Channeling My Inner Cowgirl in Cody and Sheridan Wyoming

Nothing screams wild west louder than a main street full of swinging saloon doors and saddles for sale.

The roads may now be paved and dotted with fast-food restaurants and motel chains, but the hearts of both Sheridan and Cody are cowboy (and cowgirl) to the core. Which is thrilling for us city slickers!

Most of the towns and cities in Wyoming are modern and chock full of popular stores and restaurants and touristy attractions, but if you pay attention, you’ll find the old west is still alive and well in most of them – especially if you’ve done your research and follow the advice of tour books and travel blogs like this one.

We started our day in Rapid City, South Dakota (our home base while touring Mt. Rushmore and the Badlands) and drove west on Hwy. 90 toward our next destination of Cody, Wyoming. Although neither my husband nor I are motorcycle owners or fans, we made a quick detour to drive through Sturgis, home of The Sturgis Motorcycle Museum & Hall of Fame and host of the infamous annual Motorcycle Rally. In May, it was a ghost town. We drove around the main parts of town and didn’t see a soul (or a motorcycle for that matter). I guess the 9 a.m. hour was too early for anyone to be up and out or anything to be open. It was a bust, so we moved on. (In hindsight, our time would have been better spent taking a detour to see Devils Tower instead.)

Sheridan

We planned to visit Sheridan for lunch and to break up our drive. In doing my research for this portion of our two-week road trip, I learned the town was touted as one with modern hospitality and old western charm. A walk down Main Street confirmed the reviews were authentic, and it delivered on everything promised.

We chose the Cowboy Café for lunch, just across from the famously photographed The Mint Bar. The inside, which was small and busy, was part ‘50s diner and part country bakery. Three women ran the place like a well-oiled machine, sharing the duties of waiting tables, ringing up tabs and catching up on local gossip. We Californians stuck out among the locals but were treated with the utmost respect and warm hospitality like every other place we visited on our trip (the exception being Colorado).

After lunch, we moseyed (yep, I was in western mode alright) down to a few stores down to High Mountain Mercantile and purchased myself an authentic Atwood cowboy hat. It felt right, and I looked good (if I do say so myself). I envisioned wearing it throughout our time in Wyoming and Montana, you know, when in the wild west and all. Turns out, I didn’t wear it after that day nor since I’ve been home. But it’s stored in our hall closet for just the right occasion (and I am determined there will be another occasion).

The next leg of our drive took us through the Bighorn National Forest, which was very scenic. At the peak, the forest was covered in snow. As we descended the western side of the mountain, the wintery landscape turned into red rock cliffs before flattening again to farmland.

Cody

Three hours later, as we approached the outskirts of town, we were greeted with a billboard that read: “Don’t California My Cody!” Uh oh. We suddenly wished we didn’t have California license plates on our car (and not for the first or last time on the trip)! But we get it. Our home state’s uber progressive politics, as well as outrageously high taxes and cost of living is driving many Californians to relocate to more conservative states like Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho in pursuit of a better quality of life where their money will stretch farther. Our entire trip felt a little like we were on an apology tour for all the California craziness, doing our best to show we were the exception to the rule.

For all our worries about the billboard, not one person in Cody seemed to care that we were from California (but maybe that was because we were just passing through and not planning on putting down roots).

Cody’s claim to fame, besides being a gateway to Yellowstone, is that it was home to “Buffalo Bill” Cody, a well-known figure in the American Old West who founded the town in 1895. Visitors can learn more about his legacy as a soldier, bison hunter and showman, as well as by touring the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, which houses five massive museums which highlight the old western history and lifestyle, as well as hands-on experiences such as a chuck wagon meal.

During the high season, visitors to Cody can also attend nearby rodeos and witness an old west “shoot out” show on the main street. The town has a lot to offer travelers (especially families). To take advantage of these opportunities, you may want to plan at least a two-night stay. For us, it was just a convenient stopping point on our trip that would give us a taste of the Wild West.

If you want to go for western-themed accommodations, you can stay at Buffalo Bill’s Irma Hotel (named after his daughter) and dine in Irma’s legendary restaurant and bar. The reviews I read, however, warned of the need for a renovation, mentioning “worn” rooms. Others said it was just a little too “tacky.”

With that in mind, we opted to stay at the Chamberlin Inn located just a block down the street. The charming boutique hotel “with a storied past” is named for Agnes Chamberlin, who started a boarding house on the property in 1903 and was a “pillar” in the Cody community. During its glory days in the 1920s and 1930s, the hotel drew movie stars, politicians, tycoons and even one of America’s most fabled literary writers, Ernest Hemingway.

The hotel proudly displays a framed page from its 1932 guest registry showing Hemingway’s signature. The historic registry was discovered during a renovation and bears witness to his stay in Room 18 on October 16. According to the inn’s website, a Hemingway scholar, who was also a former Chamberlin guest, researched the timeframe and found that Hemingway stayed there just after finishing his manuscript for “Death in the Afternoon,” which was mailed along with several short stories to his publisher after he spent a few days fishing the Clark’s Fork River.

Hemingway's original signature on hotel guest registery

As a writer and American Lit fan, I had to book and stay in the Hemingway Suite, which is decorated to reflect the famous author’s lifestyle. The centerpiece of the studio room is a grand king-sized bed located against an original brick wall. Emblem embroidered linens covered the most comfortable mattress we encountered on our entire trip. Located on the opposite wall, an antique typewriter and several of Hemingway’s novels sit on top of a vintage desk. An authentic wooden swivel “banker’s chair” beckons guests to have a seat and write away. (Seriously, I felt like I could pound out the next great American novel sitting at the desk!)

For seating, a small bistro table and chair set sits in one corner near a window that looks out on the courtyard. The other corner contains a comfy love seat (to curl up with one of those Hemingway classics) and a coffee table/ottoman on which to set your preferred beverage or prop your feet. Various Hemingway memorabilia is framed on the wall above the sitting area.

The bathroom featured an old-fashioned claw-foot tub with a shower pole, a pedestal sink, and a toilet with the old fashion water tank and pull handle flush up top. The floor is black and white checkered tiles. The design was in keeping with the authenticity and history of the inn, but it created some challenges, especially with showering. The tub’s high sides and slippery bottom means bathers must maneuver a very careful entry and exit. (My husband ended up placing an extra bath towel in the bottom to prevent slipping.) The tub is surrounded by a thin shower curtain that blows at the wrong times and clings to all the wrong places (like a soapy body just before rinsing). If you can forego a shower and bathe in the tub instead, you’d be better served.

The Hemingway Suite is ideally located on the main floor just past the lobby and adjacent to the Spirits Lounge, which includes the parlor, the library, and the conservatory, as well as an outdoor courtyard area and gardens.

We checked in just in time for happy hour, which was good since we were both hungry and thirsty. Opting for two wing backed chairs in the sunroom, we ordered a beverage and the flat bread of the day. We noshed while checking out our social media feeds, posting pics from the day, and visiting with other guests. Apparently, the inn’s happy hour is also a favorite of the locals, which explained why there were many more people than could stay in the inn’s nine rooms.

Sitting in the sunroom

Once our bellies were full and our thirst quenched, we went back to the room to relax. My husband took a cat nap while I studied the map and reviewed our itinerary for the next day’s drive into Yellowstone. We originally planned to go out for dinner, but we were still full and tired from the day’s drive, so we climbed into bed to read for a while before turning out the light (and I do mean climbed since the bed is quite high for my short legs).

The next morning, we woke up refreshed and set out to find a place to grab a quick bite before heading to Yellowstone. It was a Sunday, and nothing seemed to open before 11. While we were topping off our tank, we asked the manager of the service station for suggestions. He told us about Cody Coffee, a new place just up the road in (ironically) a former gas station. In addition to gourmet coffee drinks and sandwiches, their specialty is sweet and savory crepes, which were delicious! With mochas in hand, we headed out of town, hoping we didn’t “California” their Cody too much during our 20-hour stay.

To take advantage of all Cody has to offer, you may want to plan at least a two-night stay. For us, it was just a convenient stopping point on our trip that would give us a taste of the Wild West.