Road Trip: Southwest

Day 16: Wednesday, May 07, 2025 - Cheyenne, WY

Day's statistics:
Weather: low 50s, rainy
Steps: Steve Steve 8,385; Linda 6,167
Travel: 204 miles

Breakfast was again light continental.
Linda had her usual toast with peanut butter and maybe also jelly, while I had a waffle. I was also going to have a small bowl of granola cereal, but they ran out of milk. Really?!!? How could a food service run out of milk?
For us, it wasn't a deal breaker. But I am sure there may have been some families with kids that were disappointed.

What is it with this rain?!!?
We approached the capital.

And took our obligatory selfie.

And then we saw the seal.

First things first upon arrival, our stamp.


We stopped by the Visitor's Information Office regarding a tour. There was a tour available and about six of us went on it. Bonnie was our guide, but we were also joined by Larry who was in training.
Before the group started, we asked about the state's Liberty Bell replica. We were shown a picture of it, but the exact whereabouts was unknown.

Our tour started in the rotunda.


The main staircase. And the second spindle from the top on the left is upside down as, so the story goes, the Amish installer did that on purposes because nothing is perfect except for God.


The natural marble floor had fossils impbedded in it.


Some sights from the third floor, including the "Four Sisters" statues around the upper side of the rotunda.








The Senate chamber.



The Supreme Court.




The House chamber.





Around elsewhere.




The tour eventually took us to the capital extension which was underground, and connected the capital to the auxillary buildings (that were not open to the public). There was some artwork on display down here, and a skylight proivdes the view of a dome - which in our case, was obscured by rain.



Each state has two statues in the Hall Of Statues at the US Capital.
On display in Wyoming's capital are replicas of their two. And Wyoming is the ONLY state that has two minorities for their statues: a native American and a woman.


When we headed out, the rain had mostly let up, but it was still very overcast. There were a couple statues on the property - and across the street too. As we were parked on the cross road directly in front of the capital, we were able to get a good parting shot of it, even if there was a class trip gathered outside.

Our next destination was the Wyoming State Museum, which was "right over there" <pointing>. We tend to shy away from "State" museums because, with no disrespect to the residents, they tend to focus on local history that, while we travel to learn about different places, is too detailed for our benefit as, especially with people, we don't know / know of most of them anyway.
But since it was so close-by, and one of the few things to do in town during a week day and considering the weather (we were considering the botanical gardens, but, alas, the rain...), we went to the state museum.
We actually drove over because 1) we were in a two-hour limit spot (and didn't know how strict the coppers were around these parts, and B) with the high chance of rain, we didn't want to have to trudge back to the car in a downpour.
So we drove the long four block lengths to the museum. But missed the entrance to the parking lot. So we had to drive completely around the block again.
Behind the parking lot was a small armed services memorial.

The parking lot was on the side of the building. We walked around to the front to go inside and <gasp> "Is that the Liberty Bell?!!?" Indeed it was, right next to this boot adorned with license plates.


And this is how close we were to the capital.

We went inside and spoke to the docent who told us that the Liberty Bell, after being found in storage, had been installed just yesterday. We suggested they let the docents in the capital know about it because they seemed to have no idea.
We were visiting the museum at the same time that not one or two, but three school classes were visiting. It really wasn't that bad, especially after they started gathering for their lunch.
Here are what we thought were the more interesting specimens.







After finishing on the first floor, we headed up to the second which had displays with memorabilia from the USS Wyoming, and a section about the National Monuments and National Parks in the state (which we won't visit until we visit the Pacific Northwest) with the closest NP to Cheyenne being Grand Teton which was still four hundred miles away.





















On the way out, we briefly chatted with the docent again. Then we departed.
Overall it was a decent museum.

It was a little early for lunch, but breakfast wasn't huge, we could eat a little lighter, and we were driving to our next location after lunch, so we figured now was the best time as any.
Our destination of choice wound up NOT being one that we preselected, but rather, because it was Wednesday, a pizzeria.
We did the "pizza near me" sort of search and found this location.


We ordered a margherita pizza, and enjoyed it at one of the two tables.

There were two workers / laborers eating at the window counter when we arrived, and at least three orders were picked-up, including an 8 - 10 pizza order, while we ate, and then another patron sat at the window counter too.
The pizza was good. Not Pizza Mill good, but that's a pretty high bar to clear.

Off to the next location.
The route took us back down i25. Since we were passing by, even though it was expected to be closed, we stopped at the VC again to see if perhaps by a stroke of luck it was open.
Based on the lack of cars in the lot as we approached, hopes were quickly dashed. I went inside anyway and indeed confirmed that it was closed. Bummer.
Then, a few miles down the road, we crossed our final state line. Sad.

Further on we drove on some more mountainous roads.






There was a lake that was likely low on water, based on what the shoreline looked like.


And we had MORE SNOW! WTF?!!?
The Stanley Hotel is the "inspiration for Stephen King's novel, The Shining, and its reputation as one of America's most haunted hotels". It also happened to be on the way to our next destination, so we thought we would just stop by and see what the hubbub was all about.


There were a couple statues on the property too.


A security guard was checking people in at a gate, so we decided that we would no longer see what the hubbub was about. But since this was literally five minutes out of the way, that was no big deal.
We drove through Estes where there was, surprisingly, a tower - though it was [now] the Park Theater.

Merely five or so miles down the road was our real destination: Rocky Mountain National Park.


After going inside, we acquired our stamp - the 12^th - and last (sad) - NP stamp on this trip - at the Visitor's Center.

We spoke to the ranger who told us about the park.
On a map, he pointed out spots where we could hike if we wanted, especially in this area <circling a spot on the map> where there is over thirty inches of packed snow - yea, no - and there was moose spotted here too.
We could drive over here <circling another spot on the map>, or over here <circling yet another spot on the map>. As we weren't dressed for this weather, we weren't going to do any hiking. Or walking outside the car, for that matter.
So we decided to drive out into the park and try to see what we could.
As we got to the car, we saw a mountain that would probably look fantastic - when it isn't snowing. It looks neat with snow on it, though.

Our drive began and we immediately saw four mule deer in the field adjacent to the VC.

In the next field, there were another 23 mule deer (though it could be 24 if there is one hiding behind the rock).

In the next field, another dozen.

Aaaand fourteen more.

Another eighteen - though I cropped and framed this one to show more of the background snow-covered mountain.

As we drove down a slight decline, we drove around a bend. And there was a larger field with a number of cars parked next to it with numerous people taking photos of the three dozen mule deer.

And another dozen.

We saw about 100 mule deer in the first half mile or so.
As we finally left the main deer population, and drove on, it continued to snow - though there was only accumulation on the grass, not the roads.

Hey, what's that right next to the road?!!? It's a mule deer - no zoom lens even needed!

Last one, I promise.
One road had an open gate with a sign that read "Road Closed Due To Weather". So that's a thing in these parts.
And we continued on. A little. While the snow wasn't accumulating on the road, the more it fell, the higher the likelihood was that it would start. Plus as it got later, it would start getting cooler and thus increasing the likelihood that the snow may start accumulating. And we were only in a front wheel drive car too, so that wasn't a huge help either.












Overall, it was, admittedly, as much of a disappointment as the Great Sand Dunes.
We are seriously considering revisiting in the future after we finish visiting the capitals.

On the way to our sleep city - Denver - we decided to pass through Boulder.
We were first searching for a Starbucks®.
After our break, we decided to drive-by the house that was used for the exterior shot of the Mork & Mindy TV show.

Somewhere along the way we came across a couple dinosaur sculptures.

And then we continued on, getting closer and closer to the city.

The gas station we stopped at in the same area where the hotel was had a convenience store. So we decided to get a light dinner of a salad, a cheese and salami snack tray, and some wine.

We found the hotel - Wingate - somewhat "near" the airport, and checked-in - as it was not just about 7:00.

I brought all the luggage in so we could finalize the last two days.
After relaxing a bit, we washed up and went to bed.

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