Written by Kim
We had a 5 hour drive from Grand Junction to Cheyenne. There was a lot of construction and some traffic going the other direction as we passed through Denver heading east then north to Cheyenne.
When we got to Cheyenne we had lunch and took the trolley tour downtown where we learned a bit about Cheyenne. It is a typical western town where the settlers took the land from the Plains Indian. The trolley driver told us of the saloons and brothels that were common in the Wild West. There was a major train depot in town and in the late 1700s they built tunnels under the town so they could pump the steam from the trains underground to heat the Capital building across town.
These Boots are made for Talking” started as a joint project of the Cheyenne Depot Museum Foundation and the Downtown Development Authority. The boots were sponsored by local businesses and auctioned at a fundraiser. The nearly $100,000 raised went to the Cheyenne DepotMuseum Endowment Fund to benefit the museum. Each boot was painted by one or more of the area’s creative and talented artists. We’ve seen similar projects in a number of other towns (bears in Cherokee, NC, pianos in both Lancaster & Salt Lake).
We arrived at Bob & Lisa’s beautiful home in the late afternoon. We enjoyed a fantastic dinner they prepared, drank some wine and beer and just spent time catching up. It had been 7 years since they moved to Cheyenne from Wayne so we had a lot to talk about. Their home is absolutely gorgeous with an outstanding guest suite in their finished basement. We would rate it a 5-star Airbnb but the friendship was really what made our visit special.
We hiked about 3 miles in Veedawu park on the Turtle Rock trail. The hike was pretty easy but beautifully wooded with some small rocks to climb. Bourbon, their dog, led the way, Bourbon is such a well behaved and sweet dog. He loves to hike and knows the way. Bob lets him off leash at times but if we saw other people he only had to call him once and he came right back to go on leash. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a better dog. At one point I even forgot he was riding in the back of the RAV4 because he was laying so quietly. I never heard him bark but I understand he does bark once in a while.
The greatest part of our visit (second to just being with friends) was our trip to Terry’s Bison Ranch where we took a train ride to be up close and personal and feed bison. I think we might have been the only 4 adults without kids on the train but I didn’t care I was excited like the kids.
The train drove out into the pasture where the bison roam then stopped so we could feed them. It was amazing. They came right up to the train and took the food right from your hand. It was funny to watch them push each other out of the way but sad to see that some had wounds from being gored by their friends. They were lots of calves – some were nursing while we were there. I was squealing like a 5 year old but I couldn’t stop smiling during this once in a lifetime experience.
There were lots of other animals at the ranch but I was flying high after feeding the bison,
Bob & Lisa took us around Cheyenne to show us Frontier Land where they have the largest week long rodeo in the US the last week in July each year.
Of course we got thirsty along the way and stopped at a few local breweries.
We had an amazing visit to Cheyenne largely due to the hospitality shared with us by good friends. We are so grateful to have time with friends along life’s journey. We don’t see Bob & Lisa every day but didn’t miss a beat catching up on what’s happening in our lives. Their love for Cheyenne radiates from them and we are so happy they are settled out west near their boys. We look forward to the day when we can host them in Myrtle Beach. Today we head to a new state – Nebraska. Until then….
Awesome pictures