Cheyenne, Wyoming: Magic City of the Plains

On our trek to Colorado Springs for a family event, we decided to head further north to Wyoming. We'd never been (only driven through) and we were half way there already so...why not?

In 1867, Wyoming was part of the Dakotas. Then in 1868, as the Union Pacific Railroad crossed the country, Wyoming became a territory. The railroad created cities and towns along the way, like Cheyenne. Cheyenne had the reputation of being the wild west. Because of the train, it attracted all kinds of people like speculators, gamblers as well as workers. The fast growth of the town earned it the name the Magic City of the Plains.

About this time, Fort D. A. Russell was created to protect the railroad. This eventually morphed into Francis E. Warren Air Force Base. The original railroad depot for the Union Pacific railroad was replaced with this gorgeous building. It was built in 1887. Standing in front of the depot facing away, you can look straight down Capitol Avenue and see the State Capitol.

Wyoming was admitted to the Union as the 44th State in 1890. But construction on the Capitol began as early as 1886 as the Territorial Governor, John Campbell designated Cheyenne as the capital. The building was used for Territorial government business until Wyoming became a state, then it was the seat of state government. In 2019, the building underwent a massive renovation.

Just inside the building are two beautiful staircases that lead to the second floor.

Note the second spindle from the top. It's upside down. The theory is that only God can create perfection, so carpenters would add some "flaw" to their work.

Wyoming was known as the "Equality State" as it provided women's suffrage before any other state in the union. In fact, they elected the first Female Governor, Nellie Tayloe Ross. She won the governorship in 1925 after her husband, Governor William Ross died unexpectedly. Her portrait hangs in the reception area of the current governor's office.

This is Suffrage Hall. They are very proud of their women's suffrage here. This hall in the capitol documents the history of women in Wyoming Government and their contributions. It's really cool especially when you think about the fact that women couldn't even have their own credit card without a male co-signer until 1974!

This is the House of Representatives.

This section of the Capitol is on the second level. In each corner is a statue. They are called the "Four Sisters". They are Hope, Truth, Justice, and Courage. I like that they are women.

Also in the Capitol is the Historic Supreme Court. From 1890 to 1937, the Capitol housed all three branches of State government. In 1937, the Supreme Court moved to a building across the street and in 1970, the room was separated into two floors. During the 2019 restoration, all non-historic flooring was removed and the room restored to its original grandeur.

The Senate Chamber. Note the gallery that is behind the speaker. 

Another cool feature in the Capitol was the vaults at the garden level. There are six of them and they were installed by Mosler Safe & Lock Company (the same company that manufactured the gold vaults at Fort Knox!). They were installed at the Capitol in the 1880s to project an image of safety and sophistication. To let people know that this capitol in the Wild West possessed modern infrastructure. Each of these vaults has a cool painting on it. This one is called "Crossing the Stream". The vaults held documents, accounting books, the Great Seal among other things. They were covered up during the 1970s and were uncovered during the 2019 restoration.

All in all, the Capitol was a cool place to tour. If you're in the area, check it out. It's free!

This is the historic Governor's Mansion. it was built in 1905 and was the residence of the State Governor until 1976. The first Governor to live here was Bryant Brooks. The house had all the modern conveniences of the time such as central plumbing and combination gas and electric fixtures. In 1925, it became the home to the first female governor, Nellie Tayloe Ross. In 1977, it became a museum. It's only open for four days a week and sadly, we weren't there one of those days.

Back at the other end of Capitol Avenue is the Union Pacific Depot which is now a railroad museum.

The museum gives the history of the Union Pacific Railroad and Cheyenne through photos and note plaques like these. This particular display is talking about how the railroad dealt with the weather in Wyoming.  "Since 1867 the Wyoming Division has been considered the toughest on the Union Pacific Railroad. If the steep grades of Sherman Hill and the Wasatch Mountains in western Wyoming weren't enough, some of the toughest weather conditions are found here." The top photo is showing the train plowing snow from the tracks.

This lovely thing is called the "baggage cart". Baggage for the train was loaded here and hand-pulled and loaded from here to the train. This is the Railway Express Agency Baggage Cart and was built between 1917 and 1930 and is believed to have served the Colorado & Southern Railroad.

As the railroads became popular for travel, so did these guys. He's what you would call a Hobo or a tramp. Hobos traveled around from place to place looking for work. Tramps, on the other hand, travel while avoiding work. 

The Union Pacific Control Tower in the center of the divided highway.

Some of the other cool things to see around Cheyenne. This is the Tivoli Building. Built in 1892, it's been a Cheyenne landmark ever since. For a while it was a clothing shop, then a beer garden. Now it appears to be a coffee shop.

This is a cool mural depicting Suffrage for Women.

This is the Lincoln Theater built in the 1920s. It was originally a live performance theater. Then it became the city's first "talkie" theater. It is now a live music venue.

Also downtown is the Atlas Theater that was built in 1887. Oddly, this building originally housed retail and professional offices. It wasn't converted to a theater until 1908. Then it was used as a cinema, a dance hall and a nightclub until it was purchased by the Cheyenne Little Theater Players in 1971.

This is the Babbitt Baxter House. It was built in 1882 by Colonel A.  T. Babbitt for his wife Louise. He was a former Army doctor and encouraged investment in the Wyoming territory. It was then purchased by George Baxter who was in the cattle business. It now houses a business.

This is the Warren/Nagle House. Cheyenne was once known as the richest city per capita in the world. This was back in the 1880s. This house was built in 1888 by a wealthy cattle baron named Erasmus Nagle. Sadly, two years after the house was completed, Nagle died. In 1910, Senator Francis E. Warren bought the house. Warren was the first state governor. The Air Force Base located in Cheyenne was named for him. In 1933, the house was donated to the YWCA. It operated as a home for single women until 1985. In 1997, it was purchased and restored by Jim Osterfoss. Now, it's a Bed & Breakfast.

Cheyenne is the county seat of Laramie County (Laramie County Courthouse) and has about 65K people. The biggest employer is Warren AFB followed by the State of Wyoming.

They have a version of Kroger, called King Sooper's as well as a Walmart and a Safeway for grocery shopping. They've got your standard fast food options, including one called Taco John's, which we tried. It was okay. John said he liked it better than Taco Bell but, I was on the fence.

Despite the fact that Cheyenne is the largest city in Wyoming and the fact that it has a cool history, I thought it had a negative vibe. For a capital city, it wasn't a bustling town. There didn't seem to be a lot of restaurant options and it seemed to have a bit of a run down feel.

Having said that, we found a lovely park in which to walk. And we did, both days we were there. The weather in June was quite lovely, except for the random 20 minutes of hail that came out of nowhere. The landscape is beautiful with all the mountains.

It's an interesting place to visit for a couple of days but I don't see myself going back anytime soon, nor would I move there. But don't take my word for it. Check it out!

 

Channing, Texas: The Well-Mannered Town

On our latest trek through the Texas Panhandle, we stopped for a brief visit in Channing, Texas. It's the county seat of Hartley County and was also the headquarters of the XIT Ranch. They were called "the Well-Mannered Town" because of the strict rules that were applied to the Cowboys of the XIT Ranch.

As a quick reminder, the XIT Ranch was used as payment for the building of the Texas State Capitol in Austin. Back in 1879, 3M acres of land was appropriated and used as payment to the a syndicate created for the purpose of handling the land until it could be sold. The syndicate established the XIT Ranch to make sure of the land in the interim.

Meanwhile, The Fort Worth and Denver City Railway was being built through the panhandle in 1888 and a town in Hartley County was built around it. The original name of the town was Rivers and it was named for the paymaster of the railroad, George Channing Rivers. Unfortunately, there was another town in Texas already using the name Rivers so this town was renamed Channing.

Shortly after, in 1888, the XIT Ranch established it's headquarters in Channing. Albert Boyce, the General Manager of the 3M acre ranch, built the first house in town. When the railroad passed nearby Tascosa, the businesses there picked up and moved to Channing.

In 1896, the XIT Ranch lobbied to have the county seat moved from Hartley to Channing so that they would have a hand in running things. A vote was taken and the motion was passed 91 to 25.  The citizens of Hartley, which was located geographically in the center of Hartley County, weren't happy and they sued.

In 1903, another vote was held and the motion upheld. Following the election, some cowboys from the XIT Ranch rode over to Hartley and loaded up the wooden courthouse on wheels and pulled it to Channing.

In 1906, a new brick courthouse was built and the old one was repurposed and became the Hotel Rivers. Unfortunately, in 1931 a fire swept through the business district in Channing and the Hotel Rivers, along with seven other businesses, burned to the ground.

Right next door to the county courthouse is the Hartley County Jail, which was built in 1908. It's currently used as an administrative building. Anyone arrested in Hartley County is taken to Dalhart for incarceration. The XIT Ranch, meanwhile, closed in 1911. Since then, the Channing has become an agricultural town.

The Channing Methodist Church was established in 1890 by Albert Boyce and his family. This site was purchased in 1901 and the church building was completed the next year.

Channing is a very small town in the panhandle of Texas. The population is 250. The biggest employer is the Channing Independent School District. I thought it odd that a town with such a small population had it's own ISD so I checked and there are about 120 kids that attend school there. About half the population. The school consists of one building for all grades. The student/teacher ratio is amazing! They only attend class four days a week.

There's not much going on in Channing. There's a La Casita Market that has some groceries as well as premade food, but most people drive the 30 miles to Dalhart or Dumas for any kind of commerce, like a grocery store, restaurants, etc. I would assume any big shopping would require a 60 mile trip to Amarillo.

Having passed through so many times, I was glad that I finally stopped to check it out. 

Tour of Ireland: Galway, Innisheer and Athenry

Traveling by train in Ireland was a little crazy in that to get to Galway from Cork by train we had to go back to Dublin. If I'd thought about it a little more, we probably could have taken a more direct route via a city to city bus. 

It was a gorgeous train ride just the same. On the way back from Cork to Dublin, we passed by this castle. It's Loughmoe Castle built in the 15th century for the Purcell's. Boy would I have loved to tour that place!

Then on the way to Galway from Dublin, we passed through Athlone. I would love to have gotten off here too. 

In Galway we stayed at the House Hotel and after the tiny room we had in Cork, we were a little nervous as we opened the door. This place was huge! We were pleasantly surprised at how much room we had. This place was also perfectly located. While not on the water, it was within walking distance to most places, including the River Corrib.

The first place we went was The King's Head. In 1654, this place was the home of Thomas Lynch, Mayor of Galway. During the Cromwellian War, Lynch lost his home and his mayorship to a guy named Peter Stubbers. Turns out, Stubbers was the guy who actually beheaded King Charles I of England. We had some Irish Stew and Guinness and it was delish!

Around the corner from our hotel is this street. It's called the Long Walk. It's a bit mislabeled as it's not really that long and there's no sidewalk but it's lovely to walk by the water. A little chilly too!

It's me and the Galway Girl. She represents the city's lively spirit, warmth and Irish Cultural heritage. She sits outside one of the local bars on a bench on High Street.

Lynch's Castle is a16 century fortified town house that is now a bank. You can go in during banking hours but you can't tour the whole building.

The Spanish Arch was built in 1584 as part of the wall the guarded the city of Galway. It's right outside the Galway City Museum.

The River Corrib is very fast moving, almost like rapids. The building is the Persse Distillery which is located on Nun's Island. By the end of the 1800s, it was supplying whiskey to fine establishments all over the world, including to King Edward and Queen Alexandra. It closed in 1911.

Galway Cathedral looks like it was built back in the 1800s. Nope. 1965. We went to Mass there and it was pretty cool to attend Mass not only at a different church but in a different country...with an Irish priest!

This area is Nimmo's pier which is a great place to walk along the Galway Harbor. This is the Mutton Island Lighthouse which was built in 1817 and decommissioned in 1977. That would have been cool to walk out there and check it out up close and personal. That would have been too far to walk though I'd have given it my best shot.

We took a tour to the Aran Islands and the Cliffs of Moher as it was the only way to really see those places. So we got on a big bus and drove out to Doolin. On the way we saw some cool stuff. This is Dunguaire Castle which was built in 1520 by the O'Hynes clan. Not that it was part of the tour but the castle was closed to tourists.

We were in Galway in April so we saw lots of baby animals like this little lamb. I call him Lambsy-Divey. These were sheep that were in people's yards as we drove through some of the towns on the way to Doolin. Others had cows. Right in their yards. By their houses. Too close.

This is the Muckinish West Tower House. There are tons of these castle like towers and structures all over Ireland. This one was built around 1450 and was a fortified residence of the O'Loughlin family.

From Doolin, we took the ferry to Inis Oirr (pronounced Innisheer). It's the smallest of the Aran Islands that relies on fishing and farming. There are only about 300 people that live on the island. Our tour guide was telling us that in the older days, the men would go to the "mainland" to find wives and bring them back to the island. Nowadays, they use Tinder.

Your options for touring the island were a horse and carriage tour, small bus tour, bikes or e-bikes or your feet. We chose our feet so we missed a few things. We walked around the island but didn't go up to the ruins. On the left is the O'Brien castle which was built in the 15th century. In the center is the watch tower and to the right of that is an old church, St. Caomhan's.

This looks like it's been here for a hundred years but no. It's the MV Plessy, an Irish merchant ship that was used to haul cargo in the 1950s. In 1960, the ship was thrown onto the rocks by the rough Atlantic waves. Luckily someone saw it and the crew was rescued.

If you want to live the quiet life, this would be the place. It's beautiful! But then you have the tour groups tromping all over the place, riding their e-bikes and invading your privacy.

As we were walking back to the dock, I saw this and thought it looked cool. I liked the island. I would loved to have gone into a house to check it out. We were only there for a couple of hours but we did have time to buy some Aran Island fudge. It was delicious!

After that, it was a boat tour around the Cliffs of Moher. You may recognize them as the Cliffs of Insanity and you'd be correct.

They rise out of the Atlantic Ocean about 390 feet. It was amazing! It was also very difficult to photograph as there were so many people on the boat, I was surprised we didn't list as EVERYONE came to one side.

After a quick lunch at a pub in Doolin (you guessed it, Irish Stew and fish & chips), we went back to the Cliffs of Moher for a view from the top! It was a completely different perspective and quite lovely.

This is another O'Brien's castle. It was specifically built as a platform for sightseers back in 1835. 

I think this was one of my favorite views. We got super lucky with the weather. No rain or fog. It was a beautifully clear day and we could see everything.

On our last day, we took a train ride to Athenry (pronounced Atten-RYE). It started as a Stronghold for the O'Mannin kings in the 1230s. This is the north gate or "The Arch" which is the only surviving gate of the original five. The original gate was built in the 1300s but it was rebuilt in the late 16th century.

One of the cool things about being there is they let you try on some stuff. That helmet was so heavy!

This is the actual castle. It's more like a fortress but people lived here. There was a wall around the city and then another wall around the castle itself. It was built in the 1200s. The door on the ground floor was added in the 15th century. The original door is that one on the second floor. I would imagine there was a ladder that could be pulled up to prevent entry in the event of an attack.

This was one of the defensive towers inside the castle walls.

Not far from the castle (but outside the castle walls) is the Priory Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul. It was founded in 1240 by Meyler de Bermingham (who also built the castle). He is supposedly buried inside the priory.

Unfortunately, in 1423 there was a fire that destroyed the church and the priory. It was restored over the next twenty years. Then in 16th century, Queen Elizabeth dissolved all the monasteries. People are still buried here, like recent burials in the 20th century. The ruins are maintained today as a national monument. It would have been cool if we'd been able to go inside.

This is St. Mary's Collegiate Church in Athenry...or it was. Lord Bermingham built this church in 1240. Then it was destroyed by the Clanricarde family in the 16th century with only the chancel intact. It was rebuilt as a church again in 1828. The church held it's final services in 1968 after the death of its rector, Canon North Bomford. It has since been repurposed as the Athenry Arts and Heritage center. So we went in and there were all these costumes and things around. It's billed as an interactive museum but, it didn't appear you could just tour the church, so we left.

I think of all the places we visited, I liked Galway the best. I liked the vibe of the city. I would like to have gotten out of the touristy area so that we could find out where the locals eat but maybe next time. 

Once we got to Galway, the weather was wonderful. It was chilly walking along the river but it didn't rain anymore. The food was the same as in the other cities, but I think that was because we were in the touristy area. I would like to have followed the river a little farther up past the Galway Cathedral. There were castles that we could have seen had they been open. 

Definitely next time...because we WILL be back!