The Daddy of 'Em All!!!

We were so lucky that the week we were rolling through Cheyenne was the week of Frontier Days. They have a week long rodeo along with other festivities. The rodeo is called "The Daddy of 'Em All" because it is the largest rodeo in the country! Did you know that 503,000 people live in the state of Wyoming? And guess what?! During Frontier Days, 500,000 people from around the world travel to the city of Cheyenne! That's a lot of people in a rather small town. Thank goodness we were able to find a hotel room!

On Friday morning we found a great hole in the wall restaurant that I had read about in my travel book. It was called the Driftwood Cafe and nothing cost more than $3 on the menu! They have delicious homemade cinnamon rolls for only $1.90. It was one of those places where the waitress knows everyone's name.


After breakfast, we headed over to Frontier Park where there was a free event. You could watch what is called the "slack". It's when the cowboys try to qualify for the rodeo performances. We went and watched the steer roping. They ride out of the chute on their horses, try to lasso the steer around the horns, and then tie three legs together. It's timed and the fastest times qualify for the rodeo and win money. Here are some pictures. The first one is a cowboy who had a heart transplant last year. Looks like he's strong and healthy now!





Notice all the cowboys waiting their turn to go? They all have to wear jeans, a long sleeve button up shirt, and a cowboy hat.

After the event, we went to the Old West Museum and learned all about the history of the rodeo and Frontier Days. It has been going on for 112 years, since 1906!





The had a collection of horse drawn carriages at the museum. One was a Yellowstone National Park carriage and the sign talked about a 4 day trip through Yellowstone that used to cost $32.95! The saddles above are what the winners of the rodeo get as prizes along with big shiny belt buckles.

Here I am about to enter the exhibit.


And here I am trying to learn how to properly ride a bull!



Some pictures from the exhibit...



A statue outside of the museum...


Then we walked through an area called Wild Horse Gulch that had lots of little shopping places. Oh no, looks like mom will have to bail me out of jail!


There's so much more to tell you about, but I will have to save it for the next entry!