While Kenny Is With Me (or works): Waldocking in Sheridan, Wyoming

9.8.2023

Sheridan, WY

Mileage: 3044

We Are in Wyoming

We entered Wyoming! Forgot to mention that yesterday. There was a long construction site that crossed the state line. The sign was small and nondescript but Google said we crossed the line so I'm sure we actually did. Wyoming is our 13th state.

After weeks of prairie I was excited to see mountains! The drive was beautiful and very remote.

Waldocking

We have avoided it as long as we could, but short of paying for a campground our only option tonight is to sleep in a Walmart parking lot. I mean, the shopping is convenient, but not our first choice. We are thankful that it is an option though! The distances between towns is great in these parts.

Sheridan Wyoming

While Kenny Worked (I'm sure ya'll have missed that!) I went into Sheridan. It is a very cute town. I started at Trail End. It is a historic house built in the early 1910's. It is a beautiful house with almost everything original. I enjoyed walking through the rooms and the beautiful grounds. It is a bit strange to me that history is less than 100 years ago here. The house became a museum in the 1960's.

Bell on the floor in the dining room so Mrs. Kendrick could summon the maid.

I am always fascinated with butler's pantries.

The house has a central vacuum.

These are intercoms (the old timey phone thing).

The attic is a large ballroom.

The grounds are beautiful with views of the Big Horn Mountains.

There is a display of petrified wood.

The carriage house is a community theatre.

Blue Spruce are huge here.

The Sheridan Inn

The Sheridan Inn has a long history and is on the Registry of Historic Places. While visiting I learned that it was recently bought by Best Western. It is the first place in Sheridan that electric lights were ever used. Its most famous resident was Buffalo Bill Cody. This lovely old hotel has also been called the hotel of 69 gables for obvious reasons. It is a very cool building that is somehow less cool knowing it is a Best Western.

King Ropes and Museum

My final stop was Downtown Sheridan, specifically, King Ropes and Museum. Several blocks of main street are torn-up for construction making navigation a bit difficult. After walking a bit I found my destination, King Saddlery and the Don King Museum (not that Don King). The shop itself is filled with Stetson Hats, all types of rope, and many different options for horse fittings. The founder of the shop, Don King, was a talented saddle maker and an avid collector of saddles and all things Western. Queen Elizabeth visited in the 1950s to order a saddle. To access the museum I walked through the store and across an alley into a doorway that is the workshop. There are thousands of saddles here. Many are hundreds of years old. The most famous belonged to Gene Autry. For horse enthusiasts I'm sure it is fascinating to see the many saddles and the evolution of saddlery over the years.

Downtown Sheridan is filled with bronze statues and other art. I'm sure the downtown is really cute without construction. I enjoyed browsing shops and bought a few souvenirs.