If you’ve ever wondered if time travel is possible, look no further. Buffalo, Wyoming holds a secret key to the past that only the wayward traveler gets to experience. This town is where the Wild West runs rampant — you can feel yourself step back in time the minute you step foot on Main Street.
To get there, be sure not to blink too fast while driving past it on I-25 because you just might miss it. It seems to be quite content resting in the shadow of its ritzier, big sister city Sheridan, Wyoming (just 36 miles to the north). The wide open spaces in front of and behind you will surely make you think you’re in the middle of nowhere. But that’s just the thing — you’re not in the middle of nowhere. You’re right at the base of the Bighorn Mountains and you have access to some of the best outdoor recreation in the entire state of Wyoming.
Buffalo’s “off-the-beaten-track” allure keeps the “on-the-beaten track” tourists at bay. It makes more room for those of us who want room to breathe and a whole new kind of experience that you can only find in Wyoming. I'm just fine keeping it that way.
Our most recent stay in Buffalo was a Friday night layover before embarking on a backpacking trip to Cloud Peak Wilderness. We wanted to show our out-of-towner friends from California what quintessential Wyoming is like without all the touristy hullaballoo. Boy, did we deliver.
The real coup-de-grace of our time in Buffalo was enjoying the evening at the Occidental Hotel and Saloon. Forget the Old West you’ve come to know from Hollywood. This was a remnant of the real thing.
My favorite thing about the Occidental (other than the lady bartender who's just as drunk as her patrons) is that the whole thing is fully restored to its Old West glory. Walking through the front doors is like being transported back in time — you can almost hear the player piano and smell the whiskey in the air. There are even gunshot holes still in the walls from the days when the West really was “wild.”
Aside from the booze, the best part of our visit to the saloon was the the Bittercreek Band. These guys play every Friday and Saturday night and are every bit as good as a professional band from Nashville. There’s never a cover and you can drink/eat yourself into a coma if you really want. And the local residents really know how to dance so it's worth the watching.
To get there, be sure not to blink too fast while driving past it on I-25 because you just might miss it. It seems to be quite content resting in the shadow of its ritzier, big sister city Sheridan, Wyoming (just 36 miles to the north). The wide open spaces in front of and behind you will surely make you think you’re in the middle of nowhere. But that’s just the thing — you’re not in the middle of nowhere. You’re right at the base of the Bighorn Mountains and you have access to some of the best outdoor recreation in the entire state of Wyoming.
Buffalo’s “off-the-beaten-track” allure keeps the “on-the-beaten track” tourists at bay. It makes more room for those of us who want room to breathe and a whole new kind of experience that you can only find in Wyoming. I'm just fine keeping it that way.
Our most recent stay in Buffalo was a Friday night layover before embarking on a backpacking trip to Cloud Peak Wilderness. We wanted to show our out-of-towner friends from California what quintessential Wyoming is like without all the touristy hullaballoo. Boy, did we deliver.
The real coup-de-grace of our time in Buffalo was enjoying the evening at the Occidental Hotel and Saloon. Forget the Old West you’ve come to know from Hollywood. This was a remnant of the real thing.
I bet in the Old Timey days people drank just as much whiskey as these two.
I wish I could say we stayed at the hotel but alas, summer is peak season so the prices were astronomical. Instead, we made our way to the saloon portion of the Occidental and put a pretty good dent in our trip budget with a helluva bar tab. But it was worth it.My favorite thing about the Occidental (other than the lady bartender who's just as drunk as her patrons) is that the whole thing is fully restored to its Old West glory. Walking through the front doors is like being transported back in time — you can almost hear the player piano and smell the whiskey in the air. There are even gunshot holes still in the walls from the days when the West really was “wild.”
Aside from the booze, the best part of our visit to the saloon was the the Bittercreek Band. These guys play every Friday and Saturday night and are every bit as good as a professional band from Nashville. There’s never a cover and you can drink/eat yourself into a coma if you really want. And the local residents really know how to dance so it's worth the watching.
People know how to get down and boogie in Buffalo.
All in all, the experience was a good reminder as to why we ditched the hullaballo of California for the down home goodness of Wyoming. I look forward to heading back to beautiful Buffalo again someday. Maybe next time we can get a taste of the “Bordello” room at the hotel and cap it off with a T-bone steak at the Virginian.
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