Girls' Trip to Cheyenne! (Days 1 & 2)

Friday, September 18

Cheyenne, W(h)Y???

That seemed to be the most common response when I told friends and family about my girls' weekend mini road trip plans. I flew into Denver, where A picked me up at the airport for the short 90-minute drive to the Wyoming state capitol. A and I have done a couple of girls' trips in the past, and when we were planning for this time around, we landed on Cheyenne thanks to its proximity to the airport, its status as a state capitol (for me), and its location being convenient so that A could just drive rather than fly. 

We arrived at the Little America Hotel & Resort around 9pm on Friday 9/18. Unfortunately, the specific room type I had reserved wasn't available, which was a bit frustrating, but the staff was very friendly and helpful and confirmed that we could switch for the remaining two nights. A had packed some snacks, and I bought a bottle of wine at the bar for our in-room late-ish dinner since the restaurant was closed by then and there weren't any other nearby convenient restaurant options. At least all of the rooms have mini fridges and microwaves, so DIY in-room dining was an adequate substitute.

Saturday, September 19

I did Zumba and yoga in the room for my morning workout. A went out for a walk around the property's golf course, and we then headed into historic downtown Cheyenne to find the Starbucks for breakfast and coffee. We made a stop at Walgreen's for some provisions and then found parking near the Cheyenne Depot, where we were due to pick up our tickets for the 11am Trolley Tour. Since we had some time to wait, we admired the brick station and the first of the painted boot statues that are scattered around the historic area.

The plaza in front of the Depot also featured a horse sculpture, which was a motif we saw echoed throughout some of the distinctive mural art that we found throughout the downtown area.

Our 90-minute tour was guided and driven by Dewey, who regaled us with stories about Cheyenne's history and unique moments that make the city and area distinctive, such as the fact that women in Cheyenne have had suffrage and other rights (jury duty, owning property) since 1870, which is 50 years before the 19th Amendment was ratified. Part of this was that Wyoming as a territory needed to attract more population, especially before it was eligible to become the 44th state. But really, who knew it was such a beacon of equal rights for women??!! One of the other boot statues (near what is now a Wells Fargo bank) commemorates this part of Cheyenne's history.

After the trolley tour, we walked north to the Botanic Gardens, stopping along the way for a few more boot photos.

Only the first floor of the Conservatory was open for the Botanic Gardens, but we did discover some unexpected animal occupants as we strolled through!

On our way back to the car at the Depot, we walked through the Capital area, which had undergone a major renovation and restoration project that finished up last year in July 2019. (We learned more about this on Monday when we were able to go inside).

Our search for a restaurant with decent food options and outdoor dining was unsuccessful, and neither of us was particularly comfortable with indoor dining, even with the limited capacity and spread apart set-up that are currently allowed in Wyoming. So instead we found a nearby Safeway and procured some frozen items to make for dinner later in the room -- thank goodness for that mini fridge and microwave! 

We spent a little time out by the pool after we got back to the hotel and relocated to our new room, which was literally next door to the original room. The pool was relatively crowded with families at first, as this hotel is clearly a favorite for larger groups (and for canine traveling companions). By the time some folks cleared out, I had finished my daily chat with Mom, and neither of us felt like getting wet and possibly cold. So we just headed back to our room to settle in for the night and relax with our DIY dinner and some TV viewing.