Cowboy Country

We decided to make our way back to Minnesota via South Dakota instead of our usual drive across Nebraska and Iowa.  That meant we would drive up through Cheyenne, Wyoming, one of my favorite cities ever.  We stayed a few days & even though the weather was a little cloudy and cool, we got out to see some of the old part of town.

                     The Wrangler is a hotel turned into a Boot Barn - fun outside & fun inside!

The old railway station - beautifully restored and now home to the visitors center, various city offices & a local brewery.

I didn't get a date on when this church was built, but it sure looked like it was built to last.

There is a park in the middle of old Cheyenne that has music & food most summer evenings.  This horse was made of iron tools and machine parts. 

 

The thing I most wanted to see in Cheyenne were the painted boots.  If y'all know me very well, y'all know my obsession with cowboy boot - well, here there are 19 eight foot tall hand painted cowboy boots to see!

Ron with a boot

So, that's a few of them. 

Of course, I had to have a boot of my own from Cheyenne.

After our walk around old Cheyenne, we toasted the day with a local brew

at the Cheyenne Brewery - good beer!

Ron went with Fatty Slims Ale & I had the Cut Leaf IPA-

nice hoppy beer with a mint finish!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Over The Rockies

The weather had been somewhat unsettled, so we were happy to have a mostly sunny day to begin the climb over the Rockies.  We have been trying to travel pretty slowly - no more than 150-200 miles/2-3 hours.  It sure makes it a lot less stressful.  So, we knew we were going to have to stop once on our way to Golden.  Campgrounds are few and far between, but we found a dandy in Gypsum.

River Dance RV Park was a very nice, clean park with walking paths & a nice patio to relax on.  But most impressive were the views!  And, it is owned by a nice Minnesota boy from Oakdale who couldn't take the winters.

The next day we headed over the Vail Pass (elevation: 10,666 feet) and through Eisenhower Tunnel (length: 11,158 feet).  It was quite a workout for the truck, but the F-350 made it with the trailer in tow and two nervous former Minnesotans aboard.

We stayed at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds again, in Golden.  Not a long stay, but were able to catch up with Jessica & Jason Ringel, whose wedding we attended last June.  We spent an afternoon at the Denver Botanic Gardens.  What a pretty place!

They have a beautiful indoor rainforest, complete with a tree house.  The plants were thick & huge - with  flowers that were so unusual.

Outside there were many garden areas with many different themes.  The spring blooms were out full force.

The Japanese Garden had cherry blossoms & lots of koi fish in the pretty pond.

 

There was a large area dedicated to plants native to Colorado.

I loved this pretty waterfall.

The pathways varied according to the theme of the garden.  The Colorado pathway was pine chips (smelled great!).  But, the stone path in the Chinese Teahouse Garden was my favorite.

Various gateways, columns & fountains enhanced the beauty of the gardens.

I was surprised to find this Dale Chuhily sculpture.  He is a very innovative glass sculptor (yes, that is made of glass), who has exhibited all over the world.  He is from the Northwest, but studied glass blowing at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  One of his most well known works is on the ceiling of the Bellagio in Las Vegas. 

We were also able to get together with our good friend, Jack Sajevic to watch the Kentucky Derby.  We went to downtown Golden, where there was a contest going on to give away this 1963 (?) Camaro.

A local radio station had given out 173 keys - the lucky winners had to show up and see which one had the key that would start the car.  There were a lot of bikers in town, but also, a lot of old, unique vehicles.

Check out the skull -

this is the bed of the same truck with

a little monster guarding the barrel in the bed.

I told Ron & Jack we should take this one out for a spin!