Category: Wyoming

The “Flavors” of Wyoming

On By CandeeIn Food, Other Drinks, Work Trips, Wyoming1 Comment

I probably should have named this post, ‘Rocky Mountain Oysters, High School Sweethearts, Naked Men, and what happens in South Dakota, stays in South Dakota!’

I stayed in the town of Torrington, WY for two weeks for work, and while I was there, I was able to sample a lot of the local offerings. On the day I rolled into town, I was told to head over to the ‘Bronco Grill House.’ I asked the waitress for a recommendation, and without hesitation she replied, “Try the peanut butter burger. It’s so good!” I momentarily hesitated, but I went with her suggestion, and I’m glad I that did—it was really good in a weird and wonderful way! I’m happy that she didn’t suggest a side of Rocky Mountain oysters, because I would have had to politely decline!

Peanut butter burger with jalapeños, Swiss cheese & spicy strawberry ginger jelly–wow!
  • NO!
Lira’s, a Mexican restaurant, in nearby Lingle, serves amazing homemade salsa!

Later in the week, I was told to go to the ‘truck stop’ for dinner. I must admit, that originally, I wasn’t overly enticed to head over. However, after several people encouraged me to try it, I decided to give it a chance. The real name of the place is the ‘307 Bar and Grill.’ Except for the bar part, it reminded me of some of the diners that I’ve been to in New Jersey in the past. I wondered why it was called ‘307,’ and someone eventually told me that 307 is the local area code!

I ended up going twice, and the second time I had macaroni & cheese. I cringe thinking about the calorie count, but I have to admit that it was delicious!

Macaroni & Cheese from the 307 Sports Bar & Grill
The Bucking Horse is located right outside of Torrington on Rt. 85. It sits on a bluff overlooking the city. The food and view were great!
Ohhhhh—AJ’s! If I lived here, this place would get me into trouble!

Admittedly, if it weren’t for one of my participants bringing me a spiced apple cider and a gingerbread cookie from AJ’s, I probably wouldn’t have ever thought to try this place out. AJ’s sits on the far end of town in an unassuming, little turquoise blue building. They offer ice cream, all sorts of mix-and-match flavored sodas, coffee, tea…and delicious cookies! You can park and go inside, or you can pull up to a little window on the back of the building, and order from your car.

I tried their mixed soda called, ‘High School Sweetheart’ and I fell in love with it immediately. It’s made with Dr. Pepper, raspberry, and coconut cream. Oh, be still my beating heart–your first “crush” is always the hardest to forget about, and I thought about this drink concoction all week! Their spiced apple cider was delicious as well, and their gingerbread cookies….Oh, I had to control myself! I was gifted one, and then I allowed myself to a get 2nd one, during the 2nd week I was in town. If I lived in Torrington, AJ’s would definitely be problem for me!

One night, after dinner, I was invited by a co-worker to go to a local bar called, ‘Bitch’s,’ and of course I accepted. We laughed a lot and were having a great time, but as the evening wore on, I eventually needed to go to the bathroom. As I got up from my chair, I was ‘warned’ that there were pictures of naked men in the restroom.

I didn’t think too much of it, because I was imagining something more along the lines of what you would see in the ‘Hot Men of 2019 Firemen Calendar’–partially clad hot bodies. Oh, the pictures were hot alright, but not like my PG musings, they were straight out of old issues of Playgirl. Collages of fully naked men in all of their glory, erections and all, covered the bathroom walls! After I got over the initial shock, I have to admit that I’ve never laughed so hard in a public restroom before. I’m glad that I thought to bring my camera in with me–sorry to disappoint, I’m not posting any pictures, you’ll just have to trust me on this one. It was eye popping!

I was grinning as I came out of the bathroom, and as I rounded the corner to head back into the bar, a funny thought crossed my mind. The old timers at the bar had seen me leave the room to head to the bathroom, and now I wondered if they were thinking, “We know why she’s smiling!” With that thought, I actually started to laugh as I re-entered the bar! I didn’t look, but I was told that the men’s room had a similar decorating style, but of course, of the opposite sex.

The name says it all! This was a bar in nearby Lingle.

Toward the end of my stay, I had tried all of the restaurants that had been suggested to me, so I decided to go to Pizza Hut, because it was close to my hotel and I hadn’t gone to Pizza Hut in at least 15 years. The funniest thing happened while I was there. When I walked in, there was only one other table that was occupied, and I was seated right next to them. Another group came in a few minutes after I was served, and the man in the group stood a few feet from my table and said loudly, “Hey—you were in South Dakota this weekend, right?”

I had in South Dakota, so looked up with disbelief. I was about to answer, and the guy at the next table said, “Yeah, we were!”

The first guy said, “I knew it! I saw you at the rest stop!”

Small town! I just glad that I didn’t answer! ?

My Dad’s Favorite Rock Group–Mount Rushmore

On By CandeeIn Animals & Birds, Food, South Dakota, Work Trips, WyomingLeave a comment

I was scheduled to work in Wyoming for two weeks, so it really didn’t make much sense to fly home between the trainings. Instead, I decided to take a road trip to South Dakota. I actually wanted to see two things while I was there–bison and my dad’s favorite rock group, Mount Rushmore, which has been near the tippy-top of my Bucket List for a long time!

I checked and re-checked the weather forecast, because the drive was in an isolated area, and I didn’t want to add bad weather to the mix. On Saturday morning, multiple sources said, “No snow,” so I set off early, insuring that I had many hours of daylight in front of me. The landscape of southeast Wyoming is flat, flat, flat with a backdrop of hills and mountains in the distance. And trees? What trees? The ground had a bit of snow cover from the last storm, and for the most part, the roads were clear, but remnants of snow and ice came and went in patches as I drove past.

I was so fascinated by the landscape, that I pulled over several times to take pictures. At one point, I just stopped in the middle of the road to take a ‘road shot,’ because I couldn’t see a car in either direction!
South Dakota–another new state to add to my list!
This scene was so surreal that I stopped the car to check it out. Everything was frost-covered and the low lying fog and burned trees created a mystical looking environment.
  • Yes! I’m getting ready to see all sorts of animals!

I barely saw any cars as I was driving through Wyoming and into South Dakota. I finally entered the “tree zone” area of the Black Hills, which is where Custer State Park is located. While I was in park, I didn’t see another single vehicle (or person) for the entire time that I was there. It was magical and eerie, all at the same time! I was told that my best chances of seeing bison was at this park, so I kept looking and looking!

At one point, I came round a curve and I saw a flash of movement out of the corner of my eye. I pulled the car over and looked out to see hundreds of prairie dogs popping in and out of their holes. I opened the window and listened to their elaborate communication system–where each would squeak and chirp, disappear underground for a few seconds, then reappear to seemingly start the process again. They looked like the ‘whack-a-mole’ game that many of us have played when the carnival rolled into town for the weekend when we were kids—pop up, squeak, pop down, pop up, squeak! The only thing missing was the whack, whack, whack! I could have watched and listened to them all day!

It was hard to capture them with my cellphone camera, but you can see three prairie dogs in this picture, and you can faintly see many of the mounds in the distance. Look carefully!
This was the only bison that I saw while I was in the park! Bummer!

One lane tunnel–Mount Rushmore can be seen on the other side!
I never knew that you could view the sculptures from outside of the park–you can! Amazing!

They say timing is everything…about 45 minutes after arriving at Mount Rushmore a huge fog bank rolled in. Check out the difference in the pictures! As I was leaving, I stopped at the visitor center and I was told that the fog was expected to stay put for the rest of the day–I was SO lucky! I felt bad to see the visitors walking in and overhearing them ask, “Where is it?”

The restaurant lined with tall glass windows, overlooks the famous rock face, and as I enjoyed the scenery I enjoyed a bowl of bison stew.

When I asked the rangers at Mount Rushmore about seeing bison in Custer State park, they agreed that was the best place to see them. I told them that I didn’t see any and the ranger guessed that the animals were probably huddling up to keep warm, and to protect themselves from the approaching snow. SNOW?

“It’s supposed to snow?” I asked, trying to hid the surprise in my voice. “The weather report said that we weren’t expecting snow.”

He smiled, and replied, “It’s going to snow….soon.”

I saw three deer on the side of the road as soon as I left the park. It was already snowing and the fog was rolling in quickly.

It was snowing by the time I pulled out of the parking garage of the park….so much for no snow! I left Mount Rushmore at a few minutes before 3:00 p.m. and I was heading for Deadwood, which is located about an hour and twenty minutes north of the park.

To sum it up–the drive was beautiful, Mount Rushmore was amazing, but no bison sightings—‘two out of three ain’t bad!’ Now I have to worry about the snow…

Off to Wyoming!

On By CandeeIn Work Trips, WyomingLeave a comment

I found out that I was scheduled to work in Wyoming for two weeks in December and two weeks in January, and I was really excited because I had never been there before. As the time drew closer, I found myself thinking (and worrying) about the weather–Wyoming in December sounds a bit ominous, especially since I knew I would be flying into Denver, and then driving three hours north to the training location.

I arrived at my hotel in Denver at around 9:30 p.m last night., and my plan was to hit the road first thing in the morning. After breakfast I checked out, and the man behind the counter asked how long I was planning to stay in the Denver area. After I explained that I was going to be training in Wyoming for two weeks, he asked where I was heading.

His facial expression changed immediately when I told him that I would be about an hour northeast of Cheyenne. “People around here usually say that’s the ugly part of Wyoming,” he explained.

I frowned, and he quickly added, “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to ruin your time there.”

I replied with smile, “I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”

He laughed and continued, “Let me tell you something that will make you feel a bit better.” He paused to make sure I was listening. “Did you know that there are more people living in the Denver area than the entire state of Wyoming?”

I’m not sure why he thought that would make me “feel better,” so I replied, “Feel better? Now I know that I’m about to drive through the ugly part of the state, and I have to worry about what will happen if I break down…since it’s so isolated, I won’t be able to count on someone stopping to help me!”

A funny look crossed his face, and then he replied, “I’m sorry! I’m definitely ruining your stay! Aren’t I?”

His comment made me laugh and he immediately joined in–it was a funny moment! Beauty is most definitely in the eye of the beholder. I thought the scenery was incredible along the way, but he was right about one thing—Wyoming doesn’t have many people! Few houses, few buildings, and few people…and wide open land as far as you can see!

Welcome to Wyoming—If you squint, you can see bison in the distance!