Friday Field Trip: Cheyenne, Wyoming

My hometown of Fort Collins lies not quite equidistant between two state capitols: Denver, Colorado to the south and Cheyenne, Wyoming to the north. A quick comparison:

Denver: Population (2011) 612,193; Area: 154.9 square miles (401.2 square km); Cost of living: 10.10% above national average

Cheyenne: Population (2011) 89,036; Area: 21.2 square miles (54.91 square km); Cost of living: 5.6% below national average

Though we get to Denver fairly frequently, it had been years since I’d been to Cheyenne. So last week, we took a field trip, in part to visit friends who own a bar/restaurant that serves “the best hamburger in Wyoming.” 

Our first stop was lunch at The Bunkhouse, where we caught up with our friends while taking in the Wild West ambiance. The hamburgers (which I forgot to photograph) were indeed dang good. Homemade good, which is saying a lot because we are particular about our ground beef. No frozen, pre-pressed patties for us, thank you very much.

After telling our friends goodbye, we walked around the Cheyenne Botanical Gardens (which I did not know existed).

Then, two quick tours around the Historical Governor’s Mansion, which was built in 1904:

 and the Capitol Building:

Everything was free (except, as the old saying goes, lunch), as is the Wyoming State History Museum. We didn’t have time to stop there on this trip, but we will return another day. Now my new slogan for Wyoming's capitol is: Cheyenne: There's More Here Than Just Wind!