Thursday, June 1,2011.

We stopped to visit Mel and Doris Gerhodlt's in Buffalo, Wyoming and had a really nice visit. Their dauschund, Fritz, really loved Greta. Poor Greta didn't understand what he was trying to do. And he is SO short, he couldn't reach her. Thank goodness! Boy am I glad I'm getting her fixed in Bozeman!
Mel suggested we all eat at the Bozeman Trail Inn in Big Horn, Wyoming. It was really good. Mel always wears his cowboy hat, jeans, boots and big buckles when he goes out. Then we went into Sheridan, Wyoming to visit the Histroic Sheridan Inn with the famous Buffalo Bill Saloon. Of course, we had to order drinks as if we were back in the late 1890's. The grand opening of this inn was on June 18, 1893. It was built by the Burlington and Missouri RaIlroads because the railroad came the previous year to carry all the coal, wheat and cattle. There needed to be a place to stay for the businessmen, so the inn was created. It cost $25,000 and its design was based on a hunting lodge that Thomas Kimball had visited in Scotland. It is also called the House of 69 Gables, The hand hewn beams are still visible in the dining room, lobby and saloon. The 3 fireplaces are built of the native cobblestone.
This was considered the finest hotel between Chicago and San Francisco. On the 2nd and 3rd floors were 64 sleeping rooms and a lobby, sitting room, dining room, kitchen and saloon on the first floor. The first electric lights turned on in Sheridan were in this Inn. Actually the lights originally came from a discarded threshing machine. The first running water in this area was here. It was pumped from a well located in the cellar to a holding tank on the thrd floor. The ladies had a bath on the second floor while the gentlemen had to bathe acroos the street. The first telephone was connected between the Inn and a drug store uptown. All of the guest rooms had steam heat also.
Whenever Col. Wm. F. Buffalo Bill Cody was in town he lived here at the Inn. In fact, from 1894 to 1902 the Inn was called the W. F. Cody Hotel Company because he was part owner. He would sit on the porch and auduiton acts for his Wild West show. His show depicted life in the west and featured lots of Indian culture. This show began here and also performed in Europe for several years. Many local cowboys and ranch hands auditioned for his show right on this porch.
The saloon's main attraction is its mahogany and oak bar which was made in England specifically for Sheridan. It was shipped to Huntley, Montana then brought to Sheridan by an ox-drawn wagon. Whenever a cowboy rode onto the porch and into the saloon it meant that "drinks were on the house".
The largest ballroom in the region is here inside the Inn. The Grand Ball was held here on June 23, 1893 when the Inn opened. Since many ranchers would spend gala weekends here, their wives would leave a trunk filled with their finest clothes ready for their next trip. In addition, the Inn ran a stagecoach from the Inn to downtown Sheridan. The inn had one of the wildest parties ever on the night before Prohibition in Wyoming. Even the liquor glasses were carried away as a souvenir. The waiters had to eventually serve liquor in teacups.
In the 72 years the Inn was a hotel, it had many famous guests. Among those were: Will Rogers, Charlie Russell, Ernest Hemingway, Bob Hope, Calamity Jane, Dr. Will Durant and Herbert Hoover. it was designated a National Historic Landmark by the U. S. Department of the Interior in 1964. It is an excellent illustration of the history of the west. In 1965, the Inn ceased its existence as a hotel. In 1967 just before it was to be knocked down and bulldozed away, Neltje Kings bought it because it represents our heritage, a symbol of all who believed in America to move west and created a life in the wilderness. It was their spirit which built the Inn. She wanted to preserve it for all of our nation and for our future generations. In December, 1990, the Sheridan Heritage Center bought the Inn and is now responsible for it's preservation. It has become a social gathering place for the community as it once was in the past. There are a variety of functions held here.
All of the creeks here are swollen also. They said 2 weeks ago it was all covered with snow! There are a couple of nice looking properties around Mel and Doris, but we are looking first around Bozeman, Montana for property; probably back into Ennis again where the log cabin is that we liked.
Mel has a couple of his son's horses in his pasture. Two are miniature horses and one isn't. He is trying to sell them. Greta didn't know what to think when she saw them. Here at Mel's I could let her run without a leash! She really liked that! Maybe we are all tired from being cooped up inside the RV. mel had us park the RV in his driveway. He owns many acres and the scenery is awesome!