Buffalo, Wyoming...

When I finally arrived in Buffalo, Wyoming is was about 6:00pm, and the first thing I noticed when I got out of the car is that is was damn cold. It was in, like, in the low 30's cold.

See, here's the thing: I live in Florida. When April rolls around, we've already been walking around in shorts and t-shirts for months. Now, I fully understand that the weather in the west can be different, but damn. I instantly began to regret the decision to not bring a winter coat on this trip. Even in July, when the temperature can climb to 90° during the day, it can quickly dip into the low 50's when the sun goes down.

My home for the next two nights would be The Occidental Hotel. It opened in 1880 and has been in regular operation ever since.

The Occidental Hotel has been in business for over 140 years...

Now, this isn't your usual hotel. First, the list of people who've stayed here is impressive, and contains names like Butch Cassidy, Herbert Hoover, and Ernest Hemmingway. Second, they do a fair attempt to stay true to times gone by. Rooms are pretty spartan in their amenities, but they're going for that "old west" vibe, after all:

 

 

Rooms don't have microwaves, refrigerators or coffee makers Now, if you know anything about me, it's that the last in that list, not having a coffee maker, is what we would refer to as an "unrecoverable fault". When I mentioned it to the al at the front desk, she commented "Well, sir, they didn't have coffee makers back in the late 1800's."

So, I replied "Ah, so I'm assuming, then, that they did have 32" Samsung LCD televisions and fake fireplaces?"

She just kinda' stood there with a blank look on her face.

Coffee's a thing for me. There's not a single reason not to put a $15 Mr. Coffee machine in each room. Instead, here, guests get to get dressed and walk to the cafe two doors down (in 28° weather, by the way) to get a single cup of coffee. Sorry, not for me.

The Occidental Saloon was kinda' fun. I grabbed a burger there one night and then a martini at the bar. Lots of old memorabilia adorned every inch of the walls, and there was no shortage of stuffed animals from front to back

So, I spent two nights in Buffalo and, in hindsight, one probably would've sufficed. There was nothing "bad" about it, it's just that there wasn't a lot to do. Even a side trip to Sheridan, 30 miles away, wasn't enough to sway this to a "must see" stop, at least when it's freezing outside.

Maybe a return visit when it warms up a bit...