Wyoming
Where nature still runs the show.
Cheyenne · Gillette · Devils Tower · Yellowstone · Grand Teton
The Journey
Wyoming quickly became one of our favorite states.
Our first trip began in October 2023, driving north from Denver and crossing into Cheyenne. Almost immediately, the culture changed. We had entered the American West.
In Cheyenne, we got a crash course in Wyoming. Around the historic Depot Plaza and downtown streets, we found the famous Big Boots, enormous eight-foot cowboy boots painted by different artists to tell pieces of Wyoming’s history and culture. Naturally, Rachel and Leah each had to choose their favorite and pose for pictures.
We also explored the murals around downtown, including the Women’s Suffrage mural. There we introduced the girls to one of Wyoming’s proudest pieces of history. In 1869, Wyoming Territory became the first in America to grant women the right to vote, eventually helping earn Wyoming its nickname, the Equality State.
We visited the State Capitol, continuing our journey through every capital in America, and simply enjoyed Cheyenne for a day and a half.
From there, we headed north. We drove through little towns like Wheatland and Douglas, seeing everyday Wyoming life along the way. Open roads, ranches, little communities, and enormous stretches where the land seemed to continue forever.
In Gillette, we stopped at a cozy little bookstore and coffee shop. The girls found the owner’s little dog, which immediately became far more interesting than whatever books we were trying to buy. We spent some time talking with locals, picked up a few books, and enjoyed one of those simple road trip moments that somehow stays with you.
Then came Devils Tower. Nothing really prepares you for it. The enormous rock formation rises almost vertically out of the Wyoming landscape, completely unlike anything around it. We walked close to the base and learned some of the Native American oral traditions connected to the site, many involving bears whose claws left the deep grooves still visible along the Tower.
Rachel wanted to hear the stories again and again. Leah absolutely did not. She found the giant bear portion terrifying and made it very clear that we should stop repeating it. A compromise was reached.
We eventually crossed into South Dakota, but Wyoming was not finished with us.
In August 2024, we returned to the northwestern side of the state for Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks.
At Yellowstone, we sat together waiting for Old Faithful. When the geyser finally erupted and steam shot high into the air, we simply watched. There are moments on these trips where nobody really needs to say anything.
Grand Teton was another level entirely. Those sharp mountain peaks rising almost suddenly from the landscape were among the most beautiful mountains we encountered anywhere in America. We drove, stopped, looked, photographed, and kept hoping a bear might make an appearance. No luck on the bear. But the mountains were more than enough.
Wyoming gave us Western culture, history, small towns, wildlife, geysers, enormous mountains, and landscapes that made us feel very small. We absolutely want to go back.
Jewish Wyoming
Our Jewish Wyoming experience began in Cheyenne at Mt. Sinai Congregation on Pioneer Avenue.
We happened to be there during Sukkos, and seeing a sukkah standing in Cheyenne, Wyoming, felt special in its own way. Jewish life this far into the High Plains is small, but it is very real.
The story goes back almost as far as Cheyenne itself. Jewish merchants were among the early settlers who arrived as the railroad pushed west. Mt. Sinai was organized in 1910, and in 1915 the community built Wyoming’s first permanent Jewish house of worship.
The congregation later moved to its present building on Pioneer Avenue, but more than a century later, Jewish families are still gathering, praying, and celebrating holidays in Cheyenne.
That was what struck me most. We were in the state with one of the smallest populations in America, surrounded by enormous distances and communities spread far apart, yet here stood a synagogue and a sukkah.
Today, Jewish life can also be found in Casper and Jackson Hole, along with smaller communities and Chabad serving Jews scattered across the state.
Jewish Wyoming reminded me once again that Jewish life does not need large numbers to have roots. Sometimes a small sukkah in Cheyenne tells the whole story.
What Stayed With Me
What stayed with me about Wyoming was how little control humans seemed to have over the scenery.
We built Cheyenne, roads, ranches, and little towns.
But the Tower was already there. The geysers kept erupting. The Tetons kept rising above us.
In Wyoming, nature still felt in charge. And I loved that.
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