Street art in downtown Laramie portrays various aspects of life in and around this western town.

The high plains of southeastern Wyoming are now inviting to those with quick means of transportation, as compared to more than 100 years ago, although they had dreams and desires to start a new life, regardless of how long it took them.

Just envision the slow, cumbersome wagons and laboring livestock meandering their way to places unknown as the western U.S. was being formed.  Let’s take a quick glance at Laramie, Wyoming. 

Landscape around Medicine Bow and Laramie, Wyoming

I’m glad we were able to travel the area in June.  Here are some tidbits I collected for the post.

Laramie today is a town of nearly 31,000 people.  It is near the Medicine Bow Mountains and recreational parks.  It is home to the University of Wyoming. 

Laramie is also the historic place where a woman first cast a vote in a general election.  Some of the street art depicts pioneer women making significant milestones toward individual freedom.

In the early days, American Indians scattered the area during hunting season as they looked for large wildlife to sustain their livelihood. 

Laramie is another example too of the influence from those outside the United States who made lasting impacts toward societal growth.   

A French-Canadian trapper named Jacques La Ramee, sometimes spelled La Ramie, arrived in the area about 1817, and is thought to have explored the area around the Laramie River in what is now Wyoming.  Euro-American settlement commenced in 1862 with the arrival of Ben Holladay’s Overland Stage line.

The impending arrival of the Union Pacific Railroad on the Laramie Plains was assured when company surveyor James Evans laid out the general course of the line in 1864. The 1866 construction of Fort Sanders basically ensured settlement would continue in the area.

Historic photos and additional history:

Between Cheyenne and Laramie is a rock statue of Abraham Lincoln.

The following video clip provides a quick ride in parts of Medicine Bow approaching Laramie, and a short ride through parts of downtown Laramie.

Blessings along the Way!