The 116th Cheyenne Frontier Days, dubbed as the World's Largest Outdoor Rodeo and Western Celebration, concluded this past Sunday.  Every year, Frontier Days is held the last full week of July.  While I didn't take in any rodeo action this year, I managed to enjoy some of Frontier Days' best eats.  Pancakes - Kettle Corn - Bison Burgers - Indian Tacos oh my!

Pancakes!  The ten day celebration mixed up three free pancake breakfasts held on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings from 7-9am at the Cheyenne Depot Plaza.  Last year over 27,000 total people were fed over the three breakfasts.  The crowds are huge but do not be deterred!  The lines move fast, the queues are well organized, and there are plenty of volunteers making sure things run smoothly.  While moving towards the end of the line you'll see pancakes being tossed in the air caught by local boy scouts, as well as a cement truck they use to mix the batter.  I consider myself a bit of a pancake connoisseur and these pancakes pass the pancake test; great flavor, just the right amount of fluffiness, and browned to perfection.  As a pancake purist I normally take my cakes with just butter, but I did try the syrup and along with the Hormel ham the breakfast is not to be missed. 

Insider tip: Arrive towards the end and they might let you take a pile of cakes home, wrapped in foil.  Pancakes travel well!
   

Kettle Corn!  What is kettle corn?  Up until a decade ago I had no idea.  Throw your conventional understanding of popcorn out the window and prepare your taste buds for one of food's best combinations - sweet and salty.  Kettle corn has a crunchy sugar crust with salt sprinkled throughout.  In each bag you usually have some "golden nuggets" which are clumps of popcorn held together by caramelized sugar.  Yum!  As the name indicates, this specialty popcorn is cooked in a huge 500 pound kettle.  Bryan, owner of Poppin' Ranch of Colorado Springs, gave me a behind the scenes tour of his kettle that cooks 5 pounds of kernels in 90 seconds.  "The key is heating up the kettle to 460-480 degrees in order for the kernels to expand," Bryan said.  Needless to say, it was very hot over his kettle that burns 60,000 btus.  His daughter, Cheyenne, sold me their largest bag and as usual, little made it home.  Hey, it's always best fresh out' the kettle.  Kettle Corn is usually available from a vendor at the Wild Horse Gulch (free entry).

Bison Burgers!  Let's face it - Americans love to eat cow.  On average, Americans eat over 60 pounds of beef every year.  A much healthier alternative to beef is bison.  In fact, bison has 70% to 90% less fat compared to beef, 50% less cholesterol, and it is higher in protein, iron and all the omega and amino acids.  Okay okay, but how does it taste?  Bison tastes like a very non-greasy slightly sweeter burger.  Because it has much less fat, unlike beef, the flavor comes from the meat itself and not the fat juices.  Don't get me wrong the bison burger is not dry; you are just less likely to go through multiple napkins eating one.  The Frontier Days Bison Burger is available at the Indian Village (free entry) and is served with baked beans with jalapeno and red potato skin salad.  Cooked to order, they are worth it!  Be careful not to like them too much though as bison meat is difficult to find in most parts of the country.       

Indian Tacos!  Hidden under all that cheese, lettuce, ground beef, refried beans, olives and tomatoes is indian fry bread (which alone topped with honey and powdered sugar makes a great treat too!).  All the toppings on this baby makes it a meal!  Difficult to eat without a fork, the Frontier Days Indian Taco is available at the Indian Village (free entry).  Add some sour cream on top to finish off this colorful lunch or dinner.

Do you have travel goals? See Achieving Travel Goals for some quick advice and a comprehensive primer to help you achieve travel goals. Check out a simple tool to help track travel goals and travel accomplishments - see our Travel Goal App for the iPad to learn more about tracking your unique travel goals on your own travel goal iPad app. Have you traveled to all 50 states, all 7 continents, or at least 15 countries? Become a member of our All Fifty Club, 7 Continent Club, and/or Traveler's Country Club today or give a membership as a gift! Happy Travels!

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Author: Eric
A superior alternative to a small backpack when traveling is the Scottevest, which is like a travel vest on steroids. I recently broke the vest in on a trip, inspector gadget style (as my sister described it) through the airport, on the airplane, and to various places of interest in the hot and humid south.

Travel Vest on Steroids? Really?
My previous travel packing went something like this: Dump my stuff into a two pocket backpack and load my jean or short pockets with a laundry list of other items creating an impossible situation of endless searching and the more impossible task of getting something out of a jean pocket while sitting in an uncomfortably small airplane seat.  Alas, those days are over with the Scottevest!  The vest enables hands free travel and easy, organized access to your belongings.

The vest has so many features that it comes with an instruction manual, a blueprint of sorts to navigate the pockets, hidden pockets, back pockets, pen pockets, change pockets, ear-bud pockets - 24 different pockets to be exact, plus magnets, loops, clips, and cords with specific purposes. 

What I Really Liked:
● It rained on my trip and the vest wicks water as advertised
● The patented headphone wiring system and the earbud pockets are extremely convenient - no loose wires to get tangled
● The eyeglasses/sunglasses pocket with cleaning cloth came in handy and was my favorite pocket because it kept my sunglasses protected when I didn't need them and enabled easy cleaning when I did
● The huge back pocket (which I thought I would never use) was great for an extra set of clothes - I put a pair of shorts and a shirt in the pocket for my daughter when the forecast was for rain - it rained and my daughter had a dry set of clothes at the ready
● The key holder/clip added a sense of security - I wasn't always checking my pockets to see if my keys were still there
● The magnetic hand pocket closures were an invaluable feature, you don't have to worry about zipping up the pockets every time you need to get something or worry about stuff falling out
● I didn't overheat wearing the vest as it was well ventilated and very lightweight
● The tags telling me the intended use of the various pockets helped me stay organized - It made it easier to decide what to put in the pockets
● Major time/stress saver at the airport, I just took off the vest and breezed through security without having to dig through my pockets
●  There is a pocket designed to fit your tablet!  Big enough for an iPad!

What's Growing On Me:
The vest has two pockets that allow the use of touch screen devices through the protective clear fabric - I thought I would like the clear touch fabric pocket more - unless your touch screen phone is right up against the material it is hard to clearly see the screen on your device - I found myself having to use two hands to get full use of my phone in the pocket - but, it is a step up from having to take your phone out of a pocket to use it which is a big plus

A Word of Caution:
When not wearing the vest make sure to hang it up or put it on the back of a chair using the same orientation as when you wear it.  Mistakenly, I took the vest off with my sunglasses still in a pocket and stuffed the vest in a small bag.  When I took the vest out to get my sunglasses, they found their way to an inaccessible part of the vest in between the fabric.  I ended up figuring out that I had to go up the front pocket to rescue my lost sunglasses.  The vest temporarily swallowed my sunglasses!  This made for an interesting start to my day!

The Bottom Line:
Feature packed and highly functional, Travel Goal Getter calls this a must buy for the casual and professional traveler alike.  The vest along with other travel apparel can be purchased at the Scottevest website.


Note: I received a free Scottevest travel vest at a travel conference. However, the opinions are my own based upon my personal use of the vest on a trip.

 

Do you have travel goals? See Achieving Travel Goals for some quick advice and a comprehensive primer to help you achieve travel goals. Check out a simple tool to help track travel goals and travel accomplishments - see our Travel Goal App for the iPad to learn more about tracking your unique travel goals on your own travel goal iPad app. Have you traveled to all 50 states, all 7 continents, or at least 15 countries? Become a member of our All Fifty Club, 7 Continent Club, and/or Traveler's Country Club today or give a membership as a gift! Happy Travels!

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Recently added to Travel Goal Getter's list of interesting travel reads is 50 Main Street, a book by Photographer Piero Ribelli, which chronicles his journey across the United States.  The ending result is 50 stories from 50 people that share the commonality of living at the same address, 50 Main Street.  The book promises an "honest view of who we are as a people".

Beautiful photography coupled with a unique approach to connecting the stories of people across the United States put this book on Travel Goal Getter's must read book list.

More information can be found at Piero Ribelli's website and 50 Main Street can be purchased on Amazon.

Do you have travel goals? See Achieving Travel Goals for some quick advice and a comprehensive primer to help you achieve travel goals. Check out a simple tool to help track travel goals and travel accomplishments - see our Travel Goal App for the iPad to learn more about tracking your unique travel goals on your own travel goal iPad app. Have you traveled to all 50 states, all 7 continents, or at least 15 countries? Become a member of our All Fifty Club, 7 Continent Club, and/or Traveler's Country Club today or give a membership as a gift! Happy Travels!

 

This is the first in a series of posts highlighting destinations in Wyoming.  Our travels take us to Cheyenne, Wyoming where you can find a replica of the Statue of Liberty nestled among towering trees in Cheyenne's largest city park.  

Many people find it surprising that Cheyenne, Wyoming is a short 90 min. drive north of Denver.  For you "Travel Goal Getters" out there with Wyoming on your travel goal list,  Wyoming can be easily combined with a Colorado trip (see our Red Rock's post) without the day's long drive to Wyoming's arguably more famous destinations such as the Grand Tetons, Jackson Hole, or Yellowstone.  Heading north on Interstate 25 from Denver, the first city you will come to after crossing the state line is Wyoming's capital, Cheyenne.

Cheyenne's premier city park is Lion's Park, located on the City's west side, with easy access off Interstate 25 using the Central Ave exit.  At the park you'll find numerous outstanding amenities including a stocked lake for fishing and paddle boat rentals, softball field, miniature golf course, tree house (even for the adults!), botanical gardens, community gardens, a fantastic immersive children's village, municipal pool, a children's spray park, community center, amphitheater (where they have free movies in the park during the summer), several playgrounds (one of which has dizzying effects!), a steam train engine, walking and biking paths, and a replica of the Statue of Liberty.

The Statue of Liberty replica is found in the park's north-west corner  and was installed in 2005 as part of Leland James Duck's Eagle Scout Project.  Surrounding the statue are the Mayflower Compact, Magna Carta, The Ten Commandments, Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, and Preamble to the Constitution.  These "Cornerstones of Law and Liberty" are beautifully presented etched in granite.  Be careful not to miss the statue as it is tucked behind some large trees and is partially blocked from the road.

For more information about Statue of Liberty replicas please see Boy Scout Troop 101′s page.  The site lists the places of over 200 known replicas throughout the United States.

Do you have travel goals? See Achieving Travel Goals for some quick advice and a comprehensive primer to help you achieve travel goals. Check out a simple tool to help track travel goals and travel accomplishments - see our Travel Goal App for the iPad to learn more about tracking your unique travel goals on your own travel goal iPad app. Have you traveled to all 50 states, all 7 continents, or at least 15 countries? Become a member of our All Fifty Club, 7 Continent Club, and/or Traveler's Country Club today or give a membership as a gift! Happy Travels!