According to Google Maps, we traveled 1365 miles, and drove for 23 hours and 29 minutes during our two weeks in Wyoming while avoiding highways.
Each state we visit, we will choose at least one point of interest from each of the following categories: Famous Person, Famous Food, Roadside Attraction, State Capitol & State Museum, National Park, Historic Location, Can't Miss Attraction, and Made in the USA Tour. Some of the categories may have more than one selection, and sometimes a category will be vacant due to the lack of a candidate. Please click on the links below for the corresponding blog related our experiences in Wyoming over the past two weeks.
Famous Person: Buffalo Bill Cody
Famous Food: Chokecherry
Roadside Attraction: Cheyenne’s Big Boots
State Capitol/Museum: Cheyenne, WY
National Park: Yellowstone National Park, Grand Tetons, Devil's Tower
Historic Location: Fort Laramie, WY
Can't miss attraction: Thermopolis Hot Springs State Park
Made in the USA Tour: Terry’s Bison Ranch
Please view our previous blog posts for the past week for further explanations of our experiences in Wyoming.
A breakdown of our expenses of the past 2 weeks are as follows:
Gas $295.00
$ 2.26 gal. in Casper, WY was the lowest price paid.
$ 2.89 gal. in Canyon Village, WY was highest price paid.
Comments:
The more touristy the area, the higher the gas prices.
Groceries: $ 180.00
Walmart $180.00
Comments:
There weren’t many places to shop in Wyoming besides Walmart.
Dining out $ $72.00
Chokeberry Turnovers $ 4.00 (Budgeted, and very yummy)
Soft Serve Ice Cream $ 5.00 (Unbudgeted, and too sweet)
Local $39.00 (Budgeted, date night dinner)
Lotus $24.00 (Budgeted, date night dessert)
Comments:
We did great, and have finally have our unbudgeted dining out under control.
Entertainment: $53.00
Redbox $2.00 (Movies x1)
Bison Train $31.00 (Budgeted, Tickets x 2)
Buffalo Bill Museum $20.00 (Admission x2)
Comments:
We did great in this category again!
Lodging: $77.00
Walmart $ 0.00 (Slept in parking lot x8 nights)
Stealth Parked $ 0.00 (Stealth parked x5 nights)
Hotel $77.00 (Budgeted once every 6 weeks)
Comments:
We continue to do great in this category
Miscellaneous: $0.00
Comments:
Of course, we did great in this category
Wyoming Expenses Grand Total For 2 Weeks: $ 677.00
(Our expense list does not include re-occurring expenses such as insurance and cellphone etc. )
Is Wyoming Our New Home State?
Here are the rules:
Below are the 5 categories that are important to us in choosing our new home state. Each category is rated from 1 to 10 based on our personal experience in no particular order. 1 is the lowest and 10 is the highest for each category. Each category will receive 2 scores; 1 from Lori and 1 from Nate. The average of these two scores will determine the final score for each category. To determine a state’s final score, we will average the total score of each category. If a state’s final score is less than 8, then that state is eliminated from consideration. At the end of our year long cross country trip, the states that scored 8 or higher will be subject to further consideration. In addition, Lori and I each have 1 wild card option, which allows a state that otherwise would have been eliminated, to be considered as our new home state.
Economy:
Nate: 8
“Mining, agriculture and tourism make up the majority of the state’s stable and diversified economy”
Lori: 7
“Wyoming's average household income is $60,214 per year ranking 17th in the country”
Economy score: 7.5
Cost of Living:
Nate: 9
“With a base sales tax 4.00%, and an 0% income tax, Wyoming is one is one the most tax friendly states we have visited”
Lori: 9
“Most of the agriculture of Wyoming is cattle. The produce was expensive because it had to be shipped from other states”
Cost of living score: 9
Quality of life:
Nate: 7
“Wyoming was an impeccably clean state, with fresh air and low crime”
Lori: 5
“Wyoming weather changed drastically and unpredictably from one moment to the next, and at times was wild and scary”
Quality of life score: 6
Culture:
Nate: 4
“Wyoming was a traditional cattle rancher's paradise, and was not a very progressive state”
Lori: 4
“91% of Wyoming is rural open land, so social outlets could be limited”
Culture Score: 4
Environment:
Nate: 3
“The towns are very far and few between, and goods and services are not easily accessible”
Lori: 9
“From one end to the other, the entire state of Wyoming was the most beautiful state we visited on our cross country trip thus far”
Environment Score: 6
The verdict is in:
The final score for Wyoming was 6.5, and it will NOT be our new home state. Neither Lori nor I opted to use our Wild Card Option on this state.
Below are the current standings:
Michigan 8.3
Ohio 7.6
Indiana 7.4
South Dakota 7.1
North Dakota 6.9
Virginia 6.6
Wyoming 6.5
Pennsylvania 6.5
West Virginia 6.0
Nebraska 5.7
Kentucky 4.9
Wisconsin 4.5
Minnesota 4.2
Missouri 3.5
Iowa 3.3
Illinois 1.9