An unusual title for my blog today. What has universal suffrage got to do with travel through the USA? If asked the question, "which self-governing state or territory was the first to grant universal suffrage to women?", I would have immediately answered New Zealand. And I could have had a pretty decent stab at the date - it's 1893, well over 30 years before the UK (1928) finally got around to it. (And it took until 1971 for Switzerland to get there).
But I am wrong. It turns out, that as long as you count US territories as self-governing, which I think by most measures is appropriate, it is actually Wyoming Territory (it became the 44th state of the US in 1890, so still before NZ) that granted universal suffrage before anywhere else in the world! The things you find out when wandering round the historic downtown area of Cheyenne! Women had equal voting rights in Wyoming in 1869! Admittedly some of the motivations for granting women the vote were less than altruistic - it seems it was primarily due to the lack of women who actually lived there - roughly one woman for every six men. So the legislation was enacted at least in part to try to attract women to the then pretty much Wild West! But, for whatever the reason, it is the fact that women had the vote in Wyoming before anywhere else in the self-governing world! This statue above is dedicated to universal suffrage outside the railway station in downtown Cheyenne.
And it turned out, downtown Cheyenne was a very nice place for a short wander, in and out of the old Union Pacific Railroad station, past The Wrangler store, not as it turns out the original source of Wrangler jeans, but where you could buy your cowgirl/boy boots, since 1943. We didn't.
We got a few more pics of the oversized boots on display around the city, this one dedicated to votes for women. And we did of course find coffee!
From Cheyenne, we drove across the high plains of eastern Wyoming and into South Dakota. This is ranching country - cowgirls, cowboys, horses, cattle and buffalo. And huge distances between homes. Some of the ranches, look amazingly isolated, and even the few small towns seem miles from anywhere. The only place I have been that compares is outback Australia, although there the homesteads are even more isolated, with farms that cover thousands of square kms. But this is still isolated country, beautiful in its emptiness, big skies and grand vistas. Just not a lot of people!
Late in the afternoon we arrived in Custer. Pretty quiet as the "season" hasn't really started, but as ever we found a friendly restaurant for dinner (buffalo burger on the menu) and a welcoming bar for drinks afterwards. The only difference was more stetsons, and rodeo was on the TVs instead of the basketball playoffs or the beginning of the baseball season.
Last few pics for today. The view through our windscreen most of the day! High plains, big skies and no traffic!
Evidence of yesterday's snow we wisely missed.
Just an arty farty picture at Mule Creek Junction where they used to hold up the Deadwood Stage on its way to Cheyenne loaded with gold. Apparently, the creek crossing slowed the stage and provided ideal hiding places for the outlaws! If all goes to plan we will be in Deadwood tonight. The Wyoming state flag has a bison/buffalo on it, which I think gives a flavour of what to expect here.
The dedication at the foot of the statue in Cheyenne. On a day when I heard the depressing news that the US Supreme Court is likely to overturn Roe vs Wade and roll back abortion rights here, I want to celebrate and hail anything that promotes women's rights to equality and absolute control of their own bodies. Bit political today, but that's me.
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