Evanston, Wyoming

 According to bartender extraordinaire, Lexi, Wyoming only has two seasons. 

“In this part of Wyoming, there are only two seasons,” the attractive dark-haired woman explained. “Winter and construction.”

Laureen and I had parched throats. That happens occasionally when out wandering and pondering, and we had found ourselves at the Suds Bros. Brewery in Evanston, Wyoming.

Suds Bros brewery - Evanston, Wyoming

We had driven up through Utah, entered Wyoming and found ourselves bivouacked at a campground next to the Bear River in Evanston.

 At nearly seven thousand feet above sea level, it is a town in the mountains – tall mountains.

Tall mountains in Wyoming often mean cold temperatures, no matter the time of year. Weather moves fast – we have learned that more than once in our travels.

Laureen once stated, “What a beautiful day to be out. Bright blue skies and not a cloud to be seen.”

Ten minutes later, we were running to an underpass as a seven on the Fujita Scale swept past us.

“That was close,” she said.

“Where’s our car?” I asked.

After setting up camp for the night – which means hooking up the RV, setting up dog fences, checking the hook-ups on the RV for the third time, and checking for any escape routes our very stealthy dogs would find, it was time for a walk to downtown Evanston.

The woman in the front office of the RV park was highly informative.

“Does the river walk take us to downtown Evanston?” I asked.

She looked at me. Looked at the exit door. Looked at me again. “It’s a paved path along the river.”

I nodded. “Yes, but does it take me to downtown Evanston, along that paved path.”

“Along the river,” she replied. “It does. But its paved.”

I nodded a second time; glad she had not replied that there wasn’t really a path, and that Laureen and I would have to swim upriver to the town.

Luckily, the river flowed downriver to the town. 

There is a genuinely nice and comfortable mile walk into the historic part of Evanston from the campground. The walkway winded this way and that. Tall trees stretched long branches over the walkway in certain areas, and in others we had clear views of the quickly flowing Bear River.

Beautiful Bear River

The city had installed those stop-and-work-out stations along the way.

‘Do fifteen pushups and go to next station.’ ‘Do twenty squats and go to next station.’ ‘Balance on beam for thirty seconds and go to next station.’ ‘Rub you stomach clock-wise and your head counter-clockwise and laugh at yourself.’

Nice idea, but we did not see any locals taking advantage. But then again, we may have missed the locals. We stopped and participated in about a half a dozen of the physical activities.

“I’m done,” I stated.

“You did five push-ups.”

I smiled. “With style.”

The Bear River along the paved path is not a large river, at least in mid-June, but the water was clear, sparkling, and very inviting. Inviting, if you were an eight-year-old who does not understand the concept of cold water.

“Come on, mom, it’s not that cold.”

“Wipe the icicles off your nose and get the in the house right now!”

The weather was pleasant. Our moods were pleasant. And the sight of Suds Bros. Brewery was pleasant.

As a public service announcement, while driving, stopping by a brewery isn’t the best thing to do. But when the day’s driving is done – then what the heck – taste a bit of the local flavor and enjoy. Always drink responsibly is my motto - never order more than you can afford.

The town of Evanston was created as a railroad hub in the late 1860's. The Union Pacific Railroad was constructing the First Transcontinental Railroad - known as the Pacific Railroad and later as the Overland Route, which was nearly two thousand miles of continuous railroad. The goal was to link Council Bluffs, Iowa with the Pacific Ocean, ending in San Francisco Bay.

Downtown Evanston

Welcome to the Depot Square

One of the original buildings in the Depot Square

A refurbished building in the Depot Square

There are two legends of how the town received its name. It was either named after a civil engineer for the railroad by the name of James A. Evans, or after the second Governor of the Territory of Colorado by the name of John Evans.

When asked, John Evans stated the town had been named after James A. Evans. Where-as James A. Evans stated the town had been named after John Evans. So very modest, these Evanses.

It was rather confusing, but as neither had the last name of Evanston, we may never know. 

One of the original businesses in Evanston

The entrepreneur, Harvey Booth opened a saloon and a restaurant in Evanston in 1868 in a tent, near what would later be the downtown area, but within a month, the railroad station was moved to Wasatch, twelve miles west.

Almost instantly the town dried up with all workers moving to Wasatch. But luckily for those like Booth, the railroad bigshots decided to move operations back to Evanston in June of 1869.

The town of Wasatch continued until the 1930s, but is now considered a ghost town. I don’t believe in conspiracy theories, though I love a good conspiracy – could the decision by the railroad be tired to how similar the name of Wasatch is to Sasquatch?

Just pondering here.

In fact, things were going so well with Evanston that it became the seat for Uinta County in 1873, when the first courthouse was also opened.

Uinta County Library

Evanston prospered even more through the years, especially with the abundant water nearby to refill locomotives that were moving cross-county, as well as a great supply of timber needed for a quickly growing population, not only in the Wyoming area, but across the nation. 

As automobiles found themselves more and more popular, roadways and highways started etching their way across the United States.

Evanston found itself in the center of the action.

According to my research, Evanston was a major stop on the Lincoln Highway. The highway ran east to west from East Service Road to Bear River Drive, on Front Street to Harrison Drive to Wasatch Road southwest to Echo Canyon in Utah.

The old Lincoln Highway can still be seen in spots along Intestate 80, which follows the railroad tracks. I was told this by a local in Evanston, but no matter how hard I looked, I couldn’t find it. Then again, once I put down my sunglasses, I usually need the assistance of the local search and rescue unit.

In the 1980s, new life was drilled into the Evanston area with the oil boom. Natural gas has also played a large role in this small town becoming larger and larger by the year.

The town offers so much in the area of entertainment for locals and visitors. Music at the Depot Square, Wyoming Downs Horse Racing, various brewfests, farmers markets, car cruises, hiking, bike riding, and the list goes on and on – but I am not going to type of all the activities. It is a long list of things to do in Evanston, and frankly, after all that excitement, I hardly have the energy to type at all. 

Laureen enjoying one of the local parks

We had decided to take US Route 89 out of Provo, Utah to Evanston, since it was a byway instead of the direct path to Evanston via Instate 80.

According to National Geographic, US Route 89 is considered ‘a drivers drive.’ The number one drive for travelers who want to venture from the Sonoran Desert, through Yellowstone, and into Canada.

The nickname for this highway is - the untraveled road.

What other path would anyone take?

The scenery was breathtaking. Tall cliffs of varied colors towering over us. Swift moving streams below us. Clear blue skies above us. Deer, elk, and some animal which looked a bit like a big hairy ape scratching their backside on a tree.

We passed Sundance, the legendary film festival mecca, but since I don’t know Robert Redford, we didn’t stop.

As we drove through this beautiful country, Laureen looked over at me and shared a thought.  “You know, highways are for making time. Byways are for making memories.”

Truer words there are not.

We slowed down and took in the sights. We ended up in a small town, by the name of Evanston, in southwest Wyoming and knew it had been the right path to follow. 

Lexi handed me a locally brewed libation and smiled. “Evanston is a great town. We offer so much, and each year more people are learning about it. Yes, our weather can change in a minute, heck, we had a bit of snow just last week, but who cares. It is beautiful, the people wonderful, and nature is here. What more can a person ask for? Local or visitor.”

John with a snow gauge in hand

She was so right. 

Twenty years later, and we still won't forget

 As we recall that frightening morning on September 11th, 2001 - we must as a nation never allow the date to slip by unnoticed. 

Though, twenty years have passed, it seems like only yesterday. Anyone alive during that fateful day will recall exactly where they were when the news came across the wires that the Twin Towers were on fire.

Laureen and I were getting ready for work. Our phone rang, and a friend of ours told us to turn on the news.

Our television had just flicked on, when United Airlines Flight 175, suddenly came into view and struck the south tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. The north tower had already been struck by an American Airlines flight minutes earlier.

One plane striking a tower - a possible and tragic accident. Another plane striking the opposite tower - we knew the United States was under attack. 

We were stunned. 

Laureen cried. I cried. We knew our fellow citizens - innocent citizens were being murdered. Nearly three thousand Americans died on that day - many more first responders have perished since that date due to complications of being the heroes who ran toward the disaster and not away from it. They saved countless lives, while forfeiting theirs in the process.

We, at J and L don't need to write much on this topic. It is embedded in every American's heart and soul.

And that being the case - all we can do is remember each victim and pray they are at peace in a far more gentle place then the one they have left.

Deadwood, South Dakota - is not dead

 

Welcome to Deadwood, South Dakota

On the afternoon of August 2nd, 1876, James Butler Hickok was playing poker at the Nuttal and Mann’s’ Saloon #10, in Deadwood, South Dakota. Suddenly he was shot in the back of the head and died on the floor of the saloon, without ever seeing the face of his killer.

The murderer, was Jack McCall, who claimed he shot Hickok in revenge for the killing of his brother, supposedly by Hickok in Abilene. Kansas.  

The big problem with McCall’s story was that he never had a brother. Ooops!

The killing of one of America’s most famous lawmen, gamblers, adventurers, scouts, and all the rest which made James Butler Hickok a household name, better known as Wild Bill Hickok, was headline news around the world.

James Butler Hickok - 'Wild Bill'

In fact, the poker hand he was holding when murdered has become known as the Dead Man’s hand – two pairs, black aces and eights.

The infamous 'Dead Man's hand'

Wild Bill Hickok was thirty-nine years old when murdered.

Research shows the truth was very far from Jack McCall’s mind when he related the incidents of the day. He was tried for the killing and found innocent by a group of miners, since they bought the idea of Hickok being guilty of killing McCall’s brother.

The murderer then moved on to Wyoming and bragged to anyone with an ear that he had shot down the famous Wild Bill Hickok in a fair fight. Turns out there were some US Marshalls who did not believe him and rearrested him. Since the first trial was deemed illegal, he was tried in Yankton, the capital of the Dakota Territory a second time.

The facts in the case were brought out. Turns out, McCall had played poker the day before with Hickok and couldn’t control his liquor nor his cards. He lost pretty much all he had, and Hickok told him to stop playing out of pity. Hickok even gave McCall money for food, from his own winnings.

McCall took this as being disrespected, and returned the next day for revenge.

The ungrateful gambler was hanged in the spring of 1877 for murder. 

As we were touring South Dakota, Laureen and I decided to stop in Deadwood and take a look around. 

“The town where Wild Bill was killed,” I said. “It’s got to be a place to stop.”

“I would say so,” Laureen replied.

And so we did.

Deadwood is more than just a destination to investigate a fateful afternoon a hundred and forty-five years in the past. It’s much more – it is beautiful.

Beautiful countryside in Deadwood

Located in Lawrence County in South Dakota – actually the county seat, Deadwood sits at a little over 4,500 in elevation which makes it a bit cooler during the summer. Tall mountains surround the town filled with towering trees and bubbling creeks.

And, the name of the town is easy to understand – the early miners, who found gold there in the 1870’s, found some dead trees in the wide gulch where Deadwood is located.

“Let’s name it after the dead trees,” one miner was rumored to have said.

“Sounds great, we’ll call it Deadtree,” a second miner is rumored to have stated.

“Deadtree! Who is going to visit a town called Deadtree?” 

“True, Deadwood sounds much more inviting. Perhaps somebody in the future will make a television series and release it on HBO?”

“What’s a television, or an HBO?”

The second miner shrugged. “Don’t know, but thar’s gold in them thar hills, I betcha.”

True enough, Deadwood turned out to be one of the biggest gold strikes in American history. 

In fact, the Homestake Mine, only three miles to the southwest of Deadwood, opened in October of 1877 and was in production for over a century. It is known as the longest continuous gold mine in the United States.

Unfortunately, the gold had been found in the Black Hills belonged to the Lakota people according to the 1858 Treaty of Fort Laramie.

But the miners believed treaties were to be broken when the yellow metal was in the ground. And, so they dug and dealt with the natives harshly, being backed up numerous times by the United States Military.

The town became so successful, that by 1876 there may have been as many as twenty-five thousand people occupying the Black Hills in and around Deadwood, including the small town of Lead a few miles away.

With the population explosion, there also came folks looking for easier money than spending days digging in the dirt.

Saloons, gambling halls, opium dens, and shall we just say – other adult entertainment venues opened for the public, and the town went from a simple mining camp to a full-fledged city.

Downtown Deadwood, lots to do

Full-fledged meaning Deadwood became a pretty scary place with killings, thefts, and other crimes becoming rather rampant.

Not much law and order in many of the historical frontier towns at the time, and perhaps that is why so many people like to visit these places.

We do, but in full disclosure - we do not advocate for crime, of any nature. But, when it involves people we have read about from the past – it is rather cool to walk down the same streets that people like Wyatt and Morgan Earp, Seth Bullock, Calamity Jane, and of course, Wild Bill Hickok strolled.

A favorite haunt of Wild Bill's and others

They were entrepreneurs in a rough and tumble country. Most of the time, these folks were law abiding citizens, but sometimes they weren’t. Some were lawmen, turned cattle thieves, turned gamblers, and back to lawmen.

Laureen Beyer behind metal artwork of Wild Bill Hickok

Rather confusing really, but perhaps that is why it is called the Wild West.

Deadwood’s downtown looks pretty much like it did during its heyday. Which wasn’t an easy thing to accomplish since in August of 1876 smallpox ravaged the town, leaving many people very ill or dead.

Then on September 26th, 1879 a fire raged through the town destroying over three hundred buildings. It would take nearly a century to rebuild the area to what it once looked like.

Again, in September of 1959 another fire tore through the town. The folks were strong and rebuilt to the point that in 1961 the entire town was designated a National Historic Landmark, for ‘its well-preserved collection of late 19th-century frontier architecture’.

With the gold diminishing, and the opening of Interstate 90, which bypassed Deadwood, the population continued to dwindle.

Those darn interstates!

But, a few really ingenious organizers got together and proposed the Deadwood Experiment. Simple really, test and see if legalized gambling could spark interest in the town and keep it from further deterioration. 

A point of fact, only Nevada and Atlantic City had legalized gambling at this time. So, in 1989, the state legislature approved the experiment, making Deadwood the first small town in the United States to have gambling as a means of making revenue.

The experiment worked, and money was again flowing into the coffers of business owners of Deadwood.

In fact, actor Kevin Costner opened the Midnight Star Casino and Restaurant there in 1991, after starring in the film – Dances with Wolves in 1990. He held onto the business until selling it in 2020.

With added revenue, the town started to really rebuild and the tourists began flocking in like birds flying south for the winter.

In truth, I’m not entirely certain that really happens. I’ve seen flocks of birds doing donuts above my house in the middle of fall.

“The GPS is out again,” one duck was heard screaming at another duck.

According to, Lee Harstad, Executive Director of the Chamber of Commerce in Deadwood, “We see about two to three million visitors a year to Deadwood.”

That is a lot of tourists visiting a town of less than two thousand residents.

“We have so much to offer, all year long. I hate to say this, since it is said all the time, but we have something for everyone.”

I have heard that more than once, but Harstad is correct.

Deadwood has stuff for all ages to enjoy. There’s hiking, great restaurants, gambling, hotels, off road trails, museums, horseback riding, breweries, western re-enactment shows, and the list goes on and on. 

Stage Coach ride, anyone?

There are events planned all year round which would interest everyone. There’s the Sturgis Rally and Race, Octoberfest, Wild West Songwriter’s Festival, Wild Bill Days, Big Whiskey Festival, and my favorite, find the Sasquatch in the woods search - just to name a few.

Actually, according to Harstad, each month has multiple events for all age groups.

“The Black Hills are just beautiful, any time of the year and there is so much to do. We see our tourism picking up each and every season.”

Laureen and I sauntered through town. We do that, saunter when not in a hurry, and Deadwood is a town that needs to be sauntered.

We stopped in the saloon where James Butler Hickok was killed, and had an adult libation in his honor.

Laureen Beyer sitting at the bar in Saloon #10

The wild west was a time period in the United States that needs to be explored. 

And, Deadwood is one such place, but also a town to enjoy all it has to offer in the present.