My husband and I are certifiably obsessed with Wyoming. My husband has been visiting the state on a yearly basis for several years now. His mother and father even work in Yellowstone National Park for several months out of the year. Last summer was my first time visiting the state, and I was instantly in love. Recently, we booked a flight to Wyoming for this coming July. I have been raving about it to everyone I talk to, and a lot of people have hit me with the question, "What's in Wyoming?" Initially, I find myself being offended by this question. But then I have to remember that before I visited Wyoming for myself, I was under the same impression. So for those of you wondering what exactly is so great about Wyoming, allow me to educate you!
From the moment our plane began descending into the airport, I was completely struck by the overwhelming beauty of it all. We landed in Cody, Wyoming. It's a tiny town with a lot of rich history. The town is located 42 miles from Yellowstone National Park. It is named after Colonel William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody who was so impressed by the area when he passed through in the 1870's that he returned in the 1890's to start a town. The town is surrounded by mountain ranges on three sides: the Absarokas to the west, the Owl Creek Mountains to the south, and the Bighorn Mountains to the east. Modern-day Cody is an adorable little town that embraces its Old West roots with a rodeo, a museum, a historic hotel, and even a live gunfight in the streets. 
Pictured above is the beautiful Heart Mountain which is approximately 15 miles outside of Cody, Wyoming. During World War II, people of Japanese decent from Oregon, Washington, and California were relocated to the Heart Mountain Relocation Center as a result of an executive order passed by President Franklin Roosevelt. Read more about it here.
From Cody, Wyoming, we drove to Jackson Hole on the Fourth of July. Just the drive from Cody to Jackson Hole alone would be reason enough to fall in love with this place. The scenery along that drive is like nothing I have ever seen before. The little town of Jackson Hole offers amazing views of the Grand Tetons. People come here from all over the world to hike, fish, horseback ride, mountain bike, white water raft, take wildlife expeditions, and snow ski. From Native Americans to beaver trappers, wildlife has played a huge part in the exploration and development of what is now Jackson Hole. Mountain men began calling it a "hole" because the valley is surrounded by mountains on every side. Jackson Hole is home to the National Elk Refuge which contains 25,000 acres and feeds over 7,000 elk each winter. The town of Jackson Hole has more meaning to me than others. Last year, my now husband proposed to me in the town square on the Fourth of July after the fireworks show.
My husband's parents stay in Canyon Village during the time that they work in the Park. Canyon Village is actually inside Yellowstone National Park. It's hardly big enough to be called a village honestly, which is probably why I enjoyed our time there the most. There's SO MUCH to see here. The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone offers some breathtaking views all the way around. If you're ever here, definitely see Artist Point. (I took this picture from Artist Point last year.)
There are about a million different things that are so great about Wyoming, these are only a very few. We spent a whole week out there last year, and I feel like we didn't see hardly any of it. I feel like if we go back once a year every year until we're a hundred years old, Wyoming will still have something vastly different and amazing to show us each and every time.
