SOUJOURN 2 ~ FISH & CHIPS: WYOMING TROUT + GOLF

TRAVEL DATES: July 22-29, 2022

TRIP STATS: Days Afield ~ 8: Miles Traveled ~ 2200: Travelers ~ Solo ~ J McCleary: States Traversed ~ Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming:

BEST PLACES: Basset Lodge & Range Cafe ~ Basset, Nebraska: Occidental Hotel ~ Buffalo, Wyoming: Bighorn Mountains ~ Highway 16 @ Buffalo, Wyoming: Buffalo, Wyoming ~ The Town: Tensleep Creek ~ Bighorn Mountains: Meadowlark Lake ~ Bighorn Mountains:

PEOPLE: Paul Prosinski ~ Artist, Buffalo, Wyoming: Mark Wilson ~ Realtor, Buffalo, Wyoming: John Ross ~ Teacher, Kerney, Nebraska:

GOLF COURSES: Played: 3 Crowns ~ Casper, Wyoming ~ 80 Strokes: Buffalo Golf Club ~ Buffalo, Wyoming ~ 80 Strokes: Play Someday: Several in Nebraska ~ Fredrick Peak ~ Valentine, Nebraska: Wild Horse ~ Gothenberg, Nebraska:

WATERS: Crazy Woman Creek ~ Bighorn Mountains FS31: Ten Sleep Creek ~ Bighorn Mountains Camp 16: Clear Creek ~ Buffalo, Wyoming: North Platte ~ Gray Reef Section ~ Below Alcova, Wyoming:

Day 1 - Friday July 22, 2022

After feeling like I really needed to “blow the stink off”, and with some encouragement from Sonya and Jemi, Sojourn 2 began. Jemi helped me pack up the truck in under 45 minutes. In the muggy Kansas dusk I departed for points west, seeking cool air, trout, fairways and a chance to experience some solitude and adventure.

The first leg took me two hours up the road north toward Nebraska City, at 10 PM the truck came to rest in camp spot 8 at the Duck Creek Recreation Area off of highway 75 near Peru, Nebraska. The OZ tent was deployed, mattress and blow fans positioned in the 86 degree Kansas air.

Day 2 - Saturday July 23, 2022

At 5:30 am I broke camp, 18 minutes from wake up to departure. North on highway 75, through Omaha then northwest on highway 275. Small farm towns, rolled bales of fresh hay dotting the fields. It rained a bit in Norfolk, a wide rainbow spread out among the black clouds, dark streaks extending all the way to the ground. The weather cleared again, Bassett seemed like a good place for a stop and lunch. A single street downtown with brick buildings and glass store fronts, most closed up for good, the skeleton of a once busy town.

Making the best finds list for this trip is the Bassett Lodge and Range Cafe, a once fancy place for the cattle trade, a hotel with a lobby unchanged from the 1950 or 1960’s, a functioning lodging place even today. I was tempted to stay for nostalgias sake. The range cafe was also a throwback, Formica bar with stools bolted to the floor, booths arranged in rows along the wall and a double row in the center. A couple of farmers stopped in and sat shoulder to shoulder with me across the divider. We talked some about farming, rain or lack of and the straw hat that one of them had found in the attic of his father in law, a perfectly shaped open weave summer straw thatI wished he would have offered for sale on the spot. I will have to keep looking. I had the patty melt, fries and an iced tea, paid at a very modern iPad terminal on the front counter, somehow it was out of place. An old register with the crank handle on the side would have been more appropriate.

I had hoped to find some relief from the heat and explore the small ribbons of trout water near Valentine. As it turned out, I had come to the wrong place, it was 95 degrees outside at mid-day. The sun had baked all of the moisture from the ground leaving nothing but large cracks like an aged painting. Dry grass and weeds were everywhere, the remnants of a wet spring.

I had learned about a golf course in Valentine called Frederick Peak, this is a 9 hole city layout designed by the architects of The Prairie Club, Tom Lehman as I recall. I called for a morning tee time as I had plans to spend the night. Took a quick drive to the course to check it out. A tournament was going on with teams of women and men in matching shirts. The wind pushing the 95 degree air made my decision to continue west an easy one.

From Valentine, Route 20 takes you west across the top of Nebraska, rolling hills of grasslands, tight bunches of angus cattle, all pressed together along the fence lines, tails swishing the flies away. Why do they huddle up in all of that heat? The road was dotted with more little dried up towns, most decades past their glory days, barely hanging on with a few faithful residents. The rolling grass plains give way to a new kind of terrain right near the Wyoming border. Butte country marks the point where many of the historic Indian and military battles were fought. Primary trade routes, the buttes marking the horizon, guiding traders and travelers alike. Fort Robinson State Park sits along the banks of the White River near Crawford.

I pressed on to Casper, picked up some golf shoes at the local Dicks. Steak dinner at the Wyoming Rib and Chop House on Center Street. Bedded down at a local hotel after checking out the 3 Crowns Golf Course in the fading light, a few putts on the practice green in preparation for tomorrow.

Day 3 Saturday, July 24th

The pro was pulling carts from the storage building when I rolled into the lot at 6:45am. My tee time was set for 7:30, grabbed a coffee and hit a few balls on the range. I was paired with a couple of young locals in their 20’s. We played in great cool weather and a light breeze. 3 Crowns Golf Course is built on a former refinery site and has placards spread about showing how the mess had been contained, a golf course spread over the top like a fancy layer of icing. I liked the layout, greens were exceptionally difficult, 3 putted my way to an 80, an otherwise tidy tee to green round.

By early afternoon Buffalo, Wyoming was in sight as I exited off of I 25. The downtown immediately reminded me of Sherman Ave in 1998. I secured lodgings at the Occidental Hotel and took lunch in the saloon. My room was a single bed cowboy affair on the second floor. Swinging tavern doors separated the bath from the sleeping quarters. A clawfoot tub with a hanging curtain rounded out the look. The whole place is very authentic and has been in operation for 140 years. Rich with history, you can imagine those old characters walking anmong the mounted elk, deer and antelope heads and sleeping in the rooms. The hotel library full of old newspapers, maps and books from every category imaginable..

Late afternoon, a thunderstorm swept through and brought much needed rain. In the storm I made it to the only grocery store in town, JP’s Market on the way up the mountain. I picked up a bag of junk food items and some fried chicken and ate it in the truck. In the rain, I drove up the mountain to check out the campgrounds closest to Buffalo. Tie Hack was mostly full, nestled down in the pines, Tie Hack Lake sits down the grade below the campground a fair piece. The rain continued with thunder rolling through the canyons above a low layer of dark clouds. I went further up the highway to a tire chain pull out, then turned around and went back to town.

I stopped at the Buffalo Colf Club and made a tee time for 10AM the following morning. Back to the hotel. It hit me that I might be poisoning myself with all of the junk food, so I went back to the truck and rearranged all of the gear. Threw the bag of food in the dumpster. Then moved the rig down to the street in front of the hotel.

Day 4 Sunday, July 25th.

Up this morning and had some coffee in the hotel library, took a walk around downtown the Main Street of town, nice sunny morning. Stopped in at a frame shop and met Paul Prosinski, a retired art teacher from Buffalo whose son Chris played in the NFL back around 2010. Really liked his art and had a good discussion with him about potential art for our house.

Headed to the golf course and met up with a single player named John Ross. He is a teacher in Kearney Nebraska, his girlfriend of 20 years has family in Buffalo and they come every year to visit. It was an enjoyable round, the course a nice mature parkland style with a 3 hole section running up a natural canyon. Once again, shot an 80 for score.

Stopped at the market, a salad mix, some ribeyes, eggs and bacon. Headed up to the mountain. Stopped on the way and talked to a local road worker who was putting out some signs on a damaged piece of mountain track. He showed me a spot on the map where good camping and fishing could be had. Road 31, second creek and turn right. The spot was perfect. Clear stream, pine trees and no people. I set up camp, drove up the road and gathered some wood, cooked a steak and made a few casts before dark. Finally, cool air and the peace that I had come for.

Day 5 Monday, July 26th.

Woke in the tent this morning at daybreak, cloudy and a light rain falling, decided to take a drive up over the pass. Turned off at the Meadowlark Ski Area and lake access on the east side of the lake and drove down to the waters edge. Trout were feeding on the surface, taking small midges, dimples turning to wider rings then dissipating to nothing. The sweeping view of the ski hill, lake and surrounding mountains was open and grand. The Meadowlake Lodge Cafe had an open sign in the window, so I entered the log building and took a table overlooking the lake, ordered sausage, eggs and some hot coffee. After breakfast, drove west and turned off at Deerhaven, a small community of privately owned cabins on leased land. West Ten Sleep creek flows south from the lake to the north. A broken freestone stream tumbling down the mountain. Stretches of water broken by boulders turn into long flowing runs with meadows of tall grass crowding the banks. Very nice water to be fished at some point. Drove to the West Ten Sleep lake trail turn around, then made my way back to camp. The rain let up, put on waders adn hiked down stream through the deadfall’s of old pines and fir. Crazy Woman Creek is pocket water, mostly deadfall’s and rocky banks broken by the occasional run. My first fish was a brook trout of about 5 inches, later a rainbow followed by two more brookies. Fished a dry and dropper combo. It was nice to walk the trail after a rain, I realized how much I have missed the smell of the mountains. Back at camp, I reorganized the truck, and packed up. Headed back to Buffalo.

At the Occidental, the Teddy Roosevelt Suite became my home for the night. It was easy to imagine him there at the writing desk in the sitting room. Put a load of laundry into the wash while dining. The special of the evening at the Virginian was Elk Steak, ordered medium rare with a wedge salad and asparagus. Excellent dinner in this historic old building. A walk down to clear creek, looking off the bridge in the fading light for trout, a mother mallard and 10 ducklings nervously bobbed their way downstream in a tight fuzzy cluster against her sides, disappearing into the shadow of an undercut stream bank. A full and good day.

Day 6 Tuesday, July 27th

Woke in the Teddy Roosevelt suite, coffee and browsing some old newspapers from the 1930’s in the library. Checked out and got some breakfast next door at the cafe. Paul was in his shop, stopped and talked with him again about cabins and real easte, he game me the name of a realtor friend of his, Mark Wilson, called and set up a time to meet him this afternoon. Stopped into the Sports Lure and picked up a few fishing supplies, flies, tippet and the like. Made my way up Clear Creek west of town and fished a section below the foot bride where the walking path parallels the creek. Caught a nicely colored little brown trout of about 5 inches, the third trout variety of the trip.

Refueled the truck and freshened the ice supply, took a drive out to Healy Reservoir where I hear tell of Tiger Muskie and and some large trout at the spillway. Lunched at a barbecue truck, hog on a log, then met up with Mark at the golf course. We talked hunting and the buffalo area, good guy and a good contact for the future.

Departed for the mountains again, this time camp 16 at the West Ten Sleep Creek road. Set up the truck camp with the tarp, then quickly headed to the stream. I can’t remember when wading was a tough, skull sized round boulders covered with a special greasy slime made for a stumbling nightmare of a trek upstream. The water was good and fishable, caught a few small rainbows but overall for the quality of the stream it did not feel very fishy. Back to camp and a fitful sleep in the cramped lodgings of the back of black. Woke at 2:30, rustled around until 3:30 then quietly broke camp as to not wake the family snugly tented up across the road.

Grabbed fuel a fritter and a large coffee, said so long for now to Buffalo and headed south to Casper and the North Platte.

Day 7 Wednesday July 28th

Arrived in Casper before the fly shop opened. Platte River Fly Shop on hiway 220 was open and got me set up with some flies and intel on where to fish. The Gray Reef section begins below the dam at Alcova. The state has some designated fishing and camping areas along this section. Bugs are a problem here for camping in summer. Fished the eastern channel of the islands that are near the second parking area. Hooked 4 fish, landed one 19” Rainbow.

Left for Laramie through a cell phone no-mans land. spent the night there.

Day 8 Thursday July 29th

Drove from Laramie to Lawrence - Trip concluded at 3PM.