Why visit Wyoming? WYO not?

We wanted to see a REAL rodeo. And Cody Wyoming is the Rodeo Capitol of the World. So we grabbed our boots, we figured we would buy hats in the biggest and most famous western wear store in Casper, and forged our own trail west.

Well…we are already west…we really had to head north and then a bit west. We were really excited and had built up some huge expectations. But as you know, when you build up those expectations…

The plan was to go to Casper, stay a night and experience an old western town, go on to Thermopolis, and spend a night at the home of the world’s largest hot springs, and then head to Cody for a couple of nights at the site of the Cody Nite Rodeo and the Rodeo Capital of the World.

Not much different than the other states in these parts, there are long stretches of interstate but even longer stretches of state highways with a lot of “nothing but vast land” in every direction, in between mountains and plateaus, as far as you can see.

We decided to veer off I-25 and jump on I-80 west at Cheyenne to see the “Highway to Heaven” section of I-80 and then jump on to US 30 (the very same US 30 that starts in Atlantic City, New Jersey and runs through Lancaster, PA) at Laramie to pass through the town of Medicine Bow.

The Highway to Heaven is located on I-80 in Wyoming, specifically between Cheyenne and Laramie, stretching from mile marker 6 to mile marker 28.

WRONG!!! That’s what you will find when you search on Google…that’s what AI will tell you. But as Marisa Tomei once said, “The defense is wrong…” Google…AI…is incorrect. We found that out.

The actual “Highway to Heaven” is located far west of that area…between the cities of Evanston and Lyman, stretching from around mile marker 6 to mile marker 28…close to the Utah border.

So the mile markers are correct, but the cities and the side of the state are completely wrong. The mile markers for Cheyenne and Laramie are 359 and 323 respectively…close to the Nebraska border.

Discovering that we were provided erroneous information for the Highway to Heaven was Disappointment No. 1.

So we drove off of I-25 and 20+ extra miles…to see what? But we DID want to see the town of Medicine Bow. You’ve heard of it, right?

Medicine Bow is a small town in Carbon County along US 30 and US 287, at the intersection of county road 487, and sits at an elevation of 6,563 feet with a population of 245.

Medicine Bow was made famous by the 1902 novel The Virginian by author Owen Wister. It was also a main railroad depot along the western route and has been the site of a number of discoveries of dinosaur fossils.

The Virginian Hotel (named for the novel, obviously) is still operating and there is a museum across the way. But it definitely looks like the town has seen some better days.

And that seems to be the theme as we drove on the “local” roadways and meandered through small towns and enclaves, a lot of which seemed to be on life support, and others that had NO life support, they just looked completely abandoned.

First stop on our trail was Casper, Wyoming

We arrived in Casper early on Thursday evening. We checked into the Ramkota Hotel which is really like a mini-resort right off of I-25. They have restaurants, conference rooms, small auditorium, and an indoor water park. Well, not really a water “park,” more like a very large indoor pool with some fun accompaniments, but a family could spend some time there without leaving the premises.

There was nothing really open in downtown Casper, it seemed odd but it was after 5 p.m., so we took a ride a few exits away and enjoyed a nice dinner at FireRock Steakhouse. Melissa had a great steak and Alan had a great piece of salmon. Of course.

We headed back to downtown Casper to see what was happening and get some pictures. Nothing was happening. It was dead. Nothing was open. A few individuals walking about aimlessly, but no hustling, no bustling. I THOUGHT this was a tourist destination and the beginning of a holiday weekend. Maybe everyone is resting up getting ready for the big holiday celebration the next day?

The next morning we went back downtown again to have breakfast at Eggington’s, which serves breakfast, brunch, and lunch. A really diverse menu at really great prices, and the food AND service were both great as well.

After breakfast, we took a walk around the downtown area. It was easy to take pictures because there was nobody around. The stores, on a Friday, were closed. True, it was 4^th of July, but it was a Saturday and, again, isn’t this a tourist destination? And nothing is open?

The main establishment we had wanted to venture into was Lou Taubert Ranch Outfitters, which was opened in 1919 and has nine floors of everything western you can imagine. People come from far and wide to shop at this place. But after over 100 years in business, Lou and his family can make their own hours and stay home on a holiday if they want. And they do. We didn’t get an opportunity to explore the place, traveling in either direction, we missed out.

The lack of really anything to see in downtown Casper was Disappointment No. 2.

We did, however, get a chance to visit the National Historic Trails interpretive Center. It’s a must-see if you have any interest in history at all, and how the people made their way west along some of the famous trails – the Oregon Trail, the California Trail, the Pony Express Trail, the Mormon Trail – all which passed through this part of the country.

As a long-time non-profit person, I was truly impressed with the structure, the elements, and the absolute quality of execution of the displays and information.

The interactive features were very well done, especially the covered wagon ride across the river. If you have a bad back, you may not want to take the “ride.” But it was very much like the simulator-type experience of Star Tours at Walt Disney World if you have ever tried that attraction.

Next stop on our trail would be Thermopolis, to the world’s largest mineral hot springs

That 132 miles stretch on US 20 shares the pavement with US 26 for about 100 miles to Shoshoni and was somewhat boring, somewhat interesting, and somewhat perplexing.

One of the first towns we passed through was Natrona, about 30 miles outside of Casper, which is unincorporated and now uninhabited, and did actually have a post office until 1984, yet still has a zip code. There are some structures that look like they have long been abandoned.

Next up was Powder River. There again were some structures still standing, including the post office which has been operating, reportedly, since 1904. While not posted on any sign, the population was last reported to be 30, although there were no real signs of life in the town at all.

The town was, at some point, popular because of the nearby Powder River and the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad Depot that was completed in 1910, the remains of which still exist as it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Although you would be hard-pressed to realize it’s there, we passed it twice thinking it to be just another decaying structure on the side of the road.

Halfway between Powder River and Walton is a unique geological feature called Hell’s Half Acre.

The geologic oddity is composed of deep ravines, caves, rock formations, and hard-packed eroded earth. Indigenous tribes used the ravines to drive thousands of bison over the cliffs during their hunts. This location was also used as the fictional planet of Klendathu in the movie Starship Troopers.

If you aren’t looking for it, you’ll miss it. There’s fencing around it as it appears that they are doing some work where the ground may have been unstable. But you can still get a great panoramic view.

Another booming town along the way was Hiland, elevation at 5,998 feet and population…10. Now we didn’t see anyone, but apparently they are there…someplace.

Moving along, we came upon the town of Shoshoni. Shoshoni reminded us of the town of Trona, California, a once booming town that suddenly lost its lustre. Shoshoni is at a major intersection where US 26 breaks off from US 20.

US 20 makes a hard right turn and goes north through the Boysen State Park and the Wind River Indian Reservation, along the Wind River and through a beautiful canyon for approximately 20 miles. Multiple breathtaking picture spots. The ride along the river alone was worth the ride. But you have to wonder what is going on with these towns.

Boysen State Park is a much-visited spot for campers and RV’s on the way to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. So why is the nearest town of Shoshoni – the “Gateway to the Wind River Canyon” – such a downtrodden area? That main intersection at one point had thriving businesses on all four corners. Now, three corners are abandoned and/or decrepit and the one still operating is a fuel station and convenience store that looks like it is barely hanging on.

Shoshoni once had a thriving water intensive mushroom processing plant. However, after troubles with the labor from the local prisons, issues with the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, and the Department of Homeland Security for accessing illegal labor, the plant was sold and purchased by a foreign overseas entity in 2020.

The current population is listed at 495 residents. Booming. For perspective, the nearby Wind River Indian Reservation has a population of nearly 26,000.

Thermopolis was supposed to be our next stay. We stopped, but didn’t stay.

Thermopolis, which is Greek for “hot city,” is said to be the site of the largest mineral hot spring in the world. It is in Hot Springs County and the home of Hot Springs State Park.

The Park has three places where you can submerge yourself in the hot waters – Hellie’s Tepee Pool & Spa, Star Plunge, and the bath house. We actually did not see anyone utilizing the facilities.

We had lunch at Safari in the Hot Springs Hotel and Spa which is within the Park’s grounds, as is a hospital and assisted living facility. Oh, and there is a road that circles around the Park that is a wild bison viewing area and you can, if you are lucky, spot wild bison roaming or resting on the hillsides.

We saw the White Sulphur Spring, we saw the Black Sulphur Spring, dipped our hands in the hot water…eh…felt good. OK, we’ve had enough…time to move on. There really wasn’t much there except maybe the Wyoming Dinosaur Center. But we figured we went there for the mineral hot springs and, compared to an earlier trip to Glenwood Springs in Colorado, this was a huge disappointment.

The lack of “utilization” I’ll say of the mineral hot springs would be Disappointment No. 3.

Cody was the ultimate destination on our trail and is the Rodeo Capital of the World

We got to “enjoy” a real live western rodeo, but not before “suffering” what the locals call the Wyoming Windshield.

The Wyoming Windshield apparently is a well-known phrase used by locals that refers to the phenomenon caused by the  State’s challenging driving conditions on roads that are compromised by notoriously high winds and extreme weather conditions that cause loose and fractured gravel that all too often gets kicked up and becomes airborne inevitably leading to chipped and cracked windshields.

County road 120 shoots off US 20 and is a direct route from Thermopolis northwest straight into Cody, about 83 miles.

We were not many miles outside of Cody, a few miles east of a small town of Meeteetsee, about 30 miles from Cody. As there was a lot of “nothing but vast land” everywhere, we were looking for wildlife on either side of the highway – wild horses, bison, anything really. Every so often Melissa would spot an antelope a ways off the road, most of the time just laying by itself.

Then, while doing 80 miles an hour, Melissa screamed and grabbed my arm, “STOP!!!” A huge male antelope, standing on the opposite side of the road, decided to race out in front of me. I was able to slightly hit the brakes while veering ever so slightly into the other lane as no other vehicles were anywhere in sight. We truly JUST missed the thing and we were really relieved that it became a non-incident.

Very soon after, we came upon a black SUV a short ways in front of us, which was clearly traveling well under the posted speed limit.

I saw the truck ahead as we closed the distance between us and I also saw the missile (that’s what it looked like in my mind anyway) coming straight for us on the passenger side, I heard it hit, but didn’t see it hit. Because it somehow found the very small area just under the wiper blade.

I asked Melissa if she saw it. She didn’t. “You don’t see that?” I asked.

“See what?” she asked.

But there it was. And I pointed to it.

“Oh, there’s a small scratch.” She said.

“Melissa, that’s not a small ‘scratch,’ that’s a ‘crack’ that is spreading.” And I was admittedly kinda panicking. I was afraid that the crack, which moved kinda quickly already, would move all the way to my side, impede my visibility, and make it impossible for me to drive.

It was a Friday, but it was a Friday that was the 4^th of July so it was the first day of a holiday weekend. We had a cracked windshield and no hotel reservations.

Obviously the cracked windshield would be Disappointment No. 4

Melissa scrambled to get a motel, an old roadside motor lodge, close to the center of town. It was clean. It was…clean.

I tried to find an emergency glass business. Again, it was Friday, the 4^th of July. But that’s why they are called “emergency” glass replacement, no? I called two places that we found online. No answer but I left a message with my phone number. I quickly joined the Cody Wyoming Facebook page and posted a picture and asked for recommendations. The two businesses I had already called were suggested on the post and two others that people tagged didn’t answer the phone.

I researched online and, having had a similar problem years ago, I knew I could use clear nail polish or super glue as a temporary fix. However, I also knew that we were 500 miles from home and driving 80 miles per hour in a high wind area when pieces of gravel are constantly getting kicked up could, potentially, completely shatter the windshield, or at minimum, spread even further, impeding my line of sight and ability to drive.

Not only that, there is no guarantee that any establishment will have a windshield in stock and it could take days to get one delivered. I was a tad concerned. Melissa? “What time are the fireworks?”

We went to dinner at the Irma Hotel, the very hotel named for the daughter of Buffalo Bill Cody. The place is a real throwback and right in line with the theme of the Old West. The menu had some local offerings, the food was great, and the service couldn’t be better.

And we enjoyed observing the locals, as people were dressed “appropriately” and we stuck out like two sore thumbs? I mean we have boots but we have yet to acquire hats. We have not yet assimilated.

Fireworks…nope they didn’t start until 10:30 p.m. The skies don’t get completely dark until very late when you are so far west in the time zone. And we were exhausted. So we went back to the motel and listened to the fireworks as we dozed off to sleep.

We got up early and drove to the Jeep dealer to find it closed on a Saturday. A mechanic was working on his collectible Chevy Bel Air in the garage and was only too happy to show it to me while telling me that “everyone is closed in these parts. It’s not like your city that you come from.” OK, well, he also said that while he is not a body or glass person, he was doubting that the windshield would collapse or completely shatter. Unless I got hit with another piece of gravel that hits just right. Then I have to worry. Great.

We were kinda hungry so we got breakfast at a place called Roosters a few steps down from the motel. And then we made a stop at the visitor center to get information, but also to ask about getting the windshield repaired. After all, they deal with people who are just passing through. I was given two businesses. I was able to leave a message with one.

We then walked around town and checked out the local shops hoping to get a couple of cowboy hats. Whatever we liked didn’t fit, and whatever fit, didn’t look good and everything was so expensive. For us the hats are a novelty. For the people in the area, it’s a part of the culture.

That culture still includes manners and courtesies that you don’t ever see anywhere else. Sir. Ma’am. Men taking off their hats in the presence of a woman. And it’s “Howdy” wherever you go, whomever you see.

Across from the Irma Hotel is Annie’s, an old-fashioned soda fountain shop with all kinds of great sodas. And we just couldn’t resist.

Then we made our way to the Old Trail Town which has buildings and exhibits on the very site where Bill Cody first established the town. The structures and artifacts had been moved to the location to set up the little village, and it was a great insight into how the town may have looked when it began looking over the canyon now called Coulter’s Hell.

We took a drive to the Buffalo Bill Dam up the Shoshone River. The dam was completed in 1910 and formed what is now known as the Buffalo Bill Reservoir. It was originally called Shoshone Dam but was renamed in 1946 to honor Bill Cody for his endeavors to develop and irrigate the lands of the Bighorn Basin to make them more fertile.

The weather started getting a bit stormy. So we headed back to town and had a barbecue dinner at Bubba’s BBQ. It was OK but a little disappointed in the lack of choices of BBQ sauces and while there was a salmon entrée for me, the menu was a bit sparse, and the food was just eh.

But it was then time for what we really came for…the Cody Nite Rodeo! That’s what we drove 500 miles to see.

We had just missed the Cody Stampede Rodeo which is a professional event that takes place annually on the 4^th of July. The Cody Nite Rodeo is an amateur nightly event that features local talent of all ages…including young children.

We were a bit surprised by what we saw and heard. The words from the PA announcer, the corny and inappropriate jokes from the rodeo clowns were truly cringe-worthy. Forget about decade, but do they know what century we are in? That being said, everyone was so NICE and PLEASANT. There was no chaos, no drinking to get shit-faced (there was a separate area designated for buying, and drinking, alcohol), it was truly a wonderful family-oriented, family-friendly event.

And as it would turn out, the family sitting directly in front of us had one of their sons, riding a young bull in the kids’ division of the bull-riding event. Well, he was in the pen and ready to go and then didn’t. And when he came back up to the viewing area, and his mom asked him what happened, he totally broke down and lost it. It was so sad.

I just give him credit for being in the pen and sitting on the damn thing. I saw those bulls jumping around and I would not get on one of them. I have sciatic issues. Yes. That’s it. I have sciatic issues.

The skill and courage of ALL of the people – men, women, children – who rode the horses, the bulls, and roped the calves…it was all just an amazing two hours.

There was an event where they brought all kids under the age of 12 down into the arena. About a hundred kids. And there were two calves with red flags. The kids were in there for a chance to grab one of the flags. And….GO! It was a free for all. But the kids were great and the calves gave them a real run for their money. Those kids were going to sleep well that night.

While most people would want to see bull riding and watch people get thrown from a kicking steer, our favorite event was the women’s barrel race, watching the skill of the riders racing out and rounding each of the three barrels and galloping back. It was just amazing and hugely impressive.

If there were a few disappointments along the way, the Cody Nite Rodeo made up for it. A huge applause to all of the people we had the absolute privilege of watching and sharing the night with.

Next day it was back at Irma’s for the buffet breakfast, and then coffee across the street at Rawhide Coffee where, apparently, all of the locals go for their morning brew.

I wanted to stop in at the Wyoming Highway Patrol to get some input on taking the chance on driving with a cracked windshield on desolate highways 500 miles from home, most of which have no cell service along the way.

The GPS pointed to an address, behind a gas station, that turned out to be a two-car garage. But then, I saw the sign, in the window of a unit in a strip mall next to a coin laundromat. And there WAS a trooper’s vehicle parked off to the side. But when I looked in the window, it actually looked like nobody had been there in weeks…maybe months…perhaps it wasn’t being used any longer?

So I decided, despite Melissa’s eye-rolling, to go to the Cody Police Station. The dispatch officer heard the trepidation in my voice and kindly offered to come out and look at the windshield. He assured me that there was a 90% chance that the windshield wouldn’t get any worse…unless something hit it again. Then all bets are off. Seems like I heard that before. But he did say he thought it shouldn’t be a problem and that we SHOULD make it home without incident.

OK…we’re superglued…let’s do this. If a kid could ride a bucking bronco or a crazed kicking steer…

But first we wanted to see some wild horses. So before heading back on 120, we cruised east of Cody along the shared road of US 14/US 16/US 20 or more commonly known as Wild Horse Highway in the McCullough Peaks Wild Horse Management Area. We were informed that the wild horses can be seen hanging around a gate around mile marker 72. Well we DIDN’T see any horses but we DID find the remnants of some wildlife out there… and it looked just like those old bones in the desert in the old Bugs Bunny cartoons.

So we headed back the way we came and again passed through all of those small towns that we had passed through before. And you know what? Nothing changed since we had last visited.

We made a stop back in Thermopolis and had some lunch at One Eyed Buffalo and I, believe it or not, had a lobster roll. A LOBSTER ROLL. I couldn’t resist but maybe I should have. I asked prior to ordering but ordered it anyway – it was a lobster SALAD made with a ton of mayonnaise and sour cream. I’m sorry, but they should NOT be serving lobster in landlocked back country western Wyoming. Nope…they should not.

Here’s disappointment No. 5

As nice and pleasant and cordial as everyone was, I have to make a point to say…that NOT ONE of the glass businesses ever called me back, or even contacted me after having been tagged on the Facebook post…NOT ONE. You have to wonder if they don’t need the business, they don’t care enough about the business, they don’t care enough about the party in the bind, or life is just so slow-placed and laid back that it urgency doesn’t resonate with the people in these parts?

I must have had these thoughts out loud once too many times because Melissa just didn’t want to hear it anymore. “We’re FINE!”

Melissa wanted to make one last pass around Hot Springs State Park just for the heck of it and see what we could see. And we did see some wild bison hanging about…and there were actually more bison than people.

Well…Wyoming is the least populated state in the U.S. THAT’S WHY! Oops…gotta run…they’re here to replace my Wyoming Windshield.