. I could have spent an hour in that place. Instead I got five minutes. Before lunch I found the place that I wish I had stayed at: the Nagle Warren Mansion Bed and Breakfast. The owner let us come in and take a look around (it helps that the SHPO was with me). We took a quick tour of the first floor and I was in awe. If I ever find myself in Cheyenne again for work I will be staying here. The SHPO and I then had a quick lunch at Pizzeria Venti before I hightailed it F.E. Warren AFB.
Work takes me to some interesting places. And F.E. Warren AFB has to be one of them. First established as an Army Calvary post to protect the Union Pacific Railroad in the 1880s, it was turned over to the Department of the Air Force in the 1950s. If you are familiar with Army vs. Air Force installation construction and design to tour F.E. Warren AFB is mind boggling as you know you are on an Air Force base but your mind is screaming Army post. And it turns out that my father spent a summer on F.E. Warren in the 1950s with friends of the family. He was hazy on the dates so I don't know if it was during Army or Air Force control. But I saw the house he stayed in, Quarters 8! It was occupied so I couldn't go in, but the house right next door was unoccupied and there was a door open....of course I explored! Check out my photos of F.E. Warren AFB here.
Southeastern Wyoming is known as the high plains. And F.E. Warren AFB is a perfect place to see what this actually means. Big and flat. Mountains in the distance. And wind turbines. Wyoming gets a lot of wind. So it kind of figures I would have seen a wind farm from the airplane, seen the three that are on F.E. Warren AFB, and then passed the Happy Jack Windpower site on my way to Laramie, which is where the rest of my adventure takes place.........
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