A brief explanation – those of you who know John well will acknowledge his obsession with knowing what the temperature is. Our Saturn Outlook is supposed to show the exterior temperature on the instrument panel, but John has never believed it to be correct. I could care less, but he’s obsessed. So he had the mechanic check it and found there was a service bulletin on the subject and, indeed, a replacement part is needed. BUT – they have to order it and it would take a week. The car is still under warranty so it won’t cost us if we get it done in the next 6,000 miles.
After I exercised, showered and changed we had lunch at the Base Club. There is a barber inside the club so John stopped for a haircut. The female barber had grown up in one of the old brick officers’ quarters with her four siblings because her father was an officer in the Air Force. She now lives off base just a few blocks away.
Next on the itinerary was a drive into town to the capitol which is only about 3 miles away. It is a beautiful, warm day. Forecast was for 93 degrees but it really doesn’t feel as hot as they say it is. We were in Cheyenne in the fall of 1998, just a few days after Matthew Shepherd was murdered and there were flowers all over the front steps of the capitol. Today it is just sunshine. They didn’t offer guided tours, but we were able to wander about. The legislature meets for 20 days in even-numbered years to do a budget and 40 days in odd-numbered years. But they have a surplus budget. And the population of the whole state is only half a million.
The capitol building is very nice. They, too, have a Tiffany chandelier. It’s not big enough to hold a Volkswagen and it’s not hanging in the rotunda like Washington’s, but, along with a wonderful mural, it makes Conference Room 302 quite impressive. Both the Senate and House of Representatives’ chambers have stained glass ceilings. Wyoming became the 44th state in 1890. In 1869, as a Territory, Wyoming became the first government in the world to grant women the vote. HOORAY WYOMING!! The state’s motto is “Equal Rights.” The National Park system began in Wyoming in 1872, also before statehood, when Yellowstone Park was established.
The gift store was across the street in the History Museum and they had a Christmas ornament. The store manager said they had only been carrying them for two years. She also commented on how nice it is to have WARM weather. It was 50 degrees last week. The big Cheyenne Frontier Days is next week and the whole downtown has banners and flags flying in preparation. 
There is a 7 foot tall cowboy boot outside the Museum. There was a public art project here in 2004 and we saw several boots around town. This one is covered with pieces of Wyoming license plates. I love this type of public art. We've seen bears, pigs, hearts, angels, and others around the United States.
I need a haircut. My method of getting my hair cut when we travel is: 1) carry pictures of a good haircut; 2) drive by a nice-looking salon; 3) stop and make an appointment. The first place we stopped was booked up. It was small and someone was on vacation. Three blocks from the History Museum I hollered, “stop.” John found a parking place and I went in and was able to make an appointment for tomorrow.
Susie, John’s oncologist’s nurse, called with a good report on blood results. Myeloma cells are still absent which is the most important thing. His white and red blood cell counts are still low, but that’s nothing new. We’re still good to go!!
Back on base, I took my computer to the library for wi-fi access and to check out a movie or two since we don’t have any TV reception. I was able to do some blogging. Hope to catch up tomorrow.
When we got home, we sat outside since the evening was so wonderfully warm. Maggie came out, too, on her leash and enjoyed her time in the grass. John even got her to walk a bit on the leash which has never happened before.
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