Hello
from Wyoming,
Cheyenne Frontier Days (CFD) has
just finished here in Wyoming and we have begun to turn our attention to next
year’s event. My mother and I are
planning for a Brabazon Family Reunion during the 2009
CFD.
First, here is a little background
information. Mom and I attended the reunion cruise last year hosted by Chris and
Carol of Florida. Everyone had such
a great time and it was decided to have another reunion in two years. This time
we thought we would try our hand as hosts.
The best time of the year to visit Wyoming is during Cheyenne Frontier
Days so we naturally planned our reunion to coincide with that event. Cheyenne Frontier Days is a ten day
rodeo and western celebration held in Cheyenne, Wyoming, every year. It is the oldest continuously running
rodeo and also the largest outdoor rodeo in the world. It is affectionately known as the ‘Daddy
of ‘em All’. It routinely draws
visitors from all over the world.
The rodeo has more contestants than any other rodeo and includes the top
professional cowboys and cowgirls in the world. Winning a buckle at Frontier Days is one
of the most highly coveted and respected prizes among rodeo professionals. It is important to mention that Cheyenne
Frontier Days is produced and operated almost entirely by volunteers. More than 2,000 citizens of Cheyenne
(population 55,000) volunteer every year to operate the entire ten day
event. For more information about
CFD please visit the web site at: http://www.cfdrodeo.com/index.aspx.
Itinerary
for Reunion
Fri
- July 17, 2009
5:30
pm – Dinner at Terry Bison Buffalo Ranch Dinner will be a burrito bar
with all the toppings, rice, beans, tossed salad, drink and dessert. We plan
on using this time for introductions and general greetings. We also plan on
having a guest speaker but have yet to confirm with anyone.
Sat
– July 18, 2009
8:00
am – Leave for Parade in downtown Cheyenne We will be providing a van
at this time to deliver attendees from Terry Bison to downtown Cheyenne. (For those who do not have transportation
or would like a ride.)
9:30
am – Parade
12:00
pm
1:00
pm – Rodeo at Frontier Park
After
the rodeo we will have the van available to deliver attendees back to Terry
Bison. The van will depart
immediately after the Rodeo and again two or three hours later for those who
would like to stay at the Park and explore the booths and
Midway.
Sun
– July 19, 2009 10:30
am – Buffalo Tour at Terry Bison Ranch. Terry Bison provides a one hour
Train Tour (handicap accessible) of their facility and bison herd. This is a great photography opportunity.
A lunch of Buffalo burgers, beans, coleslaw and cookies is provided as part
of the tour. This is in essence
the closing of the reunion and the last chance to visit as a group.
After
Lunch – Photograph. As a final event for the reunion we would like to have an
Old Time group photograph. Costumes
are available at Terry Bison and copies of the photo will be available.
Accommodations
We
have made arrangements with Terry Bison Buffalo Ranch to host our reunion. Terry Bison is an operating Buffalo
Ranch as well as a Guest Ranch that offers visitors a wide variety of
entertainment. They have 7 cabins
available for reservations at $175.00 per night as well as a bunkhouse with 13
rooms and shared bathrooms for $58.95 per night. All cabins and rooms in the bunkhouse
sleep two people. They have 86 full
hook up RV sites for those with trailers for $33.95 per night as well as dry
sites and tent sites with no services for those who really want to ‘rough it’
for $18.95 and $16.95 per night, respectively. Because of the limited number of
available rooms, Terry Bison does not normally accept reservations before
January 1st for Cheyenne Frontier Days. And they are usually completely booked
the first week of January. They
have graciously agreed to accept reservations for the Brabazon family reunion
from now until December 15th, at which time areas set aside for us
and not reserved will be put out for the general public. Just contact the reservation desk at
(307) 634-4171 and mention that you want to reserve a room or space and are with
the Brabazon family reunion. They
do not accept credit cards. They
will send you a statement and you will need to pay in full by check or money
order within two weeks of the time you made your reservation. We highly recommend that you make your
reservations as soon as possible, preferably now.
There
are many other accommodations available in Cheyenne if you choose not to stay
at Terry Bison. Everything from
Hotels, Bed and Breakfasts, to Dude Ranches is in the community. Information about other accommodations
can be found at the Cheyenne Frontier Days web site: http://www.cfdrodeo.com/index.aspx
Unfortunately, lodging is not inexpensive.
As with Terry Bison, we highly recommend that you make your reservations
for lodging early in order to find a room.
Transportation
The
closest major airport is located in Denver, Colorado. Cheyenne is located about
82 miles north of Denver International Airport. If you are flying into DIA you have the
option of renting a car from any of the major rental agencies or taking a second
flight into the Cheyenne Regional Airport on Great Lakes Airlines. Just a word of warning, if you are
uncomfortable in small passenger planes, then you might want to avoid flying
directly into Cheyenne. If you need
help arranging transportation from DIA, please contact us and we will try to
assist.
Cheyenne
is a relatively small town and as a result does not have a highly developed
public transportation system. We
will be providing some transportation via a van during the reunion. If you wish to have other
transportation, there are taxi services and car rental agencies available in
town.
On a side note, there are many other
events and activities that are available during Frontier Days. We just planned a few that we thought
everyone might enjoy, but if you are looking for other activities or plan on
extending your trip a bit, here are some other things you might want to
consider.
At
Terry Bison
Terry
Bison has facilities available for horseback riding, buffalo tours, fishing, as
well as a Kid Corral filled with games for those with young
children.
Cheyenne
Events
Cheyenne
will host nine consecutive rodeos during the 10-day event. We will be purchasing group tickets for
the first ‘go-round’ on July 18th. If you find you particularly enjoy the
event, tickets will be available from the ticket office on the grounds for the
other seven ‘go-rounds’ and the finals which are held on the last day, July
26th. (You will be given a choice
of the best seats available at the time you purchase, or you may purchase
additional tickets on line.)
Frontier
Day is particularly proud of its evening entertainment. Night shows will be held every evening
featuring PBR (Professional Bull Riding) shows as well as performances from top
names in Country and Rock Music.
(Entertainers are not announced until December,
2008.)
Frontier
Park always has booths and vendors from all over the area as well as a Behind
the Chutes Tour, a Midway with Carnival Rides, the Buckin’ A Saloon with live
entertainment, Wild Horse Gulch with time period characters, and the Indian
Village with native American music, dancing, and crafts.
The
Old Fashioned Melodrama is held every year in a hundred year old theater
downtown. I just attended this last
year and it is quite the production and a lot of fun.
The
United States Air Force Thunderbirds perform every year on Wednesday. This is accompanied with a static air
show.
There
is a free pancake breakfast served Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings from
7:00 until 10:00 am. This is quite
an event and something definitely worth attending. They serve more than 100,000 pancakes,
with butter, syrup, ham, milk, and coffee.
The current record number of people served at this event stands at 16,897
in a single day with a 39,111 total over the three days. Despite the high number of people and
what always looks like a daunting line, the event is always well organized with
people standing in line an average of twenty minutes and being entertained
though out with live music.
Finally,
I would be remiss not to mention the night life in Cheyenne. During Frontier Days the local bars are
usually crawling with party-goers.
This is a constant of the Frontier Days atmosphere and can be quite a lot
of fun; however, this is a much rowdier scene than events during the day, so if
you choose to go out to the bars at night, be prepared.
In
the Area
There
are a lot of activities available in the area. There are many dude ranches around that
offer a taste of the western lifestyle such as cattle roping and horseback
riding. There are also a lot of
whitewater rafting opportunities in the Fort Collins, Colorado area and in the
southwestern part of Wyoming. In
the northwestern corner of the state (just kitty-corner from Cheyenne in our
square state) is Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. Yellowstone is the nation’s first
national park and has many natural wonders and abundant wildlife. In the northeastern corner of the state
is Devils Tower, a natural rock formation that has been featured in many movies
as well as on our Wyoming license plates.
East from Devils Tower is the Black Hills of South Dakota. The Black Hills has possibly some of the
most beautiful mountainous countryside you will ever encounter. It is also the home of Mount Rushmore,
Sturgis (home of the world famous motorcycle rally), and the city of Deadwood.
(If you have seen the show on HBO, you should see the real town and try your
luck at the casinos.)
We
are really excited about the reunion and are looking forward to meeting new
family as well as reconnecting with those we have met before. Please contact us at bchapman@crb1.k12.wy.us or sarahjoe78@hotmail.com and let us know
if you are planning to attend, and if you have any special needs or questions
that we can help you with. Also,
don’t forget to make those lodging reservations early. Finally, if you are planning on
attending the Friday night get together and dinner, the rodeo and the buffalo
tour and lunch, please let us know as we need a head count for each event. I will be purchasing the group rodeo
tickets on December 1, so toss your hat into the Reunion Ring before that time
and notify us. Final payment for
tickets and food needs to be made by May 1, 2009. Prices in 2008 were as follows: (They have not set the 2009 prices at
this time.)
Friday night dinner $10.00 each
Rodeo
$22.50 each
Bison tour and lunch $23.00
each
Total $55.50
each
Please
make payments by May 1, 2009 to:
Betty Chapman
2418 Kilmary
Drive
Rawlins, WY 82301
Thank
you so much and we look forward to hearing from you.
Sarah
J. Chapman (sarahjoe78@hotmail.com)
&
Betty
(Brabazon) Chapman (bchapman@crb1.k12.wy.us)