<– Day 36 – Sunday June 3rd: Leaving The Plains | Day 38/39 – Tues/Wed June 5th/6th: Road Home – Epilogue –>
Lincoln looking down upon us at a rest stop along I-80.
Day 37: On Monday we drove from Denver, Colorado, to Salt Lake City, Utah, with a short stop in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
On Monday we drove from Denver to Salt Lake City.
We thanked our new-found cousin Gary and his wife Kathy for hosting us, then off we went to find a place they think serves the best Bagels in Denver, the Woodgrain Bagels. They didn’t have a very wide selection of bagels, but they had the proper chewiness. I enjoyed them (of course, Ann can’t eat them because of her gluten issues).
Along with a half-dozen bagels, I bought some poblano cream cheese. Oh boy, was that excellent!
Coincidently, the bagelry and numerous other nearby shops and houses are located at the old Lowry Air Force Base. Ann had spent time there (as did Bob Christy). Needless to say, Ann was shocked at the transformation of the base from one with endless goose excrement (she remembers having to march through goosepoop) into a place with a museum, restaurants, beer garden, high end shops, and storage facilities. It was quite disorienting.
After a short drive around the former base, we left for Salt Lake City. As we approached Cheyenne, I felt the need for a bathroom, so we found a gas station. Since we were already off the Interstate, we decided to explore downtown Cheyenne, as neither of us had been there (though we’ve driven by Cheyenne numerous times).
We followed Highway 30, aka the Old Lincoln Highway, through the center of downtown. Along the way we saw some fantastic old motel signs in excellent shape. It’s the kind of scenery we’d expected to see more of along Route 66. Once downtown, the center of Cheyenne seemed vibrant and interesting. The downtown square contained oversize boots painted in mural-like ways. The railway station is now a museum and a brew pub.
Lincoln Highway facing west in downtown Cheyenne
Unusual gray-tone mural.
This mural was unusual also. I believe that building is a brewpub.
One of the boots in the foreground. The Wrangler Hotel fills the background.
Some photos from the Cheyenne Depot Plaza:
The museum:
The museum appeared to focus on the Transcontinental Railroad, which put Cheyenne on the map. We didn’t take time to explore the museum on this visit, but hope to return and do a better job of exploring the city.
Not for west of Cheyenne on Interstate 80 sits a Lincoln Highway Memorial. It’s another one of those places that we always say, “we’ll get there next time”. Well, this was “next time”. We stopped, took a photo with Lincoln, which was originally along Highway 30, but moved to the current location when I-80 opened,
Lincoln’s view east along I-80:
Then, we went inside the visitor’s center. inside there was a good little overview of Wyoming’s history:
We spent the remainder of the afternoon driving to Salt Lake City.
On Tuesday we celebrated my birthday with my boys. On Wednesday, June 6th, we headed home, driving 9 hours back to Pasco.
That ends another fabulous trip. A thanks to everyone who made it so interesting and fun!
<– Day 36 – Sunday June 3rd: Leaving The Plains | Day 38/39 – Tues/Wed June 5th/6th: Road Home – Epilogue –>
Try calisthenics in goose poop. Naval Station, R.I., our white t- shirts were green after the Morning fifteen on the football field. Good Times. Geese love military bases because they cannot be killed or harrassed.
I can’t tell you how much time I spent marching to and from that hangar and how much time inside of it learning to load bombs and missiles onto aircraft!
Ann says their shirts were green, too. On the positive side, the new bagel shop is excellent!
I found the Lincoln monument reminded me in some weird fashion looking at it straight on of the Lincoln Memorial in D.C.
You’re making me feel really guilty……we’ve passed the Lincoln Memorial many times and always said “someday”……glad you decided to “just do it”. Really great pictures and comments on Cheyenne. We have loved it since late 1960’s on a guy trip with our motorcycles to Frontier Days……then took our daughters in the late 1980’s for the rodeo. We still try to plan our trips for an overnite in either Cheyenne or Laramie.
Thanks again for taking us along on your journey…….and next time…..don’t wimp out by taking the very scenic and interesting “southern route”……would have loved to meet you along I-80 in Iowa as you showed on your original map. Looks like you really made the right choice !!
If you ever go back to Cheyenne, try to time your trip when they have there 10 day rodeo . The best in the west.
Chris: Good to know.
Allan: I figured the chances would be better of us traveling through Iowa again next time. Since we had a little extra time, I thought trying to follow Route 66 was worth a shot.
– Dave
GET YOUR KICKS ON ROUTE 66 — then go drive highway 50 across Nevada — the loneliest road in America — I remember camping near the mysterious TOQUIMA RANGE , many years ago — so dark at night you could see a faint glow to the south — LAS VEGAS — hundreds of miles away — spencers hot springs are out there — right in the middle of the SILVER STATE — WHEELER PEAK — Over near Utah — 5000 yr old bristlecone pines — I took the LEHMAN CAVES tour after a taking a haight ashbury VITAMIN — i’m gonna go play play ” get your kicks on route 66 ” on my roland synth , the original BOBBY TROUP version — then I will inventory more rare willys parts for sale ..