Wyoming Road Trip

This last week, Daniel and I packed up the car and headed somewhere I've never been—Cheyenne, Wyoming. While Cheyenne might not seem like a typical "destination" trip, it was sure a vacation for us! Daniel lived in Cheyenne for several years and had long-awaited showing me his hometown and introducing me to his childhood friends.

We left Wednesday morning and drove the 10 ½ hours across Idaho, Utah and Wyoming to reach our destination. Our first stop was the gym at F.E. Warren Air Force Base—after that many hours of driving, our legs were in need of a good workout. We then headed to meet some of Daniel's friends—all of whom were amazing and so friendly—before heading off to Cheyenne Frontier Days and none other than Aerosmith! We had great seats and totally jammed out—my favorite songs were "Dude Looks Like a Lady" and "Sweet Emotion." It was definitely an experience, that's for sure!

The next day, we enjoyed huge meals at the Tortilla Factory, which is renowned for their Mexican chorizo & eggs breakfast. We decided that it would also be fun to venture down to Fort Collins, Colorado, so we jumped in the car and made the short drive across the border. We walked around Old Town Fort Collins, stopped in at all the boutiques, sampled fudge, ate Walrus Ice Cream—BEST ICE CREAM EVER!—and sipped a cocktail at Social. My only Fort Collins regret was not picking up a chocolate chip cookie sandwich with peanut butter icing from Mary's Mountain Cookies. BIG. MISTAKE. I tell you.

After returning back to the house Thursday evening, we grabbed a couple of bikes and toured around downtown Cheyenne as the sun was setting. The town felt like a ghost town—it was totally empty, probably due to everyone being at Frontier Days—but it was so unlike Boise! After biking for a while and realizing our extreme hunger, we ended up at the Rib & Chop House, which was probably my favorite place to eat on our entire trip. I enjoyed a HUGE pulled pork stuffed potato and a cup of gumbo as well as a mountain of a brownie sundae.

Friday, our last day, was filled with some much-needed relaxation. We again went to the Tortilla Factory for breakfast, stopped by Eileen's Colossal Cookies—which totally made up for not going to Mary's Mountain Cookies—because these ones were SO GOOD. I picked a frosted sugar cookie but also tried the oatmeal raisin, chocolate chip, snickerdoodle and scotchies. I also learned how to ride a scooter (while Daniel schooled me on a Yamaha), and again visited the Chop House for a killer dinner. This time I got a bowl of gumbo (because a cup just wouldn't cut it!) and the hot apple cobbler à la mode for dessert. Again... best meal. Our trip wouldn't be complete without another trip to Frontier Days to wander through the carnival, munch on a funnel cake (you bet I did!), and do a decent amount of people watching.

Looking back, I didn't take many photos. I've been trying to "unplug" a little more lately and traveling without my camera or phone on me all the time is clearly having drawbacks! The benefit, however, is I'm able to live a lot more "in the moment," and I see no negatives in that at all. Check out the sparse assortment of the photos I took of our roadtrip below.

Watching Aerosmith jam out! There were over 18,000 people in the crowd.

Daniel claims Walrus is the best ice cream EVER. I had cake batter with cookie dough & brownie mix-ins and cannot argue with him! In fact, I won't even debate it. It was amazing!

A Cheyenne treat—a frosted sugar cookie from Eileen's Colossal Cookies. It was colossal. It was amazing. I want like 10 more.

Puttering around one of Cheyenne's neighborhoods while learning to ride scooters & bikes. We didn't go far but sure had fun!

While we didn't make it to every place we wanted to go (hiking Vedauwoo, Denver, and Estes Park will have to wait for the next time), we did manage to fit a good amount of Cheyenne into our short trip.

What I enjoyed most—in addition to the buffet of Cheyenne eateries, the beautiful sights and the hometown feel—was the people. Daniel has some of the kindest, nicest friends. They absolutely lavished us with generosity, their time, and their hospitality. I am so grateful to have finally met them and cannot wait to plan a return trip. And hey, if I happen to sneak in a scotchie from Eileen's and a cone of Walrus along the way, that just makes it all the merrier.

Thanks for a great trip, Cheyenne. It won't be the last time we see each other.