Jody’s Diner – Evanston, Wyoming

After an epic evening and a great night’s sleep in Evanston, Peepaw and I were ready for a hearty breakfast, and one of the “locals” directed us to Jody’s Diner. 

As soon as we walked through the door, all we had to do was to look at the mural painted on the wall to know was a welcoming place…and the coffee smelled like a morning alarm clock!

While we studied the Jody’s Diner menu, I overheard a conversation in the booth behind me…and I heard the couple mention Iowa…so of course I turned around to begin a conversation. (After 47 years together, Peepaw is used to my “chatty” personality in ANY public place, so he simply smiled, said “hello”, rolled his eyes, and continued to study his menu while I launched into a lively chat.) The nice couple told me they were from Illinois, and they were returning home after a long trip to the West Coast.

After a pleasant visit, they left the diner and I tried to concentrate on the menu again, but I overheard a man seated at a nearby table. He was telling his friend something about Iowa City, our home town. And by now you’ve figured out that THIS Meemaw has to talk to ANYONE who seems to have a story I might want to share. (More about him later!)

I was FINALLY ready to place my order, and I decided to take a risk and try the biscuits and gravy. (I say risk, because many places make gravy that tastes more like wallpaper paste than breakfast.)

But in this case I made the right choice! But when the REST of my breakfast arrived…I remembered something my dear Mom used to say to me…”I think your eyes were bigger than your stomach.” And of course…Mom was usually right.

Like THIS time.

Peepaw’s plate was loaded too. (I guess that little slice of orange was an homage to healthy eating…)

As we dug into the huge plates of food, the gentleman walked past who had mentioned our Heartland home earlier, so I stopped him to tell him where we were from. He told us his work took him to Eastern Iowa often, and we had a great chat about common landmarks.

After I enjoyed as much of that awesome breakfast as I knew I should..I got up to take a look at the tiny gift shop offerings in the front of the store. And the front of this T-Shirt made me laugh out loud! (How TRUE it is.)

As I walked back to our table, I noticed a cute dog waiting patiently outside the restaurant door, and I began to chat with the gentleman in the booth behind Peepaw. It turns out the dog belonged to him. And after a few minutes of conversation I discovered the dog’s owner was Michael Swearngin…an artist from Arizona! Check out his Contemporary Cowboy/Contemporary Art RIGHT HERE.

So after a BUSY morning making new friends (and devouring that huge, delicious breakfast) it was time to pay the bill and head West once again, and I’ll always remember Jody’s Diner in Evanston, Wyoming as the place I barely had time to eat. (But, trust me, I made time. Probably a little too much time!)

So Peepaw and I “hit the road” again, leaving with too-full stomachs, and warm memories of new friends…the MANY new friends we made in that Cowboy town of Evanston.

And that ribbon of road kept drawing us on to new adventures.

Idaho here we come!