11 July 2012

Walden CO to Saratoga WY 69 miles (TransAm 2,608)

Team TransAm has crossed into their seventh state this trip: Wyoming. I know three things about Wyoming: (1) the Tetons are in Wyoming; (2) most of Yellowstone National Park is in Wyoming; and (3) the alien mothership in Close Encounters of the Third Kind landed in Wyoming, on top of Devils Tower. I have never been to any of these places nor abducted by aliens, leaving me little in common with this state. However, I find their welcoming billboard to be the most welcoming yet.

A brief perusal of Wikipedia teaches me a few more fun facts about Wyoming. For starters, it’s the least populous of the 50 states. I would have thought that honor would belong to Alaska, but it turns out Alaska sits in position 48, with about 160,000 more people calling it home. So really, those folks that move to Alaska to get away from it all should really be moving to Wyoming.

Other fun and possibly little-known facts about Wyoming: JCPenney’s began here, the term “dude” was first coined here, and, if you can believe everything you read on the internet, it is illegal in Wyoming to “take a picture of a rabbit from January to April without an official permit.” I guess in a state with so few people, rabbits hold some serious lobbying power with the state government. So welcome to Wyoming, kids, where the sheep outnumber the cowboys and the rabbits outnumber ’em all.