GMA Visits Wyoming

July 24, 2002 -- Good Morning America's Lara Spencer roams Wyoming, a state known for cowboys, Yellowstone National Park and for being the first state to give women the right to vote.

Spencer got behind the wheel of her red convertible and took to the roads of the place called "The Equality State," as part of ABCNEWS' "In Search of America: 50 States, One Nation, One Year" project.

Beautiful Wyoming has got it all — mountains, forests, lakes, waterfalls, geysers, even boiling pools of mud.

Wyoming is rich in natural resources and it's the No. 1 producer of coal in America. In fact, if the entire world relied upon it, Wyoming's coal supply could last 200 years.

The state's other natural resource — an abundance of beautiful wildlife. You can spot antelope, elk, bison and bears in Wyoming. There are more than one million big game animals in the state and they outnumber people two to one. The whole state has fewer than 500,000 people .

Overcrowding just isn't a problem in Wyoming, where some towns hold just a few hundred people. And folks say it pays to be good to one another since there aren't that many of them around.

Special People, Special Places

Vice President Dick Cheney and Harrison Ford both live in Jackson Hole, Wyo., which, come winter, turns into a wonderland that is home to some of the best skiing and snowboarding in the world.

There are plenty of noteworthy stops in Wyoming. Stop by the Yellowstone Drugstore in Shoshoni and you'll get the milk-shake treat of your life. The store's been around since 1909 and last year alone it served more than 65,000 shakes. Its one-day record: 727 cold and frosty ones.

You can also go for a dip in Mother Nature's Jacuzzi. The world's largest mineral hot springs is located in Thermopolis.

It's no surprise that the enchanting Yellowstone National Park (www.travelyellowstone.com) draws the most visitors to Wyoming each year, more than three million of them. The park is larger than the states of Rhode Island and Delaware combined, but it's not the only important park in Wyoming.

Grand Teton National Park in Moose encompasses nearly 310,000 acres. The park protects the Teton Range, Jackson Hole (mountain valley), a 50-mile portion of the Snake River, seven morainal lakes, more than 100 backcountry and alpine lakes, and a wide range of wildlife and plant species.

The Teton range is the youngest range in the Rockies and displays some of the North America's oldest rocks.

The summer months bring the cowboys and cowgirls together for one of their favorite pastimes — the rodeo.Wyoming has the biggest and oldest outdoor rodeo one in the world. It's called Cheyenne Frontier Days.

Fast Facts:

• Capital: Cheyenne• Nicknames: Big Wyoming, Equality State, Cowboy State• Motto: "Equal Rights"• Admitted to Union: July 10, 1890 (44th State)• Size: 97,914 square miles (9th largest state)• Highest Point: Gannett Peak, 13,804 ft.• Lowest Point: 3,100 ft. (Belle Fourche River)• Population: 493,782 (2000 Census, lowest in United States)• State Flower: Indian Paintbrush• State Mammal: Bison• State Bird: Meadowlark• State Tree: Plains Cottonwood• State Gemstone: Jade• State Fish: Cutthroat Trout• State Reptile: Horned Toad• State Fossil: Knightia• State Dinosaur: Triceratops• Fishing Streams: 15,846 miles• Fishing Lakes: 297,633 acres• Lakes: 3,400, supporting 76 species of fish, 31 of which are game fish — ABCNEWS