Hello Everyone,
Greetings from America’s Dairyland. When I left you last week, I had no plan to be in Wisconsin quite this quickly, but once I got rolling, I just kept rolling. I took advantage of the cool of the early mornings to drive and then tried to make the most of my afternoons wherever I landed. Even though the name of the game this week was to drive towards home, it’s actually been a pretty great week on the road. I was sad to pass through South Dakota so quickly, but I will definitely be back when it’s cooler and I’m ready to really dive into it. Temperature-wise, it’s significantly cooler out here, but once I crossed the Missouri River the humidity started to increase with each passing mile. But it’s still cooler at the end of the day and that is making a huge difference after too many hot weeks out west. Now that I’m back on the eastern side of the Mississippi River and now that my brain isn’t frying every time I step outside, I feel like I’m in a better place mentally. My van did exceptionally well this week and it seemed much happier to be moving in the cool of the morning as well. All told, it was smooth sailing. While I didn’t get to see as much of Montana, Wyoming or South Dakota as I had hoped and planned for this summer, I was grateful for what I did see and will return another time for the rest. Now that I’m somewhere cooler, I will be able to slow down for a bit and see some friends and family before I make that last run for home. It may be cooler here, but it’s still blazing hot in D.C. so while I’m headed that way I’m not in a huge rush to get there at the moment. So let’s get into what I did see and do this last week as I made my way east.
When I left you last week, I was in the old coal mining town of Gillette, Wyoming. Gillette is not Wyoming’s biggest town and certainly not its prettiest, but it was nice enough for the night and the people were friendly. I had booked a Harvest Hosts stay at the Big Lost Meadery right in the heart of downtown Gillette and it was an excellent place to stay. Wednesday was bingo night, so I settled in to enjoy a couple of glasses of mead and try my luck. There weren’t too many people there, but there were obviously some regulars who come to play every week. One group had a very long basset hound which was absolutely adorable. I didn’t win a single game, but I enjoyed being there. After they wound up for the night, I wandered around downtown for a bit, but there wasn’t much happening so I called it a night and got a good night’s sleep.
Hello Everyone!
It’s been another hot week out here on the road in central Wyoming. July is historically the hottest month in both Wyoming and Montana, but this summer has brought record temperatures to both. Daytime temperatures are once again nearing 100° out here, but thankfully it’s been cooling off enough in the evenings to sleep in my van. I’ve been up and out early most days to get my driving done before it gets ridiculous out and have definitely been trying to scout out some shade whenever possible. Despite the heat, I’ve had an interesting week out here exploring some of central Wyoming’s small towns and what they have to offer. I also spent some time on the Wind River Reservation this week, home to the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapahoe Indians. Wyoming is the least populated state in the country and it’s definitely not hard to imagine that out here. Big lettered towns on the map are relative and mean that these are big towns for Wyoming, but not necessarily big towns. With only around 588,000 people in the entire state, Wyoming’s whole population is slightly more than that of Baltimore, Maryland and slightly less than Memphis, Tennessee. I definitely enjoy the small towns and the wide open spaces of the Cowboy State, and I’ve been happy to see so many new-to-me places this week.
After leaving you last week I headed out into the night there in Jackson. I’ve certainly seen a lot of changes in Jackson over the last 25 years since I first visited, and every year it gets a little more L.A. and a little less Wyoming. The place that continues to roll with all of the changes is the infamous Million Dollar Cowboy Bar right there on the town square. The Cowboy Bar opened its batwing doors back in 1937 and has always been a central gathering place for the town. It’s decorated with burled wood beams, taxidermied animals and cowboy relics and even has saddles in place of barstools. With live music every night, I’ve never been there when it wasn’t busy. On any given night, you’re likely to find locals and tourists, cowboys, rafting guides, drifters and beauty queens shooting pool, shooting whisky and tapping along to the band. This night was no different and I enjoyed a few cold ones and a few tunes while I chatted to some folks from Charlotte, N.C. who were in town for a wedding. Long live the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar – may it continue to evolve with the town and somehow still remain exactly the same as the first time I walked into it.
People have been visiting the natural hot springs in the Palomas Basin for centuries. The Spanish called them Ojo Caliente de Las Palomas and the cowboys called them Palomas Hot Springs. In the late 18th century, a public bath was built on a ranch in the area where people could come and take the waters. When the Elephant Butte Dam was built in 1912 to help with irrigation, the area became more attractive to settlers and the town of Hot Springs, New Mexico was incorporated in 1916. Twenty-one years later, it would become the county seat of Sierra County. In 1950, Ralph Edwards, the host of the popular radio show Truth or Consequences, promised to air their 10th anniversary show live from any town that would change its name to match that of the show. Hot Springs residents jumped at the opportunity and officially changed its name to Truth or Consequences. Edwards made good on his promise and visited the town on the first weekend of May every year for the next 50 years. His visit was turned into a celebration, Fiesta, which still happens every year at that time. T or C, as the locals call it, is a wonderful and colorful little town full of hot springs resorts and art galleries and with a backdrop of beautiful mountains that light up when the sun is low in the sky. I loved my brief stay in one of the country’s most uniquely named towns, and I hope you enjoy these photos of fabulous Truth or Consequences.
