Today is Wyoming’s 125 anniversary! On July 10, 1890, this wild west land received its statehood. What better day to publish the video I shot of the picturesque and authentic town of Laramie, Wyoming, this week? Congratulations, Wyoming!
Laramie is only about an hour north of Fort Collins, via an easy and beautiful drive up Highway 287.
I enjoyed roaming and filming the downtown area so much – with its buildings dating back all the way to 1869, cowboy culture, delicious food (Jeffrey’s Bistro on the corner of Ivinson and N. 2nd), authentic old-timey bars (The Old Buckhorn Bar and Parlor on Ivinson is actually on the State Register of Historic Places!), and incredibly friendly people – that I’m sure to head back up there more often. Oh, and can I just gush about the trains and train tracks? Just seeing the words Union Pacific let’s my imagination roam…
Laramie is the seat of the only 4-year university of Wyoming, which may be one of the reasons why old Western culture and modern alternative culture co-exist. It has an interesting history including stories of Western heroes and villains, first women voters and jury members. More recently, it also became known internationally as the place where Matthew Shepard was murdered. While since moving to Colorado, I have learned of the theory that he was not killed because he was gay but because of dealing crystal meth, I would like to focus mostly on the fact that his tragedy was a catalyst for positive awareness and change regarding how mainstream society views and deals with LGBT culture and people. Sometimes good things come from dark events.
I sincerely hope that no one I captured in this video will be offended by being in the video. If you are, please let me know and I’ll replace that shot.
Soon, I will publish a post on my personal blog with photos from Laramie, especially because I captured a lot more than could fit into this 1-minute video. But right now I’m going to put on my brand-new “Get your beaver buckin'” (featuring a rodeo girl riding a big beaver, oh yes) to celebrate 75 years of Jubilee Days and 125 years of Wyoming Statehood. Whee-haaaw!!!
The song in this video is called “Tennessee Hayride” and was written and performed by Jason Shaw, who made this song available via the CC BY 3.0 license. Thank you, Jason, for all your excellent music!
If you want to see more of Wyoming, please check out these previous Moving Postcard episodes:
Devils Tower aka Bear Lodge (Wyoming) – In Another Minute (Week 228)
Vedauwoo, Wyoming – In Another Minute (Week 210)
Tri-State Marker (Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska) – In A Colorado Minute (Week 259)
