Somewhere in Wyoming between Laramie and Cheyenne, a couple miles down a dusty gravel road off I-80 in the middle of nowhere, a mysterious pyramid suddenly juts out of the earth. This is the Ames Monument. But why is it THERE?
Laramie’s top attraction is the Wyoming Territorial Prison. It was built in 1872 and served as a federal prison for 18 years. From 1890 to 1903, it was Wyoming’s state penitentiary. Many notorious convicts passed through its doors, including Butch Cassidy.
The cowboy city of Laramie was founded in 1868 and named after French fur trader Jacques La Ramée, who disappeared in the area in 1821. It has a nice historic downtown, a Wild West prison, and a university. We stopped for a few hours on our way to Cheyenne.