9,000 Different Brands

Our morning started off very relaxing.  No hurry to get anywhere.  We talked about going to see the Trails Inn State Historic Site and stopping by the Mint Bar.  

Jeanne and Nick Schmidt stopped over and visited for awhile followed by Vern Fogler.  

We rode down town with Polly and Vern to visit the Mint Bar.  We had the whole place to ourselves.  The bartender was very informative about the place.

The bronco neon sign looked like it was out of the 50's.  Here's a photo of Bill Mains, Polly and Vern Fogler outside the Mint Bar.  There were stamped brands on the outside of the building.

Inside there were over 9,000 different brands on the walls and ceiling.  The bartender told us most of them were from Wyoming but some were from Idaho, Montana and Colorado.  The front of the bar had a beautiful tin ceiling that was 110 years old.

It's hard to describe this place but they had all kinds of animals on the walls and over the bar.  There was a snake skin over the bar that the bartender told us the six foot long snake weighed 80 pounds and had 28 rattlers.  Of course, they had some old civil war guns that Bill enjoyed telling the history and function to Vern.  

I asked about the beautiful woods and the bartender told us the beetles infested the pine and it causes the trees to get a "tumor".  The drawer handles were made from the horns of the pronghorns.  

The photos of the booths didn't come out well but they were beautiful.  

The ambiance was truly western.  If only these walls and bar stools could talk...... 

You  wonder whose boots walked over these floors.  

A bar that didn't serve food meant a short trip to Sanford's Pub and Grill.  Polly and Vern hadn't been there.  Polly started talking to the ladies sitting behind her and decided she and Vern would split a meal.  She was amazed at the amount of food and the size of the platters.  Bill and I shared a Reuben sandwich with the onion rings and sweet potato fries.    

When we were here earlier in the week, I hadn't used the restroom.  They carried the "decorating" into the restroom.

We arrived back to the park in time for Happy Hour.

Everyone decided on a departure time to leave for the Escapade in Gillette and who was following who.  Time will tell tomorrow if the plans all work as planned.