#161 - The Virginian Hotel, in Wyoming

Medicine Bow, Wyoming
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​When I stumbled across   The Virginian Hotel on the internet, I quickly knew it had big potential for a memorable overnight!

I remember laughing out loud as I sat at my computer, hunting for hotel options between Fort Collins and Casper. I hollered to Don in the other room. 

"You need to check this out! This might be crazy, but I'm game to stay, if you are!"​

​Markers and Signs
 
So we planned it into our road trip. Medicine Bow wasn't exactly on our route, but it was on the Old Lincoln Highway. It was worth a detour. 

When we arrived at the hotel last June, we parked beside two old highway markers. I climbed out of the car and spotted a sign, with a quote, bolted right onto the hotel's cement bricks. The words reminded me that I hadn't done my hotel homework! The Virginian Hotel was named for the first western novel, written in 1902. I wished I had read the book, since I only vaguely remember the old TV series and movies. 

Standing Sturdy Since 1911

​The sturdy, but stark hotel looked pretty quiet, sitting beside the highway and across from railroad tracks. Fresh paint helped hide the age of the hotel, completed in 1911.

It was odd to picture this hotel, 106 years ago, capitalizing on a book's success. But the hotel did just that. It was named in honor of Owen Wister's novel, which was set in Medicine Bow. I would love to have seen the town, back in its rowdier days of cowboys and railroad workers. 

​Checking In
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We headed for the door marked, "Eating House" and met Sharon, after she finished serving some lunch guests.

Sharon was pleasant and welcoming, but she was obviously juggling a few jobs.

There was a moment of worry, when the key to the "Owen Wister Suite" was missing. 

​Peeking Around

I tried not to worry about what the missing key revealed. I have a feeling, most visitors come to eat, not to stay overnight. I just amused myself looking at the old cash register and the fancy call board. I'm still trying to figure out how those buzzers and arrows worked.

Fancy Dining
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While Sharon searched, I wandered through an opening, with velvet drapes and found the more formal dining room. The set tables looked pretty inviting, even with the stuffed critters watching from above. Sadly this would not be an option for our dinner, since the room was reserved for special occasions.   

​The Room Search

The key was found and we headed up the staircase in search of the Owen Wister Suite, on the second floor. The oversized mural on the landing, took some attention away from the worn and musty carpet. 

I paused to grin and greet the colorful ladies, gathered around the table with their cards.

I'm not sure how many or what kind of ladies, actually stayed here, in 1911?

So Many Rooms

​The 16 rooms on the second floor were all open for viewing. It was pretty clear that no other overnight guests were staying. However, we were prepared to "not be alone" since we knew some travelers in the diner had been invited to explore. 

During our own exploring, we found a cute little  sitting room. I imagine this was used mostly by the guests renting the smaller "sleeping rooms". The "water closet" was also available for the sleeping room guests, who only had sinks in their room. 

The "Owen Wister Suite"

At the end of the hall we found the door to our room. I'd been told it was the prized room, often used for honeymooners. Mostly we chose it, so we wouldn't have to share a "water closet".  

There was a sort of confusing cluster of doors and entrances, but basically we had 3 bedrooms, a parlor and a bathroom... and 3 entrances to the hall. We entered the parlor first and found the old button light switch, right beside the nifty call button.  

The Parlor
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I'm a bit amused to see how elegant the parlor appears in my photo. My eyes are drawn to the glowing chandelier, the antiques and velvet... the colors of gold and burgundy... even the pipes were painted gold. 

The Senses
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But there was much more than meets the eye.

There were many visuals to distract me, but my other senses went to work. The odors of old carpets and fabrics mingled with cooking smells from the kitchen. The sound of a train rumbling by across the street, didn't drown out the sound of the saloon's juke box, below our room. The textures of dusty wood and lumpy pillows and metal radiators... well, it was a lot to take in.
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Voices in the Bathroom
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My bathroom photo also looks downright cozy, however I had my concerns.  The golden tub was cute, but difficult to use. There were numerous pipes that came up through the floor, along with the voices, laughter and music from the saloon below. 

We were glad it wasn't a Saturday night.

Bedroom Options
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​Don and I aren't used to having so many bed options with our whacky overnights. We took our decision making seriously.

We could have slept in the yellow room with its sewing machine, if we hadn't been nervous about the bed collapsing in the night. The brass head and footboards leaned towards each other, even without bodies weighting it down. However, the mattress was practically touching the floor, so we might have slept through the fall. "Does, it even have a box spring?" Don asked.
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Two More Rooms
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The room with the single bed was easy to cross off. The bed near the bathroom looked sturdier, but there seemed to be a huge lump under the  1980's era bedspread. I bravely investigated and found an issue with some kind of mattress topper. Nope. I wasn't going to sleep on that.

​Settling In

Don and I have a lot of tolerance for the oddities of aging hotels. We choose places that amuse or intrigue us, over hotels that pamper us.  Usually we just laugh and take photos.  However, sometimes our photos reveal our inner discomfort. 

After checking for clean sheets and deciding we were up for the "Virginian Experience", we attempted to settle in. I posed with a hat I found on the dresser and Don read a pamphlet. However, my expression looks anxious and Don looks a bit tense. We are usually so easily entertained, but there seemed to be so much time and so little to do.
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Exploring
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I peeked out the window and spotted the old train station (now museum) across the highway. It was about 100 degrees, but we decided to explore.

After peeking in windows of the closed museum, we wandered around the back of the building and found the old bank, a laundromat and a very creepy old jailhouse. I had a good time comparing the image today, to vintage a photo.

​Dressing the Part
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Our wandering only ate up a little time. We headed back to the hotel and asked Sharon about ice. She graciously gave us an entire bag from the kitchen. (another hint that this was not a typical hotel) We headed upstairs and got dressed for dinner. Now, that's something you certainly don't need to do at The Virginian. But Don and I sometimes amuse ourselves with costume changes and a cold beverage. We put on some western gear, in prep.

​The Shiloh Saloon
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Before dinner we stopped in the saloon, expecting to meet the voices we'd been getting to know through our floor.  

However, most of the afterwork locals had already moved on and only one beer drinker was left. "You staying in the Owen Wister room?" He asked, sounding more gracious, than nosy.  He said he'd been told to lay off the juke box since there were guests upstairs. He asked for our permission to play some tunes and even asked what kind of music we preferred.

Ranch Furniture
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While the juke box played a Fleetwood Mac song, I took in my   surroundings.​ I found the hefty leather and wood, longhorn chairs pretty tempting. But we were drawn to the bar stools, where we could study the decor.  

Horns, Hats and a Clown
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Our new friend chatted about life, growing up in an isolated town, of less than 300. He liked it enough to move back, after some years in more exciting places. 
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Sad Emmett
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I recognized the sad clown above the bar as Emmett Kelly, the famous Ringling Brothers' clown. I wondered about the sad piece of decoration. Our friend seemed to think he was a rodeo clown, which would tie into the western decor. Emmett was pitiful enough just hanging above us, but at least he no longer had a rope around his neck.  We were told  there had been such a rope, until  an angry hotel guest  made them  remove it.  

Posing in Our Western Wear
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After Sharon hustled over from the Eating House to take our order, our new friend encouraged us to pose behind the bar.

I'm posing with a bottle because I'm not too picky about how I drink my beer. However, Don always asks for a glass. When he asked Sharon, she looked at him as if no one had ever made such an odd request. She looked at his bottle and said, "Your beer's in glass." Don and I grinned at that comment. Sharon wasn't being a bit sassy. She was just stating the fact, before she got Don a mug. 

Dinnertime
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​There were no options in town for dinner, besides the hotel's Eating Room. Don and I took a table under the fine Virginian mural.

Local families and a few teens ate at the other tables and booths. Sharon teased some teen boys for ordering french fries when dinner was waiting at home. The hotel owner addressed a few diners by name, as he busied himself with some paperwork. 

Dining and Goats
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​While Don and I settled into our good enough sandwich meals, I became distracted by a man who had stopped by the hotel to announce something about goats.

I ended up outside with a few other diners to see the 3 baby goats riding in his truck. He said they'd been born 2 hours ago and he was out to get them some milk, since they were unable to nurse. That was the highlight of my mea! 

​Hunkering Down

We had a few issues, getting ready for bed. A new wave of guests had arrived at the saloon and the voices and juke box music drifted up to our room. Don listed the options for soothing sleep sounds on his phone app, while I took on the light situation. 

I safety-pinned the drapes, to block out the exterior spotlight. I told Don we'd need to ignore the hall light glowing through the door's glass transom.  We plopped our pillows on the bed and I gave a quick blast of soothing lavender spray.

We both lay back and laughed. We were amused by our accommodations and amused with ourselves. It wasn't even 10:00, but we were going to bed so it would hurry up and be morning. Shortly after 10 pm, we heard a door slam below and the final car pulled away from the gravel lot. For some reason I slept well and hardly even noticed the numerous trains in the night.

​Morning
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I woke before 6, when I heard noises from the kitchen. Don said he'd hold off on a shower, until our next hotel.

I went for the claw-footed tub experience, using shampoo (from a previous hotel) as my bubble bath. No fancy bath products in the Owen Wister Suite.

We headed downstairs before 8 and turned in our key to a young woman.  I sensed a bit of distance. She seemed uncertain about whether to ask about our stay. We headed off, grinning.  What a curious place!

 
​What's Notable?

It's an odd experience being the only overnight guests in a hotel of this size. 

Is that what made our stay a little unsettling? 

We weren't worried about safety or ghosts or even the dust and smells or sounds. But it was odd sleeping in a building that seemed more of a community gathering place, than a hotel. 

I'll remember our curious and creaky Victorian suite and the fortress-like vision, of our isolated hotel.  But I will also remember feeling like we were outsiders. When we walked down the stairs, we were the guests from the Owen Wister room. When we were in our room, the voices from the saloon reminded us that we weren't a part of the local crowd.  Maybe if we had stayed one more night, we could have eased into the place and talked with more folks. Well, never mind that.  

I'm glad we stayed. But one night was all that was needed!