chuckography

"Hoppy" but not like in beer....

Did not expect to run into an image of William Boyd while I was in Cheyenne.

He played Hopalong Cassidy in about a gazillion B Western movies when I was growing up.

I seem to remember he always wore the white hat.

You know, the "good guy" hat.

Maybe his white horse ("Topper") stood for the All-America Winner who beat up the bad guys.

I remember getting to the George Street YMCA late on a Saturday morning and asking the fellow at the desk if the free morning cowboy movie was over.

"Hmmm," he said, looking at his watch.
"About now, ol' Hopalong is catching up to the bad guy and leaping from Topper and knocking them both to the ground."

I went in and he was right!

Cheyenne was part of the rip-snortin', fist-swingin" Old West all right.

Strolled though the railroad museum downtown, just off the Interstate and saw this article.

More of a railroadin' kinda place.

Not too far from Promontory Point over in Utah.

That's where the railroad linked up and the Golden Spike was driven in.

Now there was a transcontinental railroad that linked the east and the West.

As a contrast, my younger brother and I stopped to take a look at the newest thing in transportation.

Here was a 4-place charging station for cars that run on batteries.

Would have liked to have seen a car silently pull up, hook up and get a chance to talk to the driver about his mileage.

Wouldn't be miles per gallon. Miles per charge?

Wide open spaces around Cheyenne.

Hope there are plenty of these around. Guess drivers learn quickly where they are and start to zero in as time runs close.

I used a fancy Plug-In to create this image of the Capitol.

Supposed to give the effect of a pen and ink sketch.

Yes, there WERE light poles and wires but I got rid of them.

This is not exactly the scene as you drive toward the imposing structure.

It was a crisp morning - temps in the teens -so the stark white is a good rendition.

We had met one of my older brother's sons - Edward - at a nearby Starbucks so we were fortified for the weather.

The wind though was unrelenting. Brrr.

Almost at the front door inside the 3-story Capitol was a reminder that this was a land where the buffalo roamed.

Cross-country trains and huge buffalo kills.

Well, you have to eat out on the prairies. And that big guy is wearing a mighty fine robe that would keep you warm..

Lots of exhibits in the building and nicely arranged and laid out.

The centerpiece of pride I guess is the annual Cheyenne Fontier Days Rodeo, the last two weeks in July each year.

The site says the Rodeo used to also include a Chuck Wagon race.

Maybe they've been replaced by Food Trucks? Seems to be happening everywhere.

Bring the food to where the people are.

My nephew Edward poses in front of the 3rd floor mural.

It is a combination of various panels depicting the state's heritage, history and diversity.

Click on the photo for more detail.

He admitted this was his first time inside the Capitol.

I reminded him that most New Yorkers have not been atop the Empire State Building.

"Later," we think. "I'll do it later."

Labels: A fast-paced Oater, Capitol, Frontier Days Rodeo, George Street YMCA, Golden Spike, Hopalong Cassidy, Promontory Point, Saturday morning B-Westerns, sketch, Tesla charging stations, Topper, William Boyd

posted by chuckography @ 3:27 PM