What do you associate with Wyoming?

[batsto]

My daughter's Girl Scout troop is going to be in our annual Halloween parade, all dressed as various states. My daughter has Wyoming, and I have absolutely no idea what a Wyoming costume would look like. Anyone have any suggestions?

[AHunter3]

a) Cowboys, but whoever gets Texas or Oklahoma will probably do a cowboy

b) Oil workers such as roughnecks ... again, the Texas or Okie person may snag that, but I think there's less chance of it.

[Koxinga]

I know that's where the dogies will make their new home
but that's their misfortune and none of my own.

[batsto]

We thought of cowboys, too, but I figured she'd look just like Texas or Oklahoma. Even a costume in the shape of the state wouldn't be very obvious, either.

[Ethilrist]

Sheep.

Don't know if that has any bearing on reality, but on a word-association level, it's the first thing I thought of.

[An Gadaí]

Gay shepherds. Sorry, not much use.

[garygnu]

Originally Posted by batsto

We thought of cowboys, too, but I figured she'd look just like Texas or Oklahoma. Even a costume in the shape of the state wouldn't be very obvious, either.

Well when the state license plate and state quarter both have a cowboy on them...
I've been to the fabulous Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody. Lots of cowboy and indian type stuff.

[ShibbOleth]

Have her dress as Dick Cheney. That's probably the scariest thing associated with Wyoming.

[mack]

Wind and grass, mountains and sage. Devil's tower.

A working Old Faithful costume would be good, maybe get a mentos and diet coke thing going every hour (or 15 minutes given the length of the event).

[SaharaTea]

Wyoming native here. How about a buffalo? Or to go the educational route, she could dress up as a ballot or a 19th century women's suffragist. Wyoming was the first state to grant women the right to vote.

Or if you're willing to get really creative, she could go as Devil's Tower.

[Qadgop the Mercotan]

I second Dick Cheney (the mighty and accursed).

That's the first thing I think of when someone mentions Wyoming.

[batsto]

I like the suffrage suggestion...I'm not sure if we'll be able to pull it off, but it would be a perfect idea for the Girl Scouts I think.

[Key Lime Guy]

Since there's only one university in the state, you could dress her up in Gameday Gold.

[batsto]

Originally Posted by Key Lime Guy

Since there's only one university in the state, you could dress her up in Gameday Gold.

We definitely don't want to go the sports-team route. I suspect several of the other kids will do that, and we don't want it to look like a sports-themed parade.

[Kalhoun]

Originally Posted by batsto

My daughter's Girl Scout troop is going to be in our annual Halloween parade, all dressed as various states. My daughter has Wyoming, and I have absolutely no idea what a Wyoming costume would look like. Anyone have any suggestions?

Skiing, cattle, dinosaurs, cowboys and wide-open spaces.

[bink]

The ultimate trophy state for Where's George hits (for East Coast people, anyway.)

Oh, sorry, I answered that without reading the question. I'd say something cowgirlish with lots of fringe on it.

[Least Original User Name Ever]

Dick Cheney.

[batsto]

Originally Posted by Kalhoun

Skiing, cattle, dinosaurs, cowboys and wide-open spaces.

A skiing dinosaur would be funny...but probably not what they're looking for. I'm not sure how to dress as a wide open space, either.

[lieu]

Why... the Pinedale Anticline of course!




... that or an antelope.

[Litoris]

A Garfield cartoon forever ago (in the 80's) that was him saying "Wyoming is (some NA tribe, I forget which) for 'there is absolutely nothing there'." Seems like there was another one in which he was saying that there wasn't actually a state there, but the mapmakers weren't sure what was there, so they just called it some nonsense word. So, yeh, I associate Garfield with Wyoming.

[What Exit?]

First thing I think of is Dick Cheney. Then I shudder.

The second thing is The Moon is a Harsh Mistress but that was just a name.

[Drain Bead]

The first thing I thought of when I saw the subject line was Matthew Shepherd, but that would probably make a pretty shitty costume for a Girl Scout.

[Hanna]

yellowstone national park (old faithful?) or devils tower.

[Tamex]

A Wyoming costume could easily be made out of any large cardboard carton. Cut holes for head and arms, and voila! No need to paint--kraft paper brown is the perfect color!

Actually, I like the buffalo idea, but if that's too daunting, I'd go with a cowgirl (there is a cowboy on the license plate and the state quarter, as has been mentioned.)

[Cunctator]

Last in the alphabetical list of states? Not helpful, I expect.

Otherwise, lots of wide open spaces.

[blondebear]

Cheap Devil's Tower costume: pile some mashed potatoes on your head and sculpt them with a fork. Butter and Gravy optional.

[ZipperJJ]

I think a buffalo costume would be fun. You can definitely get some cool shaggy material from the fabric store.

I think of Yellowstone and buffalo when I think of Wyoming.

[blondebear]

Rats! Missed the edit window!

Less messy idea: dress up as a jackalope.

[KneadToKnow]

Originally Posted by garygnu

Well when the state license plate and state quarter both have a cowboy on them...

Not surprising, since Wyoming is The Cowboy State.

I see that Wyoming is no longer officially The Cowboy State but The Equality State. Jebus. The pussies have won.

A Devil's Tower costume would be ridiculously easy to make.

[Cisco]

Anymore? Rich people.

[Stink Fish Pot]

This one is so easy...


Get a Casper the Friendly Ghost costume.

Ta-da!

[CaerieD]

I guess Brokeback Mountain is out.

[Jodi]

I associate Wyoming with The Grand Tetons. (Really.) I can think of a great Halloween costume, but not for a little girl.

[Chimera]

She should wear a big (ie, larger than her torso) cardboard square/rectangle, because Wyoming is one of those states. Then she should have a mashed potato sculpture of Devil's Tower on her head.

[vintageloveletter]

Jackson Hole, Jackson Pollock, Old Faithful.

[whiterabbit]

You can't get a costume out of it, but after driving across it last year...desolation. Really impressive, beautiful desolation. I am not being negative; it felt so big. I found it fascinating. The thought of crossing it in a wagon or something left me with even more respect than I'd already had for people who made that trip -- when I moved my route roughly paralleled the Oregon Trail.

I see a lot of people from Wyoming who come here to ski, too, but that doesn't help either.

[KneadToKnow]

Originally Posted by vintageloveletter

Jackson Hole, Jackson Pollock, Old Faithful.

Okay, I know I have a dirty mind, but that combination just sounds like a porn film to me.

[gigi]

I picture it as grey, which may be a holdover from our US map puzzle. (New York is orange.) I picture bison, no taxes, brown plains. I picture the boot outside the State museum.

http://i.pbase.com/o6/39/773939/1/86...tateMuseum.JPG

[Trepa Mayfield]

Desolation, or emptiness.

[Hazle Weatherfield]

They do have a huge rodeo every year called, "The Granddaddy of them All."

[cmkeller]

Yogi Bear, perhaps, for Yellowstone (Jellystone) National Park?

[vetbridge]

When I was 18 years old, I took a Greyhound Bus from Pittsburgh, PA to Sacramento, CA. I remember a short layover in Cheyenne, Wyoming during Cheyenne Days. It was 3 am though, so I walked around for ten minutes then reboarded. At 3 am, Cheyenne was really quiet.

ETA: BTW, this was in 1976. Greyhound had a $76 promotion. For $76 you could travel for up to a month in one direction. I spent about a week going west.

[Kalhoun]

Originally Posted by batsto

A skiing dinosaur would be funny...but probably not what they're looking for. I'm not sure how to dress as a wide open space, either.

You could wear a cube and have like a topography of the things that Wyoming is famous for, and spread them out sparsly over the surface of the cube.

Yeah, my mind works that way.

[SaharaTea]

Originally Posted by Hazle Weatherfield

They do have a huge rodeo every year called, "The Granddaddy of them All."

Yep, it's called Frontier Days. It's the largest outdoor rodeo festival in the world, and has been held annually since 1897 - hence the nickname "Grandaddy of 'Em All." Not surprisingly this is the only time of the year that anything remotely exciting happens in Cheyenne.

[PuddingCat]

Nuclear missile silos. A Trident nuke or similar should be pretty easy to make. And I'll bet she'll be unique!

tim

[Ponch8]

If you're feeling especially lazy, you can always go the Homer Simpson or Ralph Wiggum's parents route.
http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip...405/ralph.html

[Sternvogel]

Just put together an outfit of clothing and accessories purchased from the J.C. Penney Company. Subtle yet appropriate.

[FallenAngel]

I associate Wyoming with Tim Sandlin novels, but I don't think many people would get it if you had her dress like a bride and carry a football, a la Sex and Sunsets.

[Reloy3]

Wyoming native and current resident here.

I, for one, am in favor of the Sufferagette outfit. It is unexpected, historical, educational, and echoes the values of the Girl Scout Program (as I understand them). It might give you an opportunity to teach her a little about the early history of the civil rights movement, too.

On the other end of the spectrum, she could go as "Cattle Kate", who was wrongfully lynched for rustling about 100 years ago. (Cowgirl outfit with a noose - what, too morbid or inappropriate).

Also, instead of a cowgirl, how about a mountainman/furtrapper. Also very historical.

There is still a lot of native populations here. If she could do it with sensitivity, maybe something to celebrate the Shoshoni Indians.

Maybe a park ranger? A close encounter alien? A uranium miner?

If there is anything I can do to help, feel free to message me.

[Fiddle Peghead]

I always think of a big orange square. Probably that was its color on my elementary school map.