Adventures of Tin Can Lulu

Laramie was founded in the mid-1860s as a tent city near the Overland Stage Line route, the Union Pacific portion of the first transcontinental railroad, and just north of Fort Sanders army post.

Laramie is home to the state’s, only land grant university, the University of Wyoming, founded in 1886. The University of Wyoming has a building taller than any other building in the state! White Hall, towers at 200 ft tall, more than 50 ft taller than the Wyoming State Capitol Building (the capitol is only 146 ft).

We spent a morning visiting the historic state penitentiary. The Wyoming Territorial Prison was a U.S. penitentiary in 1872 and later Wyoming’s first state penitentiary.  For 30 years it held violent and desperate outlaws.  Butch Cassidy was incarcerated here before he and the Wild Bunch became famous. The state penitentiary is a museum and visitors learn of the punishment and rehabilitation prisoners went through. The wardens implemented programs to raise revenue and make a profit for themselves. The Prison Industries Building (broom factory) was one that was used to raise revenue.

Curt Gowdy State Park is between Laramie and Cheyenne and is a real gem. It has 35 miles of hiking and mountain bike trails. Park terrain consists of rolling hills and sharp granite outcroppings in the foothills of the Laramie Mountains. Elevation ranges from 6,450 feet to over 7,500 feet. There are three reservoirs located inside the park. We hiked the Crow Creek Trail that was partially shaded and followed Crow Creek ending at Hidden Falls.

We had a second unplanned visit with friends, Tom and Barb Hury, from Flagler Beach Florida and their friends Randy and Barb Atwater. They were attending the annual Wyoming state professional rodeo in Cheyenne, and actually were staying at the same KOA as we were in Laramie. Small world that our paths crossed in Laramie!