5 Lobben St
Buffalo, Wyoming
This is Mr. Todd's Barber Shop. Proudly owned and operated by my brother in law. I finally got up here to visit! Craig Johnson, who writes the Longmire book series, gets his hair cut by my brother in law. So technically, Todd is a Hairstylest To The Stars. Tracy says this town goes nuts every year for "Longmire Days". We tried to come out this year, but all the hotels were booked to the teeth. Maybe next year? Jim reads the books and watches the show, it'd be neat for him to be able to have that experience.
My previous experiences with Wyoming boil down to a brief visit to a college friend, maybe outside of Laramie? And driving through Wyoming to get to Deadwood, South Dakota. It's always been there, just past Ft. Collins, but I never wanted or needed to go to there.
My sister moved out here in 2016, and I'm finally making it out to visit. It isn't that I don't like my sister, I don't like the idea of being anywhere with the wind and cold. Or that has signs that say "I 25 Closed When Flashing".
First off, I have to say the gas station/truck stops here are superior to all I've seen. If California is the worst (and they are the worst) and Wyoming is the best, Colorado is a solid middle child. The first Sinclair had a coffee shop, a "driver's lounge" with Barc-a-loungers, washer and dryer and showers. Dude. That's not the best part. The stunning superior rating came because they were clean. Like my kind of clean, kryssi clean, updated, kept up, beautiful. The second stop had no lounge or washer/dryers, but instead sold salt lamps, cowboy boots and local pottery and arty items. No Freaking Way. The closest competition for this I've seen in Colorado is the Sinclair outside of Fairplay, where we always stop en route to Durango. They're pretty impressive as well, but the cowboy boots and salt lamps out here put the Wyoming stops over the top for the win.
Points Matter
Hilton points count, dude. We had enough to stay here at the Hampton Inn for free. "Free" until the city tax passed in April, so we owed ten bucks. The hell, Buffalo, really? This is the nicest Hampton Inn we've ever stayed at, and the only property, ever, to have the pool and hot tub separate enough from the hotel proper to allow all day/night access. There is no "Pool Closes At 10 PM" crap here! It's awesome.
No Homeless
My beloved home state is being overrun. Zombies aren't going to bring about the downfall of society, the homeless are. This is not a state that seems to have any issues. Probably due to the aforementioned weather fluctuations and the fact that every where is at least two hours away from every where. Well done, Wyoming.
Just Because Your Hotel Is Historic Doesn't Make It Worthy Of A Visit
If you come to Buffalo, and are interested in visiting The Historic Occidental Hotel, don't make the effort. You've seen "historic" old hotels in Aspen, Creede, Durango and Leadville. This one has nothing unique to offer, and has hideously missed the mark of customer service. Buffalo is a highway crossroads town, nothing more. You are either on your way to or from Yellowstone. The only reason to venture onto main street is if you've decided to stay a few extra hours or your family is sleeping and you'd like to go check out the local strip. The Occidental's food is frozen fare you can make at home, and the beer is a delight, from the Sheridan brewer Black Tooth. The family owned business has family seemingly angry that you are bothering them, water in paper cups and no interest in showing any sort of hospitality. In fact, if you go to the bar, you'll feel that they are instead hostile toward you. Skip it.
I would think Black Tooth would love to have a small brew pub in Buffalo, some place the locals go and someone is friendly to them. Some place with better cuisine. Maybe even with brewery tanks that they can manage. Maybe expand to bottling. Maybe we could run it for them.
And those are my postcards from Buffalo, Wyoming.
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