Even though the state of Wyoming is the tenth largest in the US, it remains the country's least populated. The capital of Wyoming DC, which is almost 700 times smaller than Wyoming, still has more people. Wyoming surprisingly has some of the United States firsts, including the first national monument, and Yellowstone which was the first national park in both the country and the world. With the low populations, Wyoming is one of the best states for outdoor activities, and to get a feel for the wild wild west was like and western culture.

The west wasn't really settled until the late 1800s, so anything having to do with US history from Wyoming usually isn't more than a hundred and 50 years ago. Wyoming was one of the typical western states where Indians and cowboys lived together and the remote lawless towns created the wild wild west environment. The upper left picture of real historic buildings from this time period. The buildings are all original, but where moved together outside of the city Cody. On the upper right is a grave found outside of the old west town from a real cowboy known as Blind Bill.

Inside the old town are many authentic carriages, beds, and other real items used when Cody was first founded. On the upper left you can see a collection of deer heads with an enormous pile of antlers below. On the upper right are many items that were used by early settlers and cowboys in the old west.

I didn't make it to a Rodeo show this time around, and that's a shame since Cody claims to be the Rodeo capital of the world, so what better place to see one? Cody boasts having a rodeo show every summer night, from June 1st through August 31st!

The city of Cody was actually founded by one of America's most famous cowboys, Buffalo Bill. Abovet is the Buffalo Bill historic center located in the middle of the city. I didn't realize how popular of a destination Cody was until I came here myself. I kind of expected to be one of the few visitors but instead found lots of people in the Buffalo Bill Center and below in the western style shops. I'd also like to make it to the capital Cheyenne sometime where they also have lots of western history and places I want to visit. Like most of America's wild west though, places such as the Historic Plains Hotel in Cheyenne are only barely a century old, but still I find the events that took place in the wild west interesting.

The rodeo shows and western stores are topped off by lots of beer and country music. For those who love western American culture, I'd imagine Cody would be their dream destination.

Most of Wyoming is made of up desert and mountains. Above is a picture of a giant rock formation that is seen on top of a larger mountain. On the right is a bunny who makes its life in the desert. The mountains below aren't extremely high in altitude but still look intimdating.

With most of Wyoming being dry desert, it was necessary to construct this giant dam along a river. I've never even heard of this dam before, so when I peered over the edge and saw its enormous size I was extremely impressed. On the right is the river trickling out of the dam.

The higher altitudes of Wyoming do get pretty wet and support a lot of wild life. The Grand Tetons national park has several large lakes and rivers and is teeming with wildlife. Here the altitudes average around 6 to 7 thousand feet, and have the highest peaks in the state that are close to 14,000 feet. Moose, elk, bear and other animals are frequently seen in the park, and it has some of the best door activities anyone could want, including fishing, boating, camping and even some challenging mountaineering.

My whole reason for coming to Wyoming was to visit Yellowstone national park . This is one of the best parks not only in the United States but also in the world. Above is a 300 foot waterfall known as lower falls which then runs into the 'grand canyons of Yellowstone'. I took so many pictures here that I decided to give Yellowstone its own page. Click here for more photos of the Yellowstone National Park.

The American bald eagle is found in all 50 states, but until I came to Yellowstone I had never seen one in the wild. Above you can see one landing on a dead tree. Another common animal is the Buffalo, which still roam the west in the thousands. Usually they are seen in herds, but the one above was sleeping alone near a river.

Yellowstone is also famous for its vast geyers and thermal pools. The national park has more geysers in one area than any other place in the world. The geyser that you see smoking is called Old Faithful, and it erupts every 20 minutes to an hour and a half, sometimes jetting hot water over 150 feet in the air. On the right is the Grand Prismatic Spring, one of hundreds of springs in Yellowstone, but probably the most beautiful. Click here for more photos.