Our day began with a triple-2 breakfast at the Chicago Pizza included with our stay at the Holiday Inn - two eggs, 2 pieces of bacon or sausage and 2 pancakes or pieces of toast. After that was a quick stop at Walmart for some provisioning (but for the Walmart app listing what aisle to find something we would have been wandering around for hours) we continued our journey that began in Salt Lake along the Union Pacific section of the Transcontinental Railroad. The Transcontinental Railroad was ran from Omaha to Sacramento and was operated by Union Pacific east of Promontory Point UT and Central Pacific west of Promontory Point.
The railroad opened for through traffic between Sacramento and Omaha on May 10, 1869, when CPRR President Leland Stanford ceremonially tapped the gold "Last Spike" (later often referred to as the "Golden Spike") with a silver hammer at Promontory Summit. The resulting coast-to-coast railroad connection revolutionized the settlement and economy of the American West. It brought the western states and territories into alignment with the northern Union states and made transporting passengers and goods coast-to-coast considerably quicker, safer and less expensive
We stopped along the way to Cheyenne, WY in downtown Laramie, WY for lunch at Born in Barn before arriving at the Cheyenne Depot Museum. The museum is located inside the 1880s Cheyenne Depot, a National Historic Landmark, largest west of Council Bluffs, Iowa, and a major western example of Richardsonian Romanesque architecture. The museum details the history of the transcontinental railroad, the establishment of Cheyenne, and the building's architecture. It also houses Harry Brunk's extensive, hand-crafted on30 scale model railroad
That was followed by a quick stop ad the Cheyenne Frontier Days Museum which chronicles the history Cheyenne Frontier Days, an outdoor rodeo and western celebration in the United States, held annually since 1897. The event, claimed to be one of the largest of its kind in the world, draws nearly 200,000 annually
We stayed for the night right across the plaza from the Depot in the historic Plains Hotel. Unfortunately, it was not maintained well nor quiet due to its location so that was a misfire. We did have an enjoyable dinner right across the street at The Albany known for its prime rib.