Medicine Bow

Made famous in Owen Wister’s classic western novel as the town where Wister’s cowboy hero, the Virginian, faced off with Trampas over a card game. Trampas calls the Virginian a “son-of-a-bitch” to which the Virginian responds by drawing his pistol and uttering one of the most famous lines in American folklore, “When you call me that, smile!”

Medicine Bow was founded in 1868 as a Union Pacific watering station along the Medicine Bow river. Watering stations like this were important places in a time when steam locomotives used thousands of gallons of water just to go relatively short distances. These stations often became local supply depots and trading posts. Built in 1909, the three-story Virginian Hotel was the largest hotel between
Denver and Salt Lake City at the time. It was also a regular gathering place for travelers, local ranchers, and railroad men. Not only does this marvelous building still stand nearly a century after being built, but it is also still a working hotel and has one of the finest old-time western bars in Wyoming. Due to time, Joe and I didn't get a chance to stop in and check this place out, put it is on our list of things to do in the future.

Down the street from the Virginian stands the Diplodocus Bar, more commonly know as The Dip. Within The Dip you will discover a fine collection of intricate woodcarvings and the only hand-painted dance floor west of the Mississippi. But the most striking feature here is a bar made of solid jade! This 10-foot long bar was carved from a single four-and-a-half ton jade boulder that was discovered in
nearby Lander, and is the largest jade bar in the world.

These are some of the ranch brands used in Wyoming. They were displayed on a large outside board.

An antelope watching us read the brand board.