Wyoming lies in a portion of the Dakota Territory. "Wyoming" comes from the Dakota "mscheweamiing" meaning "at the big flats" or "large plains". Another tradition says it was named after the Wyoming Valley of Pennsylvania, made famous by the 1809 poem Gertrude of Wyoming by Thomas Campbell.

The state earned the honor of being called "The Suffrage State" and later to "The Equality State" when it granted women the right to vote in 1869, a first in the history. The homage extended to its adoption of "Equality" as the state motto.

The first Dude Ranch in Wyoming was the Eaton Ranch, near Wolf. It was the Eatons who coined the term "dude." But it never came upon any impressions that people who live in Wyoming or who come from Wyoming, in some naïve way, be called "dudes" but genuinely now, Wyomingites. Modern Wyoming has around 494,000 Wyomingites, the least among U.S. states.

But the least populous Wyoming turns out the largest all-important coal production in the country - at three million tons per week! The largest coal mine in America is Black Thunder located near Wright.

The Yellowstone National Park is one of Wyoming's best natural and historical attractions. Situated in the far northwestern portion of the state, it became the world's first National Park in 1872. The Devil's Tower, designated first National Monument in 1906, provided the amazing setting for the landing scenes in the movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." Wyoming is yet to confirm if it is indeed 'hosting' occasional extra-terrestrials.

Wyoming claims though that it started the JCPenney stores, in Kemmerer.

• Wyoming Tribune-Eagle Online – Cheyenne Wyoming News and Information