Wyoming Adventure: Deadwood

We really didn't document much of our dining and drinking while in Lusk, but did get a bunch of nice pictures on the McLain ranch.  You can see them here and here.  The ranch was homesteaded by Alison's great grandfather in the 1920's and the actual structure of the homestead still stands.

We headed out to see Deadwood and Mount Rushmore National Park in South Dakota, but as we approached the border between Wyoming and South Dakota we had to stop in for our first pop at the Buck Horn.  The bar was a cool hunter's lodge right off the highway.  The only people in the bar were the bartender, a cat and what I presume was the owner of the joint.  The beer was cold and the bartender gave us some notes on good eats in Deadwood.

The Buckhorn

Our bartender at the Buckhorn recommended the Cantina on the first floor of Miss Kitty's.  Now before I go any further, let me explain downtown Deadwood.  Deadwood is a historical town.  Wild Bill and his cohorts used to run the streets of Deadwood back in the ol' days.  There are signs all over the place and along the street indicating the location of a famous gunfight, a death, or a famous brothel.  A lot of history, right?  Well, they also have a bunch of slot machines and themed bars as well, making the town somewhat of an adult Disneyland; a compact Vegas with an outlaw spin.

So we headed over to Miss Kitty's to hit the Cantina.  To say that their spin on Mexican food was unique is a statement.  To say that being from southern California and having eaten our fair share of authentic Mexican food is also a statement.  When you put both statements together, you not only get a run-on sentence, but an idea of what the chow was like at the Cantina.  Not bad, just not authentic.  You really can't blame the good folks at Miss Kitty's Cantina, maybe just the fact that being so far from the Mexican border should make any establishment question the notion of serving Mexican food.

The streets of Deadwood

The hot slots at Miss Kitty's

Alison's Sopes

Bob's Qusadilla Burger.  Now that's ingenuity.

The most interesting part of our trip to Deadwood was our visit to the Bullock Hotel.  Alison's mom was drawn to the hotel for some reason or another.  In the lobby, there was a picture of the Rough Riders that included Seth Bullock, the namesake of the hotel.  Alison's mom mentioned that Alison's great-great grandfather was a Rough Rider named Charlie Calhoun.  The big picture didn't have a key to the people in the picture, but there was a smaller picture on the side that contained the key to the folks in the picture.  Low and behold ...

The exterior of the Bullock Hotel

The picture of Seth Bullock and the Rough Riders

#16 in the center is one Charles Calhoun

Bob at Mount Rushmore

After we left Deadwood, we hit up Mount Rushmore National Park.  The park leading up to the monument was all pretty overdone with marble and pillars.  I just wanted to see the heads of famous people carved into the side of a mountain.  It was pretty surreal and ranks up there with the Grand Canyon as something you have to see in person to understand the power of it's being.

After leaving Rushmore, we hit a bit of weather.  Severe thunderstorms ... all in perfect timing since that was when Alison decided she would do some driving.  Usually she's not too clear behind the wheel, but she did a good job getting us back to Lusk.  Once back in Lusk, we hit a small bar called The Pub.  We didn't get any pictures because it was one of those places where everyone knew you were from out of town and we didn't want to exacerbate that fact.  We did get a few funny looks, but after we sat down and had a few beers, we started to blend into the bar.  We also ordered burgers, which were by far the best burger I've had in a long time.  Wyoming is beef country and this was a hell of a burger.  I would like to attribute it to the freshness of the beef, but it was also well seasoned and the size of my face.  From what I recall it was a spicy-style burger, so it had peppers and all that goodness.  I don't think I've ever had a burger of that caliber in such an unsuspecting place.  Someone should take note.

Wyoming Adventure: Cody and Meeteetse

Cody, Wyoming ... where everyone's favorite cowboy, Buffalo Bill Cody, called home.

When we pulled into Cody after a long day wandering around Yellowstone, we drove right past this huge rodeo ground.  I guess it was the beginning of their Rodeo Days or something of that nature.  It looked pretty interesting, but we were pretty beat and opted to order a pizza and relax at our hotel.  Very exciting, right?

The next morning, we rolled into town.  Cody had the feel of an old town that had been gussied up a bit; given a new coat of paint and a shoe shining.  Not so much a tourist trap, but welcoming to the occasional out-of-towner.  A place where you could buy leather gun holsters, cowboy boots, lasso's and a Davey Crockett coon skin cap.  You could also go to the Buffalo Bill museum.

We did none of the above, but we did see a giant rifle and ate at the Irma Hotel, which was built by Buffalo Bill and named for his daughter.  The dining room is a large hall with an old fashioned tin metal roof that truly conjures up a picture in your mind of the real old west.  I debated ordering the Rocky Mountain Oysters, but I began to conjure up in my mind a bull sans his sack.  Instead we went with a few of their sandwiches.  Alison rolled with the BLT and I opted for a fried chicken sandwich.  Both excellent and both served with their delicious home-style potatoes.

This photo is very patriotic.

The front of the Irma.

There were lots of cool neon signs throughout town, this was the one outside the Irma.

The dining hall at the Irma.

Alison's BLT and A.

Bob's fried chicken sandwich.

After hanging out in Cody, it was time to head toward Worland where we were going to meet some of Alison's family.  Along the highway, there is a little town we came across called Meeteetse.  Calling it a 'little town' is quite an understatement.  I think the entire town consists of an old auto repair shop, the cowboy chocolatier shop (which we later found out is famous) and two bars.  Of course, we had to wet our whistles after a fifteen minute drive in no traffic at the Cowboy Bar and Cafe.

The building that houses the bar looks like a movie set at Knott's Berry Farm. Except for there are salty locals inside taking shots of Fireball instead of kids hopped up on funnel cake.  In addition to the interesting patrons, the inside of the bar also consists of an array of decorations that appear as if they haven't been moved in years. The beer was cold and we had a couple before heading on down the road to Worland where we saw some real cowboys.

The Cowboy Bar and the highway.

Looks like something from a movie set, right?

Pretty awesome signage.

Guns double as doorhandles.

I wish I was there right now.

I plan on taking interior design notes from this place.

This was the bar next door.  They had a drive-up window.

Alison wound up in jail, we couldn't afford bail.

Next stop was Worland where we met the family for a reunion.  There were a lot of people and I was a bit overwhelmed at first, but by the end of my three days hanging out with the family I think I had a handle on all of the names and relationships.

To say we drank a bits is an understatement.  The beer (American) flowed freely and everyone had a grand ol' time.  Highlights included a Roping exhibition, hanging out a bar called Gooses', driving ATV's in the middle of nowhere, fishin', porch sittin', happy hour by the crick (how you pronounce creek in Wyoming) and just being awesome.

Here's a few pictures from the mini-rodeo put on by the Bower family.

Eddie Spaghetti enjoying some rodeo snacks.

Cowboy Bob looking like he knows a thing or two about horsing around.

This is the skull of a bull that gored one of Alison's relatives.

Supposedly we ate the meat from that very bull one evening.

If you're into checking out more pictures from our trip, you can go here.

Next stop - Lusk, Wyoming.

Wyoming Adventures: Jackson Hole

Last month we embarked on an epic journey to the least populated state in the Union: beautiful and untamed Wyoming.  Alison's mom was born there and still has family there on both sides. One side of her family was having a family reunion.  We started our journey by flying into Utah and then heading up into Wyoming by way of Idaho.  First official stop in Wyoming was Jackson Hole.

A lot of elk were sacrificed to build this archway.

A few moose too.

Our first stop in the touristy town of Jackson Hole was the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar.  It was quiet since it was the middle of the day, but by the looks of it this joint has the potential to get pretty wild when in full swing.  They have bars along both walls and a bar in the back near a rather large stage.  The Cowboy Bar also makes the term 'saddle up to the bar' a reality by having actual saddles in place of bar stools.  Clever (but kind of uncomfortable) indeed.

Dig the signage!

Sitting in these was an odd feeling, but I don't really ride horses.

They had silver dollars built into the bar and their own brew.

After a cold one, we headed on over to the Silver Dollar Bar and Grill.  For whatever reason, many of the drinking and dining establishments in Wyoming either incorporate 'Silver Dollar', or 'Cowboy' into their names.

The Silver Dollar Bar and Grill is your usual hotel bar / restaurant, but does have a nice wrap around bar and a stage for live performances.  Since we were there for lunch the place was pretty quiet.  The beer was cold and the food was great, so no complaints here.  Alison ordered the most California thing on the menu and had a chicken wrap of some sort.  I, on the other hand, immediately got into the Wyoming spirit and had an Elk rib tip flat bread-style wrap.  I can't say that I'd ever had elk before, but this was pretty darn tasty.  Although I wonder if it would be considered cannibalism since I am an Elk's Lodge Member.  That was a stupid joke! 
 

  Alison's boring wrap.

Bob's awesome adventure Elk-meat wrap.

After lunch, we journeyed to Yellowstone National Forest where we saw Old Faithful, big, bad boy bison and other wildlife, as well as all kinds of exciting and beautiful scenery.  I don't think our food, drink and music blog is a place to write about all that, but if you'd like to check out some of the photos from that portion of the trip and the rest of our journey click here.

Next stop - Cody!