Last year on the Fourth of July, we were in Denver and decided to drive up to Cheyenne, Wyoming for the day.  There is an historic railroad station on the town square, a huge Western apparel store, and lots of little shops.  We took the trolley bus tour of Cheyenne, which is the state capital, and saw local landmarks and homes of prominent citizens from the town history.  A claim to fame of Wyoming is being the first territory to allow women to vote, a necessary maneuver in the evolution toward statehood.  We even passed by a Disciples church there.

On the way back to Denver we stopped off at the Terry Bison Ranch, which spanned almost 30,000 acres, including across state lines into Colorado.  While it is a working ranch, they also have campsites, a store, and restaurant.  We watched a few of the ranch hands as they worked on breaking a horse, then we took the ranch tour, seeing camels, horses, ostriches, and a variety of other animals along the way.  The highlight of the tour was ending up alongside a herd of bison (with a few Longhorns and yaks thrown in for good measure).  Our visit was rounded off with a meal of bison ribs and other barbecued delights.

We have a vast and diverse country, and it’s a pleasure to explore different parts of it, meet the people, and see how they live.  I never in my life thought I would see a place like Wyoming, but now I have.  It was a nice way to celebrate the birthday of the United States.

When we got back to Denver that evening, there was a furious thunderstorm, so we watched fireworks on television – from the Mall in Washington, DC.