The Cowboy State is packed with an interesting history! In fact, it’s hard to cover all of it, even in 13 years of schooling. Here are a few facts about Wyoming that might have gotten skipped over in your classes, but that we find fascinating.

1. Ernest Hemingway loved Wyoming. He fell in love with the state after a 1928 visit to Sheridan, and he finished "A Farewell to Arms" in the Bighorns.
Wikimedia Commons / Unattributed / Public Domain
He liked to write at guest ranches - he wrote "Death in the Afternoon" and "To Have And Have Not" in the 1930s while visiting the L Bar T Ranch outside of Cody. He even married his (third) wife in Cheyenne!
2. A big part of southwest Wyoming was once Spanish territory, and then Meixcan territory.
Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
The land wasn't taken over by the United States until the end of the Mexican-American War, in 1848.
3. Grand Teton National Park might as well be Siberia.
Flickr / Christopher Michel
At least, that's what Hollywood wants you to think. Those Russian tundra scenes in Rocky IV? Filmed in Jackson Hole and in the park.
4. Wyoming is WILD about dinosaurs. We're one of only a few states to have an official State Dino!
Flickr / Jason
The Triceratops was given the honor in 1994. The Cowboy State is an important destination for palentologists.

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5. Wyoming is one of only three states that uses only straight lines for borders.
Flickr / Noe Alfaro
The other two? Utah and Colorado. There must be something in the air around here.
6. This one might ruffle some feathers - the Federal government owns just under half of Wyoming's land.
Flickr / Bureau of Land Management
Most of that land is protected as national parks, wildlife and recreation areas, monuments, forest, historic sites, and even fish hatcheries.
7. This might be our favorite quirky fact! Did you know that other states have lots of escalators? In malls and shops and such? Doesn't that seem like a waste? In Wyoming, we only have two.
Facebook / Hilltop Bank
They're both in Casper and both in banks - First Interstate Bank downtown, and Hilltop Bank on the outskirts of town.
8. The horse on our liscense plates was once a real bronc!
Flickr / Dan Fern
He was a rodeo bronc named Old Steamboat that earned a reputation as being unrideable in the early 1900s. The logo we're familiar with today was trademarked in 1936.

What are your favorite fun facts about Wyoming? Let us know in the comments!

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