Live Out Your Cowgirl Fantasies at This Wyoming Hotel

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Very little has changed since the 1880s. (Photo: Occidental Hotel)

Teddy Roosevelt, Ernest Hemingway, Calamity Jane, and Butch Cassidy walk into a bar.

No, this is not the beginning of an epic Western joke; it’s an accurate description of the guest list of the Occidental Hotel in Buffalo, Wyoming.

Yellowstone, Jackson Hole, and the Rockies. When one thinks of Wyoming, it’s the western side of the state that generally draws the most attention. But Buffalo, nestled in the foothills of the Bighorn mountains — population 4,585, elevation 4,636 — may be Wyoming’s best-kept secret. And right at its center stands the Ox, as it’s known to locals.

Built in 1880 as a six-room hotel, the Ox stood right on the Bozemen Trail and was a popular destination for travelers moving east to west. Black-and-white photos lining the halls of the Ox today are proof that famous folks stayed there over the years. It is said that Butch Cassidy used to ride in from the Outlaw Cave, where he and the Hole-in-the-Wall gang stored their booty. Calamity Jane passed through. Teddy Roosevelt was a guest during his famous ranching years, and Herbert Hoover stayed here while campaigning for reelection in 1932. Even Earnest Hemingway, who penned A Farewell to Arms not far from Buffalo in Spear-O-Wigwam, was here.

If only the walls could talk!

Over the years, the Ox was expanded to the grand, sprawling building where it is today. Though it fell into disrepair for many years after traffic to the West died off, it was purchased and restored in the late ’90s. Now, it once again functions as a hub for tourists passing through en route to Yellowstone, as well as many locals who come in on Thursday nights — sometimes from a few hours away — to enjoy the packed live bluegrass jams.

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Everyone who is anyone has stayed at the Occidental. (Photo: Glynnis MacNicol)

Upstairs, each of the differently decorated rooms is named after a famous guest or incident, and include the “Madam’s Retreat” suite, in honor of the madam who ran a bordello out of the hotel until 1976. Downstairs, the walls of the large saloon — which still boasts bullets holes from its wilder days — are resplendent with taxidermy. Wyomingites take their taxidermy very seriously.

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Please don’t touch the bear. Thank you. (Photo: Glynnis MacNicol)

The hotel also has a restaurant and cafe, and if you venture out, you’ll find that Buffalo boasts a number of other fun establishments, including ReRide, which sells vintage cowboy attire, and Kira’s Konfections, which serves up downright addictive homemade sweets. Less than an hour to the north (a short drive in Wyoming!) is Sheridan, a fun little city that benefits from a number of well-known artists’ residences in the vicinity. Meanwhile, there are numerous guest ranches in the Bighorns, including Paradise Guest Ranch, the oldest dude ranch in the state.

Said Hemingway: “There are two places I love: Africa and Wyoming.” Fortunately, for those in the U.S. who need some adventure and open space, Wyoming is much easier to reach.

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