| Wyoming
is home to the world's largest outdoor rodeo,
historic sections of the Lincoln Highway and
an ancient tree clinging to life on a granite
boulder. These are just some of the must-see
attractions that Peter Thody contrived to miss
on his 24-hour dash across the southeast corner
of the state. What he and wife Carole did experience
was an unexpected side of the Cowboy State:
one of good wine, imaginative cuisine and a
motel luxury that neither of them will ever
be able to erase from their memory. |
Maybe it's all in the mind but crossing
a state border always seems to bring about a change
in the landscape. There's no earthly reason why
an arbitrary, man-made line or even a natural border
like a river should signal a change in the geography
and character of the place. But change it does.
And how.
In just a matter of miles, the rolling
fields of the Cornhusker State disappear into the
rearview mirror and are replaced by the mountains
and skies of the Cowboy State. And as if to emphasise
the dramatic change in scenery, the now almost black
skies over the Laramie Mountains directly ahead
crackle and flash with forks of lightning. To someone
from a country that's half the size of Wyoming (England)
and a city (Leeds) whose population is almost quarter
of a million greater, the vastness and emptiness
of this place is almost beyond comprehension --
and hugely appealing. We could have bypassed Wyoming
and cut a few hundred miles from our journey west,
but the idea of missing this most beautiful of states
was unthinkable.
Over the next hour or so, as U.S. Highway
26 hits Interstate 25 and we head south, the rain
falls and roads flood. Anywhere else and we'd have
pulled over until the worst was over but here, with
no other traffic on the road, we just slow down
and enjoy our first experience of extreme four-wheel
drive white-water rafting.
Leaving the interstate to pick up State
Highway 34 for the final leg into Laramie, the rain
eases a little but not enough to allow us to get
out of the car and admire the elk and buffalo at
the Sybille
Wildlife Research Center. Still, even with limited
visibility, this is a great road to drive and if
the 52 miles between Wheatland and the virtual ghost
town of Bosler aren't listed as a scenic byway,
they should be.
Laramie began life in the 1860s as a tent city near the
transcontinental railroad. Its first mayor resigned,
calling the place "ungovernable," and
law and order was only established through lynchings
by vigilantes (although some might question whether
this really qualifies as law and order).
Today Laramie is a university town
with a young, friendly feel to it. The chalkboards
outside the bars promise good wine and imaginative
menus; anti-Bush/war/capitalism protestors hold
up placards and chant slogans at passing traffic;
every third shop is a bookstore and the side streets
have been closed to traffic to accommodate an organic
food market. Slip in some strategically placed dog
mess on the sidewalk and you could be in Paris.
Wyoming has a reputation for conservatism but, like
anywhere, there are two sides to the story: As far
back as 1869 the state (then a territory) became
the first in the U.S. to extend votes to women --
and its official motto remains "Equal rights."
Our initial plan is to have drinks
in one or two bars before finding somewhere to eat
but so good is the atmosphere at the first place
we try -- Tommy Jack's Cajun Grill -- that we make
ourselves comfortable in the window seats and work
our way through perfectly sized portions of garlic/vermouth
mushrooms, grilled shrimps and crawfish estoufee,
washed down with a couple of beers and a bottle
of California shiraz. Wonderful.
The only dark cloud on the horizon
(metaphorically speaking, there are plenty of real
ones) is the thought of having to return to our
motel room. The Travel Inn is perfectly acceptable
as budget motels go. It's clean, it's within walking
distance of the downtown bars, and it's got coffee
makers in every room. But my one abiding memory
of the place will always be the horror that is a
cushioned toilet seat. Sit on it and you can't help
but feel the imprint of a thousand other backsides
as the cold, clammy plastic gently moulds itself
to your nether regions. It's enough to make you
drink to forget. So we do.
Heading south out of town the next
morning, signs tempt us to the Wyoming
Territorial Prison State Historic Park, famous
as the only facility to incarcerate Robert Leroy
Parker, aka "Butch Cassidy." In 1894 Parker
was sentenced to two years in prison for stealing
horses but was released six months early after assuring
the governor that his days of crime were over. His
next move was to form "The Wild Bunch"
who, despite their reputation for nonviolence, were
actually responsible for numerous killings.
Unfortunately for us, the park doesn't
open until 10 a.m. so, as we need to get miles under
our belt today, we're only able to see it from the
outside; time your visit better and, as well as
the prison itself, there's a homesteader's cabin
and schoolhouse to visit.
Having to miss the prison demonstrates
remarkably poor forward planning on our part, and
this soon becomes a recurring theme of the rest
of our day. For our schedule also means we have
to drive straight past Cheyenne, currently hosting
its annual Frontier
Days event. This is the world's largest outdoor
rodeo, nine or 10 days of bull riding, bareback
riding, steer wrestling, music, dance, air shows,
military reenactments, marching bands and grand
parades. In short, it's the ultimate celebration
of all things Western and a must-see if (1) you're
anywhere near the area around the second half of
July and (2) you have the foresight to plan ahead.
Ah well, it's impossible to see everything.
And anyway, we're going to see a tree growing out
of a rock instead.
We will be ending our flying visit
to Wyoming heading south, and the map offers two
choices: U.S. Highway 287 (which runs from Montana
to Texas and, at 1,791 miles, is the longest three-digit
highway in the U.S.) or the all-interstate option
of east on Interstate 80 then south on Interstate
25.
Ordinarily there would have been no
question which route to take (the back roads) but
our guidebook promises that the interstate takes
in a well-preserved stretch of the Lincoln Highway
and affords the opportunity to visit the Tree
in the Rock, a small pine that appears to grow
straight from a boulder. According to legend, the
railroad was diverted to avoid damaging the tree
and train drivers would throw a bucket of water
over it as they passed.
Heading east out of Laramie, we pass
under the watchful gaze of Abraham Lincoln himself, a
13-foot bronze bust on a 35-foot granite base,
marking the high point of I-80. On we go, through
beautiful rolling Wyoming countryside, but with
little sign of any historic-looking stretch of road.
There are in fact a number of driveable sections
of the original Lincoln Highway between Laramie
and Cheyenne, but you need to know where to turn
off the interstate to find them. And we don't. Anyone
wanting a more rewarding experience along this route
could do far worse than consulting Brian Butko's Greetings
from the Lincoln Highway before setting
off. I wish we had.
And what of the tree? Well, it sits
on the median and requires you to turn off via the
fast lane. So unless you're fully prepared for it,
you'll more than likely speed by at 70 mph, wondering
to yourself: "Hmmm, that's weird. Why on earth
would so many people be standing around a small
tr … oh bugger."
Peter
Thody
3/21/08
Next-- Colorado:
The awesome beauty of the Rockies and westward into
red rock country
