Driving through WY from Little Big Horn

[WyoNewk]

I think South Pass would be an enjoyable stop for you. It was 14 years ago this week that I stopped there for a short visit, then went on to see, if I remember correctly, Miners Delight -- another "gold rush" ghost town a little north of South Pass that's been left more "unrestored". Some of the buildings have been reinforced so they won't fall into a heap, but for the most part they've been left alone with the elements. These pictures were taken on that trip -- actually among the last pictures my late wife took before her untimely death a week later. You won't find many tourists at places like this, but you might find it more interesting than some of those ghost towns that have been "fixed up". As I recall there's a small cemetery 500 yards or so from the townsite.

Miners Delight1
Miners Delight2
Miners Delight3

[Froggie Legs]

Originally Posted by jaeco

I'm so glad you wrote re the South Pass City/Atlantic City sites. I love little places like they sound. I was planning on stopping there but secretly was afraid they might be one of those historic sites that end up being a bunch of nothing. I used to have maps for years of old towns, ghost town kind of places, places I wanted to visit, but those maps are long gone. Now I ill check out Red Canyon. It looks beautiful. thanks!

Atlantic City is supposed to have a good eatery.. The Atlantic City Mercantile. I've not had the pleasure but you might want to check it out.

If you go through Lander to Dubois, you might want to stop at Fort Washakie. There is, iirc, a Native American gift shop there.

I can also recommend a great sub shop in Lander called the Breadboard, if you are looking for food on the go.

[jaeco]

Miner's Delight is the kind of place that I love...the *unrestored*....plus the cemetary would be great. I need to check to see if it's still there or accessible since that was 14 years ago...Thanks for taking the time to find/send those pictures. I'm sorry about your wife. I'm glad you were able to share these places...I hope you both enjoyed them. I'm sort of the only one in my family that likes this kind of thing and I just love it. My computer has really been acting up so I hope it straightens out so I can continue to investigate. Also, Froggie, the restaurants are good to know. I know we will be looking for food on the go. I think we're going to try to just make it to Lander and stay that first night. Seems like a plan. Now my daughter and her husband were able to get an earlier flight that day on SWest so we have several more hours that first day, which is great since that's when we'll be passing through the Rock Springs/South Pass/Atlantic City areas, and hopefully Miner's Delight. I think I read that South Pass City and Atlantic City are similar but need to double check that, so maybe could skip one of those if that's the case. I'd skip one of those if I had to in order to find Miner's Delight and have time for it. After all this time on this thread I always wondered why there wasn't an automatic notification when someone responded.....I just found it..

[Froggie Legs]

if I were to skip any on the list it would be Rock Springs.. and possibly Atlantic city (which is very similar to South Pass but without the living museum).

It's hard to pick and choose but I'm with you.. I like the historical places. Lander's got lots of places to eat.. in a variety of price ranges. Gannet Grill is also good and Cowfish is supposed to be more upscale good. Might want to make reservations for hotels, since it's a touristy area, and I'm not sure of what the traffic will be like at the time you go.

Wyonewk, sorry to hear about your wife . It's no fun to lose a loved one.

[Claim Jumper]

Originally Posted by jaeco

Miner's Delight is the kind of place that I love...the *unrestored*....plus the cemetary would be great. I need to check to see if it's still there or accessible since that was 14 years ago...Thanks for taking the time to find/send those pictures. I'm sorry about your wife. I'm glad you were able to share these places...I hope you both enjoyed them. I'm sort of the only one in my family that likes this kind of thing and I just love it. My computer has really been acting up so I hope it straightens out so I can continue to investigate. Also, Froggie, the restaurants are good to know. I know we will be looking for food on the go. I think we're going to try to just make it to Lander and stay that first night. Seems like a plan. Now my daughter and her husband were able to get an earlier flight that day on SWest so we have several more hours that first day, which is great since that's when we'll be passing through the Rock Springs/South Pass/Atlantic City areas, and hopefully Miner's Delight. I think I read that South Pass City and Atlantic City are similar but need to double check that, so maybe could skip one of those if that's the case. I'd skip one of those if I had to in order to find Miner's Delight and have time for it. After all this time on this thread I always wondered why there wasn't an automatic notification when someone responded.....I just found it..

post up when you get back! unless you can do it while traveling-like to hear how your trip went

[jaeco]

The trip was AWESOME and I don't use that word often. I was going to write when I got back but thought maybe I had worn everyone out so I'm glad you asked! We started in Flagstaff, went through Sedona, Grand Canyon....all just beautiful. The drive through Arizona was something else. My husband is the one who wanted to see the Grand Canyon...for some reason I didn't, but it was like a sucker punch, a good one. It was a beautiful day and it was magnificent. Anyway, on then to SLC and into WY. Wyoming was all and more than I could have wanted. We stopped at South Pass and actually did not pay for the tour or that area that you pay but just walked around and went into a little store. We had to make it to Lander that night. Not spending more time at South Pass was fine with me because I wanted more time at Miner's Delight and we had plenty of time there. It was great to be there...so quiet and so much for the imagination. We spent the night in Lander, not time to do much but have dinner and sleep. Got up and headed to Buffalo. I think this is the day we went through Thermopolis (sp?), up that way, through several other little towns. We really just enjoyed the drive. That was one day the weather was not good and the moutains we went over....16 maybe?....were very foggy but beautiful. We made it to Buffalo and the Occidental I loved. It is a must for anyone. Hard to describe and I'm so glad it was suggested to me. The bar was great, the restaurant, the Outlaw Suite. We almost had the place to ourselves so could really explore and let our imaginations roam. Then the next day Fetterman, skipped Boxcar because that was also the day for Little Big Horn. Spent the day there and will never forget it. It was suggested by the owner of the Occidental that we go all the way to the back and start from the back, rather than hit the visitor center first, and she said we'd start to see why Custer did what he did. I don't know about that but we did the drive that way and at one point I did start to feel some desperation as the fight was almost to the end. I can't even describe how I felt that day. That was my destination on this trip and I sort of keep it in a special place in my brain and bring it out to experience it a little bit at a time. Very powerful. So, that night on to Cody. Stayed there that night and the next and loved the town. Had several people say they were disappointed but we weren't. Didn't feel we had time to do the Historical Center justice and were happy with walking around, going to Old Trail Town and the collection of artifacts across the street. Dinner at the Irma. Great hotel but in my opinion nothing to touch the Occidental. Then the next morning through Yellowstone, on to Jackson Hole, stayed in Logan, UT that night and SLC the next day and that was it. It was a wonderful trip and I can't thank you all enough for your help in the planning. I would have missed so much without your help. Oh, also went to Sacajawea's supposed burial site around Ft. Washaka (sp?). The days sort of blend together in my mind now. We could have used another month or at least two weeks more. I am already planning or thinking about next year. My husband really was not up for this but says it's the best trip he's ever taken.

[WyoNewk]

Jaeco,
I'm glad you enjoyed the trip. You really packed a lot of sightseeing into a short time. Maybe next trip you can work in at least a couple weeks. Vacations are never long enough.

[StealthRabbit]

thx for the trip report, it is good to know what you found, and glad you had a good time.