Ted and I needed some snack food, so our first stop today was at the grocery store in Lovell, WY. One wall inside the store displays photos of Lovell citizens who served in WWII.
The center section is framed in gold cord and has a gold star for the Lovell soldiers who died in the war.
With our fortified food supply, we headed for Alt US 14–the Bighorn Scenic Byway. Although it extends from the South Dakota-Wyoming border on the east to the eastern gate of Yellowstone National Park, we only drove the section from Lovell to Sheridan, crossing the Bighorn Mountains.
You can see the haze from the Montana wildfires in the upper half of the picture, but the drive was so scenic, the haze didn’t interfere with the pleasure of taking this route.
This is a view of the Granite Range. We crossed the Granite Pass at 9,033 feet.
We had lunch in Sheridan, described as “one of Wyoming’s hidden jewels” offering “New West culture and Old West hospitality.” We can’t disagree. It was a charming town and, without even getting into its cultural activities (we only stayed for lunch and some walk-around time), it wasn’t hard to find the New West/Old West contrasts.
On our way to lunch, we saw evidence of Old West hospitality.
Cowboy, bucking bronco: Old West.
Cowboy Cafe where we ate: Old West and great food.
Dining room of the Cowboy Cafe. The waitress was super-friendly. Notice that whatever you need is already on the tables: water glasses, pitcher of water, napkins, straws, silverware (white packages in the black wire canister), and condiments.
Walking around for about an hour after lunch showed lots of evidence of New West culture in Sheridan. Every intersection in the main downtown area has four sculptures–one on each corner. Some streets also have sculptures mid-block. Some of the sculptures were donated to the city and some are for sale. The least expensive one I saw was $3,200.
A “history of Sheridan” mural. One of the characters on the far end of the mural is the first schoolteacher.
“Great minds think alike.”
“Where Imagination Roams”
“Broke Everything but My Word.”
“Wyoming Spring” (Did you notice the Tin Man sculpture in the background?)
This is Ted’s and my favorite: “Second Star to the Right.”
Wyoming also has a sense of humor.
Sure, “WY not Wyoming?” (Another slogan we saw in town.)