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Trail through the Cowboy State
American Cowboy Magazine, April 2002
by Sam Morton
Reprinted with permission

It’s a state with fewer people than the Lexington, KY, metro area, and counties bigger than the state of Rhode Island. Wyoming is where the West never went away This was the home of the Arapaho, Shoshone, Sioux, and Cheyenne Indians. Hot springs, geological wonders, rivers, and glaciers punctuate the vast grasslands and mountains where buffalo, antelope, elk, bighorn sheep, mule deer, and whitetail deer graze. The Big Horns, Rockies, Wind River Range, and Tetons rise up to feed trout streams and rivers below with clear waters from melted mountain snow.

Wyoming is a place to relax and take time to feel things as well as see them. The first thing you’ll realize when you arrive in Wyoming is that the air is so clear that you can see country at distances that you won’t believe. The Wyoming sky at night is ablaze with stars and puts on such a celestial show that on most evenings one can glimpse a shooting star with little difficulty. The aroma of mountain pine and prairie sagebrush paints a sensation on your brain, awakening the awareness that you are surrounded by nature predominantly untouched by man. There is hardly a spot in the state where you cannot walk for 30 minutes and not be in total solitude with nature. This is why Wyoming attracts—because it is the last of the West in all its glory mostly unchanged since the time of the free roaming horsemen, the Crow, the Sioux, and the Cheyenne. And to see it best, just take this tour that follows, guaranteed to get you around honest-to-good-ness ranchers, cowboys, cowgirls, and lots of wild game.

There is an old story that a dude, waking up on his first day in the West, arose in Sheridan and was so captivated by the sight of the Big Horn Mountains nearby that he decided to hike over to them before breakfast. Spurred on by the clearest, cleanest air he had ever drawn a breath of, he came upon a cowboy riding across a huge meadow. The cowboy inquired of the traveler’s destination.

"I’m going to hike up the mountains before breakfast," the dude said, whereupon the cowboy replied, "You’ll enjoy your breakfast when you get it because it’s 18 miles there and 18 back."

About an hour later the dude came upon an irrigation ditch, stripped down, and indulged himself in a brisk bath surrounded by nothing but nature. The cowboy appeared again and asked what he was doing. "Taking a bath in this river," the dude said. "If those mountains are 18 miles away, this must be the Missouri."

History

Northern Wyoming was ruled by Sioux and Cheyenne tribes less than 130 years ago. The Big Horn Mountains region, with its abundant game and fish, was the land the hard resisting tribes of the plains fought so tenaciously to keep. This was the last area settled in the lower 48 states. Its beauty and lack of commercial development make it the gem of the state.

Fort Phil Kearny is right on your way, located just off 1-35 between Sheridan and Buffalo, at the foot of the Big Horn Mountains. In 1866, a decoy band of braves led 80 pursuing soldiers out and away from the fort and into an ambush. More than 1,000 Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho warriors came out of hiding, wiping out the detachment in what became known as the Fetterman Massacre. As you stand where the fighting occurred, viewing the ravines from which the warriors poured forth, the feeling is eerie. The attack was masterminded by Sioux chief Red Cloud and led to other setbacks that would culminate in the abandonment of the fort, which warriors torched before the soldiers had gotten out of sight.

The 17-acre fort itself was the last of the stockaded military posts in the country. In its brief and bloody history; three battles were fought between the soldiers stationed there and Plains Indian warriors. Meanwhile, Nelson Story pioneered the first cattle drive from Texas past the fort, and the most legendary of the mountain men, Jim Bridger, served here as a guide and scout. Call ahead (307-684-7629) to arrange your guided tour of the fort grounds and battlefield. Superintendent Sonny Reisch is a noted historian who can put the area’s history in perspective.

From the fort, wind your way into the mountains to nearby Story, Wyo., which is a hidden treat. Deer wander the streets in this small, picturesque artist’s community, which hosts your lunch stop at the Waldorf A Story deli in the Piney Creek General Store. This may he the best food in the state. Diners pour their own coffee and sit under a tin roof in the back cabin room, where everything from jars of pennies to tin soldiers are cemented in the river-rock wall. The best part is the food, which features homemade breads, soups, and other hearty fare fit to fill up a lumberjack.

For a nap and a hot tub, right up the road is the Wagon Box Inn, where you can rent a cabin next to a creek hidden in the pines, complete with outdoor Jacuzzi and the best prime rib in the county The Wagon Box battlefield is 20 minutes away and a great place to watch deer, elk, and antelope an hour after sunset. The alfalfa field in front of Sheridan College usually boasts a band of antelope right off the road.

Shopping

Main street Sheridan, Wyo., is not only filled with Western wear shops and art galleries, but King’s Saddlery has its own museum and should not be missed for its rope and saddle selection, or its cowboy portraits and artifacts. The town is a beautiful tribute to turn-of-the-century architecture with its stone and brick storefronts. The Bozeman Trail Gallery adjoins King’s and displays works by big-name artists. For something less pricey, next door is Sheridan Stationery, with its arrays of area photograph books and extensive offerings on local history. A unique little gift shop is located in The Historic Sheridan Inn, which has played host to a queen and two presidents. It’ll make the perfect place for your lunch as well.

Saddle up

Up the mountain from the small town of Big Horn, you’ll enjoy a six-hour horseback ride over the primitive area of the Big Horn mountains at Spear-O-Wigwam. The wilderness camp features spring beds, private tents with wood stoves, and a sauna. Once in camp, you’re only a day’s ride to glacier lakes and waterfalls, as well as streams teeming with brown, rainbow, lake, and golden trout. There’s usually a moose that grazes nearby and pine martins sometimes drop in for snacks. Elk and coyotes can be heard at night while you’re sitting at the campfire. Seasoned guide Terry Punt bakes pies and bread on a woodstove, the food is better than at the Ritz, and the ranch sends one group at a time so you’ll have the camp to yourself. Spear-O-Wigwam, the ranch, is where Hemingway wrote while enjoying the area. This is the most pristine, unspoiled camp in the West. You will revel in majesty of the snow-capped mountains surrounding the camp and you will retreat to the sauna after a refreshing dip in Kearney Creek that flows from the melted Old Faithful Geyser is a short glaciers above. Hikes to walk away from the historic Old the high country are avail- Faithful Lodge in Yellowstone, able for every level of climber. After a few days you won’t want to go home. Make reservations early.

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