Monday, April 9, 2012

Cheyenne, WY: WIDE OPEN ROADS

Happy Monday Everyone! I know I'm a few days behind but we worked right through the Easter weekend traveling to four different cities and I was just wicked busy. I am having a lot of fun though, most of the rides go by fast because we are all working and taking pictures and then by the time we get to our hotels we just crash. It's all been worth it though, I've made a ton of great connections and have seen the most beautiful parts of the U.S.!

So let me get you all caught up to speed on WY. We rolled out of Keystone, SD early Friday morning and headed to Cheyenne, WY. I think I was out of reach for about two hours because we were in between mountains and in such a desolate area. We passed tons of trains carrying coal through the mountains and some roaming cows and that was about it! We made good timing to Cheyenne and got into town early Friday afternoon. We met my counterpart for the weekend, Allie, from U.S. Travel and got the bus parked so we could grab a quick lunch before our Meet & Greet with the local Cheyenne Visitors Bureau. One minor detail about Cheyenne, most restaurants close from 2-5 p.m. so they can prepare for dinner. If you know me at all you know that when I'm hungry it's like the world is ending but luckily we can count on those chain restaurants, specifically in WY "Sanford's Grub & Pub." The food was actually really good and we were all happy campers. One thing that you notice out west is that everyone is just so friendly. Even to us tourists who roll into their cities in a massive blue bus wearing matching "Vote Travel" shirts =)

Our Meet & Greet went off without a hitch! We got the Mayor of Cheyenne to sign the "Vote Travel" Pledge, which means he will support the travel industry in the 2012 election. We also had the local CBS affiliate cover our event. Downtown Cheyenne is quite pretty, it reminded me of Lowell, MA with all the old brick buildings. For our event we decided to use their brand new plaza where they hold town events and free concerts in the summer. It was the perfect location to showcase the bus, so we ltierally pulled the bus onto their plaza for the whole town to see, it was pretty cool! Everyone who came out to the event loved it, even folks we met who were visiting from the East Coast.

Our next stop after Cheyenne was Denver, which is about two hours away. So Allie and I had time to sneak off to the "The Wrangler Boot Barn." It's one of the oldest boot barns in the west and has been open for over 100 years! Of course I felt I had to support the local economy, so I did my part and bought myself some real cowgirl boots! A mother and daughter from WY were in the store shopping and saw how lost Allie and I were, so they offered to help. The mother said, "Now ladies do you want to muck the barn in these?" I said hmm no I don't think so, she said "Ohh you want to dance in these!" This lady was hysterical, she spent a good amount of time helping us try on boots and making sure they fit then she did probably trying on her own boots. I didn't break the bank with my new boots but there were definitely a little "Happy Easter Courtney" kinda treat to myself =)

Since there really isn't an easy way to get to Cheyenne, Allie had rented a car from Denver Airport and needed to return it before the next morning, so I took the opportunity to hop off the bus for a little drive and kept her company. We had a red mustang convertible, it was so cool but I felt bad passing the bus on the highway. I'll finish Denver in the next blog, take a break and check out my pictures.


Crossing the state line into Wyoming.
When I say nothing out on these roads, I mean nothing.
The plaza where we held our event.
Pulling the bus onto the plaza.
Allie and I with our new purchases!
TADA! What do ya'll think?!
Sitting in front of the Plaza.
Casual boots decorate the city.


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