Wyoming's 2008 Spring

03-19-2008

 

The Great Race of 1908

March 8, 1908 - Cheyenne citizens eagerly await a team of Americans driving a Thomas Flyer in an international automobile race. The Cheyenne Daily Leader reports that the Americans are leading the French, German and Italian teams by 400 miles but due to poor roads and exhaustion the team would spend the night in Sidney, Nebraska. Around noon on March 9, the American team was greeted by nearly 8,000 men and women along Seventeenth Street in Downtown Cheyenne, one of the largest welcome receptions along the North American route.

The automobile race was no ordinary race – it was The Great Race. Four countries, fourteen men and six automobiles traveling 20,000 miles from New York to Paris. These men did not have the luxuries we enjoy today; rather they literally pushed their way through snow drifts and across icy rivers, fighting the elements of pelting rain, high winds and intense sun; sheltered only by their caps and fur-lined jackets.

The Cheyenne Daily reporter, whom met the team in Sidney, Nebraska on March 8, 1908, greeted American driver Monte Roberts as he stepped from his car and immediately inquired the distance to Cheyenne and a place to eat. “So you have heard of old Cheyenne, then,” inquired the Leader’s correspondent. “Heard of it – well, the Cheyennese and their famed hospitality are mighty well known nearly every where this old car has stopped – and the man who rides from New York to Sidney couldn’t help but hear of Cheyenne. Besides, that is our objective point, you know, and “all roads lead to Cheyenne,” as the poet says.”

After passing through Cheyenne, the course followed the southern portion of Wyoming along what is today I-80. The teams met this section with a fierce blizzard and treacherous roads but were greeted warmly. Today visitors travel the same section unknowingly and perhaps unaware what lies just off the interstate.

Worthy I-80 Side Shows

One of our state’s favorite sons, the late Chris LeDoux, once observed that a lot of people thought Wyoming was what they’d seen from their car windows while driving Interstate 80. And that was fine by him. Like a lot of locals, LeDoux was not really interested in seeing the state grow in terms of population. Of all the states in the country, Wyoming has the fewest people within its borders. Most of the population clusters, if you can call them such, are along I-80. It’s the in-between you can divert to that really makes a trip interesting and the interstate highway across Wyoming’s

southern tier holds a tank full of “tweeners.”

Native American artifacts are a cultural turn from I-80 at its easternmost Wyoming point in Pine Bluffs where a summer dig site has netted a pristine collection showcasing nomadic tribal life dating back 10,000 years. There’s a good small town rodeo in Pine Bluffs most Friday nights during the summer so if you have the chance to stay for the show it would make for a great introduction to Wyoming’s official sport.

From Cheyenne west, a non-interstate option of hearty consequence is Happy Jack Road. Several stories circulate as to the “Jack” in question. Needless to say he must have smiled a lot. Take a turn to the left, on dirt, entering the Vedauwoo Recreation Area located about a half-hour west of Cheyenne.

Once you motor in a short distance plan on staying awhile. The landscape is adorned with truly odd-shaped rocks in clusters of magical arrangements. There are plenty of hiking and biking options in this beautiful area or simply set out for a serene picnic.

We’ve all heard about the value in taking the high road. If a stretch of summer and fall season highway ever qualified it is Snowy Range Road – exit in Laramie. First, you can see Wyoming Territorial Park as soon as you get off I-80. Stop in for a close-up look at the only place ever capable of keeping the legendary Butch Cassidy behind bars. Point west and in a half-hour or so you’ll be in the midst of shining mountains and glorious forests. Not to worry if you are unaccustomed to high country driving. The road is superbly laid out for easy passage. Many convenient pullouts make breaks to breathe the fresh, clean air a must.

If you’ve a mind and the time a visit to the Encampment-Saratoga area in the valley west of Snowy Range Scenic Highway will be enriching. The free hot springs dip available in Saratoga is invigorating and the historically accurate two-story outhouse exhibited in [Back to Press Releases Main]