Evanston, Wyoming – It’s A Small World

If you are a loyal Meemaw Eats social media follower, you may already know that our “Westward Ho” Road Trip recently landed us in Evanston, Wyoming for an overnight stay. (Check out Meemaw Eats on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter too!)

Peepaw and I always try to keep our travel days to about 500-600 miles so we still have enough “spunk” left to explore the towns we land in before bedtime rolls around. (Like I always say…we may be old, but we’re not dead!)

We’ve stayed in Evanston before, and we remembered a little local hangout called Spanky’s Bar. It was a great place to see real cowboys bellied up to the bar, and to hear them share stories about life on the range. (We’ve been known to eavesdrop a time or two…Just say’in…) And since our motel was located within walking distance, we set out on foot. It always feels great to stretch our legs and get our blood pumping after sitting all day in the car. And when we walk we always see some beautiful sights we would have missed if we were zipping by in a car.

For instance? This beautiful, crystal clear stream…

And these deer who were meandering through town…

Spanky’s Bar is located directly across the street from the local rodeo grounds. And their outdoor seating was perfect on a beautiful Wyoming evening. And, of course, I struck up a conversation with some of the “locals” who had stopped in for a beer at the end of their working day.

Two women were seated at another table, and when they heard us say we were from Iowa, one woman (Stacey) spoke up to say that her husband was originally from Iowa. That wasn’t too shocking…but when she told us he was from Dedham, Iowa…THAT was was the beginning of amazing! You see, Dedham has a population of only 265 people…and Marty (one of our best friends back home) is also from there! So the “name game” began in earnest…and it didn’t take long to realize that, of course, both families knew each other. And in fact, Stacy’s brother in law had boarded his horse at Marty’s parent’s farm!

So after we had a good laugh and a visit with Stacey, Peepaw and I  set out on foot to walk to the quaint downtown area to find a good place to eat.

We ended up at Kate’s…and we ordered a basket of their wings. They were delicious! Crispy outside and juicy inside. And the dipping sauce was awesome…

We arrived at Kate’s just in time for their weekly cash drawing, and the place was filled with folks who were hoping to take home that weekly pot of gold. The bartender asked for someone to come up to draw the lucky winner…and who should emerge from the crowd to draw the name? You guessed it…Stacey!

The three of us greeted each other like old friends, and we shared a hearty laugh. And before Stacey drew the winning name, she asked the entire bar to give a big Evanston, Wyoming welcome to her “new-old” friends from Iowa. The crowd let out a huge cowboy cheer and greeted us with “Hello Iowa!” “Hey, Hawkeyes!” “Waahoo!” It was one for the record books…

My research tells me the population of Evanston, Wyoming was 12, 295 in the last census. And, thanks to Stacey, it felt like the  entire town came out to give us a hearty cowboy welcome on a night we won’t soon forget.