1,000 Places to See in the U.S.A. & Canada Before You Die (86 page)

Today, Saratoga’s famous hot springs are diverted into the so-called Hobo Pool, a large municipal soaking pool with an average temperature of 117 degrees that’s been free to all 24/7 since the Great Depression. When you weary of the pool’s steaming temperatures, slip into the adjacent North Platte, where the hot pool waters mingle with the river’s cooler flows.

The North Platte’s more than just a lovely spot for a soak: The river drops down through the canyons of the nearby Medicine Bow range (reached by the Snowy Range Scenic Byway, linking Saratoga to Laramie via the 10,847-foot Snowy Range Pass) and slows along the cottonwood-lined banks of Saratoga, where both brown and rainbow trout snap hungrily at hand-tied flies. Along this fabled blue-ribbon stretch of river, there are more than 2,500 trout per mile, all grown naturally without stocking from hatcheries.

Saratoga’s town center retains its frontier trappings. The 1915 Union Pacific Railroad Depot now houses the Saratoga Museum, with exhibits on the town’s history, and the 1893 redbrick Wolf Hotel is still in service. Have a seat on the front porch and watch the world go by, or treat yourself to a ranch-hand-size steak in the dining room, replete with Victoriana and pioneer-era furnishings.

For upscale lodging with a rustic flair, the more modern Saratoga Inn just outside town is the top choice, with a 9-hole golf course, spa, and hot mineral springs, including private tepee-covered soaking pools. Get back in the saddle at the venerable Brush Creek Guest Ranch, an old-time working cattle ranch that takes on just a handful of guests at a time for summer horseback riding and cattle driving. An Orvis-endorsed property, Branch also offers guided fly-fishing on private streams and local blue-ribbon rivers.

W
HERE
: 80 miles west of Laramie.
Visitor info:
Tel 307–326-8855;
www.saratogachamber.info
.
S
ARATOGA
M
USEUM
: Tel 307–326-5511.
When:
June–early Sept.
W
OLF
H
OTEL
: Tel 307–326-5525;
www.wolfhotel.com
.
Cost:
from $47; dinner $30.
S
ARATOGA
I
NN
: Tel 800–594-0178 or 307–326-5261;
www.saratogainn.com
.
Cost:
from $79 (off-peak), from $95 (peak).
B
RUSH
C
REEK
G
UEST
R
ANCH
: Tel 800–726-2499 or 307–327-5241;
www.brushcreekranch.com.
Cost:
$195 per person per day, includes meals and ranch activities; from $1,075 per person per week (off-peak), from $1,275 (peak).
When:
May–Oct.
B
EST TIME
: 3rd weekend of Aug for the official Wyoming Microbrewery competition and Taste of the West chili cook-off (
www.saratogachamber.info
).

A Ranching Capital of the Old West

Wyoming

Sheridan’s the kind of town that could be a cowboy open-air museum if it weren’t so full of life—and it always has been. With the towering Bighorn Mountains standing sentinel in the west and prairie rolling to the east
, Sheridan was in the right place when the range opened for cattle grazing in the 1880s, and later, when strip mines unearthed the massive coal deposits of the nearby Powder River Basin. The railroad arrived in 1892, providing a way in for prosperous gentlemen ranchers from Britain and the East—who set a refined standard not often found in the West, then or now—and a way out for grass-fattened beef, and a few decades later, coal.

The city’s early affluence and sophistication, combined with rugged ranch charm, still define Sheridan. Take polo, for instance—not exactly a typical Marlboro Man sport, but played just south of town at the Big Horn Equestrian Center, home of the oldest polo club west of the Mississippi (introduced by early English cattle barons).

The Sheridan Inn, modeled after a Scottish hunting lodge and considered the finest hotel between Chicago and San Francisco when it opened in 1893, was known as the “House of 69 Gables” for its abundant dormer windows. The Wyoming Rib and Chop House operates on the inn’s main floor—it’s a great place for lunch, a cold beer, and a wander around the very Western lobby to peruse old photos. The Sheridan closed as an inn in 1965, but a full renovation of the guest rooms is scheduled for completion in 2008.

Sheridan’s Main Street, lined with beautifully maintained redbrick-and-sandstone storefronts that sprouted up during the late 1800s heyday, is now a curious mix of old-fashioned saloons, upscale art galleries, cowboy-chic home decor boutiques, and Western clothing stores. If you’re beginning to like the look of pearl-snap shirts and boot-cut jeans, here’s the chance for you (and the horse you rode in on) to cowboy up at King’s Saddlery, a town fixture since the 1940s. This local saddle maker has been providing saddles, bridles, saddle blankets, ropes, spurs, and tack to both international equestrians and local cowhands for generations. Walk to the back of the store, past a station where saddle makers sit hand-tooling leather, to King’s Western Museum, a fascinating collection of erstwhile saddles and saddle-making equipment, Indian artifacts, and mementos from old Western films.

Dude ranches are another part of Sheridan’s heritage: Two of the oldest, most respected and laid-back guest ranches in the U.S. are found in the Bighorn foothills. The oldest is Eatons’ Ranch on Wolf Creek; its roots go back to 1879. This 7,000-acre ranch is the genuine article—a time-honored, family-oriented outfit with handsome old ranch buildings, cozy log cabins, and over 220 horses.

The nation’s second-oldest guest ranch is south in the community of Saddlestring: the HF Bar, another easygoing dude ranch that’s long on Western tradition but short on regimented structure. For a week, you’ll call a vintage log cabin home, get your own horse, and have the freedom to explore 10,000 acres of Bighorn valleys and foothills. The meals are delicious, and anglers will appreciate the Orvis fly shop.

W
HERE
: 130 miles south of Billings, MT.
Visitor info:
Tel 307–673-7120;
www.sheridanwyoming.org
.
B
IG
H
ORN
E
QUESTRIAN
C
ENTER
: Tel 607–673-0454.
When:
polo matches Sun in summer.
S
HERIDAN
I
NN
: Tel 307–674-5440;
www.sheridaninn.com
.
W
YOMING
R
IB
& C
HOP
H
OUSE
: Tel 307–673-4700.
Cost:
dinner $30.
K
ING’S
S
ADDLERY
: Tel 307–672-2702;
www.kingssaddlery.com
.
When:
closed Sun.
E
ATONS’
R
ANCH
: Tel 800–210-1049 or 307–655-9285;
www.eatonsranch.com
.
Cost:
from $160 per person (off-peak), from $195 per person (peak), includes meals and ranch activities.
When:
open June–Sept.
HF B
AR
R
ANCH
: Tel 307–684-2487;
www.hfbar.com
.
Cost:
$240 per person per day, includes meals and activities.
When:
open May–Sept.
B
EST TIMES
: June–Sept for weather; 3rd weekend in June for Buffalo Bill Days (
www.buffalobilldays.org
); mid-July for Sheridan PRCA Rodeo (
www.sheridanwyorodeo.com
); early Sept for Don King Days Old West Rodeo plus polo tournament.

Ghostly Birthplace of Women’s Suffrage

Wyoming

South Pass was the magic portal between the American East and West in the mid-1800s, a natural gap in the Continental Divide through which settlers could guide their covered wagons and dream of a new life on the other side
. Although the Rockies pass was high (7,550 feet), the approaches were gentle and wide, allowing a nearly level route between the Atlantic and Pacific watersheds. Nearly a half-million pioneers rumbled across the West on the 19th century’s Oregon, California, and Mormon trails, and all of them traversed the South Pass.

When prospector Henry Reedal discovered gold here in 1867, rip-roaring South Pass City grew up overnight to address the needs of prospectors and the cardsharps, dance-hall girls, and merchants who fed off them. Within a year it boasted a bustling downtown, with six general stores, two breweries, five hotels, dozens of saloons, and a population of 4,000, making it then the largest settlement in Wyoming. But the deposits depleted quickly, and the prospectors rushed off toward the next glittering stream. By 1872, the town was all but abandoned.

Today, South Pass City, a state historic site and one of the most intact frontier ghost towns in the American West, has been carefully restored. Many of the town’s original buildings are open for viewing, including saloons, cabins, a general store, and a small mine. In summer, the dusty streets and boardwalks bustle with actors and merchants in period costumes; you may even get a chance to hone your gold-panning skills. Just down the road, the old mining town of Atlantic City is a degree or two less of what you’d call a ghost town, with a few more services, such as Miner’s Delight Inn, housed in a log hotel dating from 1895, and Atlantic City Mercantile, an excellent place for a steak dinner in 19th-century digs.

Perhaps the most remarkable thing about South Pass is its role in women’s suffrage. When Wyoming’s territorial government first met, South Pass saloon keeper and territorial representative William H. Bright introduced a women’s suffrage bill. It passed and was signed into law in 1869, making Wyoming the first state or territory granting women the vote, 51 years before the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution secured this right for women throughout the nation. South Pass City also boasts the first female Justice of the Peace. In 1870, Esther Hobart Morris was appointed by the Sweetwater County Commissioners as Justice of the Peace for South Pass City, effectively making her the first woman judge in the world.

W
HERE
: 177 miles west of Casper. Tel 307–332-3684;
www.southpasscity.com
.
When:
site grounds open year-round, weather permitting; exhibit buildings and visitors center open mid-May–Oct.
M
INER’S
D
ELIGHT
I
NN
: Atlantic City. Tel 307–332-0248;
www.minersdelightinn.com
Cost:
from $65.
A
TLANTIC
C
ITY
M
ERCANTILE
: Atlantic City. Tel 307–332-5143.
Cost:
dinner $25.
B
EST TIME
: last weekend of July for Gold Rush Days, with old-time music, costume contests, and a baseball tournament.

Wyoming’s Rocky Mountain High

Wyoming

The Wind River Mountains are Wyoming’s highest and most rugged range, stretching along the Continental Divide for 100 miles of high-altitude splendor, holding all but one of Wyoming’s 15 tallest peaks, including the
loftiest, 13,804-foot Gannett Peak. Considered by many to be the top backcountry hiking and climbing destination in Wyoming, the Wind River Mountains offer 700 miles of trails to high-country lakes, alpine meadows, glacier-carved cirques, and towering granite pinnacles. Three different wilderness areas protect the Wind River high country, with turretlike alps visible for over 100 miles from the state’s sagebrush rangeland. The range’s most popular destination is the Cirque of the Towers, a semicircle of 12,000-foot crags around Lonesome Lake at the headwaters of the North Fork Popo Agie River. It’s not a magnificence to be taken for granted; reached by a strenuous 17-mile back-country trail, the Cirque can only be accessed through the 10,800-foot Jackass Pass.

Most travelers settle for more distant views of the Wind River Mountains. The Centennial Scenic Byway, which extends from Dubois to Moran Junction near Grand Teton National Park (see p. 667) and south to Pinedale in the Green River valley, essentially rings the northern Wind River Mountains, offering a “best of” tour of Wyoming’s mountain landscapes. Between the 1820s and ’40s, the Green River valley was a center of fur-trapping activity, and
mountain men gathered in the Pinedale area for “rendezvous,” at which trappers, local Indians, and early traders exchanged furs, bought supplies for the coming season, and socialized. Each July, the Green River Rendezvous re-creates the high spirits of an 1830s encampment with music, lectures, and buffalo burgers, plus a pageant that brings together grizzled enthusiasts who play mountain men, Native Americans, missionaries, and other characters of the early West.