July 15-31, 2010

Hello y'all,
We are winding up our stay in Cheyenne, Wyoming and today (Sat) we have a ton of chores to accomplish as we will be leaving Wyoming tomorrow. As this is a small town for a capitol city we now know this town like the back of our hand..We have had alot of down time anticipating the start of Cheyenne Frontier Days, but the event was worth the wait! I will condense down the timeline of events during CFD, hitting the highlights:
17th= Saw Despicable Me 3D at the Frontier Mall; it was just o.k.
18th= Watched the CFD Cattle Drive (550 head, really neat), then took off on a scenic ride on Wy hwy 34, between Chugwater & Laramie. Stopped at a rest area that contained a large Lincoln memorial statue, then just avoided a wicked rainstorm on the way "home".
20th= Sheila the lady next door cooked us buffalo burgers, then later a guy named Steve helped me replace a rather noisy u-joint on the motorhome.
21st= Went online and purchased a 7-day Alaska cruise on Royal Carribean's Rhapsody of the Seas--from Seattle to Juneau and back. Aug 20-27
23rd= Went to the mall, saw Inception; we liked
24th= Went downtown for the CFD parade; lengthy but interesting; drove close to the Frontier Park & parked in the neighborhood. So-so grand entrance (the horsemen were a little rusty) but nice rodeo: 3 sessions of bull riding, calf roping, steer wrestling, bareback bronc riding, team roping, saddle bronc riding, colt-to-mare race, wild horse race (crazy) girl trick riders & barrel racing. Afterward we got in the placement line for standing-room-only for Brooks & Dunn; despite standing up from about 5pm 'til the show was over (around 11 pm) it was a killer show! BTW this is their last concert tour..
25th= Went to Frontier Park & saw the Aaron Tippen / Neal McCoy concert--Tippen was really good, McCoy was o.k. Late that night spoke to Dan Austin in Oregon, we will be in his town in August.
26th= Went to the CFD rodeo, left the grounds for dinner (cheaper at Wendys) came back for the Professional Bull Riders nightshow. Saw Chris Shivers, Dusty LaBeth, Shane Proctor, Sean Willingham & others. 40 bull riders compete, then the top 10 go in the final. Sue & I being big PBR fans, this had been something we've always wanted to attend--we had a blast!
27th= CFD rodeo event, came home, left again & had dinner at Taco Johns, then on to the PBR day 2 event. Saw Tony Mendes, Cord McCoy, Brandon Clark & Wiley Peterson to name a few..lots of bulls ridden tonight! Good close-up fireworks show afterwards!
28th= Been enjoying good weather lately. Drove over to the Laramie Cnty Commun. College & watched the 30-minute Thunderbirds airshow, then on to downtown for the street gunfight/show. From there to Chilis for lunch, then over to Sierra Trading Post for free t-shirts. Later on it was back to CFD grounds for the Clay Walker concert. Opening act Glen Templeton was o.k. and Clay Walker was great!
30th= Drove downtown for the big pancake breakfast (10K-12K estimated people) & enjoyed the food and entertainment; next around the corner to the Cowgirl Museum, then back to Sierra TP for more free t-shirts (they have coupons on alot of ticket stubs, magazines, brouchures, etc) and next to the CFD rodeo--our last CFD entertainment. Afterward we went to Walmart to load up on groceries-we got carried away buying but managed to get all the stuff onto the Honda somehow (looked like the truck on the Beverly Hillbillies I think).
31st= Just so you know what needs to happen before we head back out on the road:
wash 3 loads of clothes
put up the tv, vcr, helmets, shoes, books, video game unit, vests, jackets,
dishes, remotes, converter box & anything else not bolted down
fill the shower with clothes, boxes
clean the house
drain the black & grey water tanks
unhook the sewer hose & stow it
unhook the power cord & stow it
filter water & fill jugs
fill up the fresh water tank
stow the water hoses
put up the spare propane tank & stove
put the Honda & scooter onto the trailer, strap down
lock up the generator and gas cans
meet with manager to settle electric bill
fuel up the motorhome & gas cans
check fluids and batteries and tire pressures
hook up trailer to the motorhome
make sure nothing is left behind
From Cheyenne we will travel into Colorado, seeing some sights along the I-70 as we go west into Utah, Idaho & Oregon.
Hope everyone is having a safe & enjoyable Summer!