Cowboy State Daily’s 'Drinking Wyoming' is presented by Pine Bluffs Distilling
DUBOIS — After dark, the Outlaw might be too sketchy for some. It has an intimidating aura. One Yelper gave it a disappointing 3 stars just because he feared for his personal safety.
“Have you ever experienced a moment where you walk into a joint and the jukebox comes to a screeching halt, and a half-dozen gnarly and grizzled local mountain men sitting at the bar all turn and glare at you as if you were the very thing they were all just talking about?” wrote Bruce B. out of Round Rock, Texas.
Day-drinking at the Outlaw, though, is perfectly safe and wildly entertaining.
Locals at the Outlaw all have that rode hard and put away wet look, it’s true. But to suggest they hunt a rope and rafters every time they see a non-County 10 plate roll up front is a stretch.
The villainous vibe might come from the fact it’s always dark in there. Even on a bright summer day, the Outlaw looks like a bear den inside.
Only smokier. Much smokier.
Want to fit in? Bring your own pack of fa*gs and be judicious with them if your barstool neighbor is bumming. Fancier pubs sport maraschino cherries and beer nut stations every three stools. The Outlaw has ashtrays, about two to each customer.
It’s probably one of the few places left in America where patrons are allowed to smoke inside. Down the road, the Rustic Pine Tavern went smoke-free in July 2020 after a change in ownership.
At any given time, night or day, there is a “resident” dog stretched out under someone’s barstool. It’s never the same dog, and he never seems to come or go with anyone in particular.
Been There, Drank That?
Friends tell me I’ve been to the Outlaw Saloon. I don't remember. And there’s probably a bumper sticker or a shot glass etching to that effect.
The return trip took place the Saturday former President Trump got shot. The nice lady at the Water Wheel Gift Shop was sharing that intel with anyone who walked in.
Sure enough, when the wife and I hit the Outlaw, everyone was glued to the big flat screen above the bar. Usually, there’s a horse race of some kind on, but Trump was on every channel.
We took the only two open stools at the far end of the bar on that Saturday in July after dinner at the Lone Buffalo. Wifey got a hard seltzer. I ordered the accepted cowboy Kool-Aid of Wyoming: a Coors Banquet.
I had contemplated a King Ropes ballcap but thought that might look too hard like trying to fit it. Everybody and his bearded brother (and wild-haired fishing girlfriend) is sporting a King Ropes hat these days with no idea what it’s branding other than Ian Munsick wears one.
I went with the Koe Wetzel East Texas Country only because it says “badass” in any language, even outside the Lone Star State. If I’m gonna get my ass beat at the Outlaw, I'm going down swinging.
I silently prayed no one noticed the County 22 tags on the vehicle we parked covertly a block away.
Fun And Friendly
Then the unexpected kept happening.
The couple next to us were about as gregarious as it gets in Fremont County. He owns some property in Kinnear, outside Riverton. She owns the attached kitschy retail space next door. We got our own private tour of the shop between drinks.
Cute space. Wife wore the magnetic strip off her credit card there the next day.
If you’re lucky and she’s still kicking, you might meet Earleen at the Outlaw. She was 74 last time anyone asked. Pull up a stool and ask her about chariot racing back in the day. She was one of the first women to run cutters in the male-dominated sport that has all but vanished.
Bartender Tom plopped a handful of quarters on the bar and we shot some pool. Dubois has to have more pool tables per capita than any place in America. (Go ahead, fact-check that one.)
The Rustic has three. The Outlaw has, in their own words, “More pool tables than any bar in Dubois!”
The biggest surprise at the Outlaw was the music. Expecting the entire back catalogue of Steppenwolf and Bad Company, the Outlaw is refreshingly eclectic. Like, crazy all over the place.
Styx’s “Mr. Roboto” followed by Anita Ward’s one and only disco hit “Ring My Bell.”
What?
Deep cuts like Tom Petty’s “U Get Me High,” “Banjo Odyssey” by The Dead South, and 2Pac’s “Ambitionz Az A Ridah.”
This was not set it and forget it Sirius satellite channel lock. Someone curated this carefree playlist with genuine love and a dash of madness.
And did that little JBL house system boom the bass. Maybe it was the Coors talking, but the Outlaw Saloon gets high marks in the music department. That was all before the DJ came on later.
The Outlaw Saloon is reportedly up for sale. Gannett has it listed for $974,000. The spirit of longtime owner Gari Epp would probably roll over in his grave knowing the joint might fetch nigh on $1 million today.
That’d buy a lot of Wild Turkey. And a few more ashtrays.
A Must Stop In Dubois
The Rustic Pine Tavern is a manageable 765 wobbly steps from the Outlaw east on Ramshorn Street. The two bars are split geographically by Horse Creek, a plucky little stream that takes snowmelt off E A Mountain and feeds it to the meandering Wind River.
Ramshorn (Highway 26/287) itself is divided into east and west at North 5th Street. The Outlaw is on West Ramshorn. The Rustic on East Ramshorn.
I've been to the Rustic many times. It’s noteworthy for the amount of dead heads on the wall. If the Outlaw wants to claim pool tables, the Rustic wins the trophy mount division, which includes a few massive bull elk and one pissed off-looking moose.
Nights at the Rustic I am able to recall include one of the most entertaining bands I’ve ever seen in western Wyoming. I can't remember their name, but I seem to remember a Black male singer named Terry. They were awesome.
They still do live entertainment at the Rustic in the adjoining hall, but not as much as they once did.
My friend Heath bartended at the Rustic for a while when he wasn’t cowboying up at the E A Ranch. Nowadays, the bar hires mostly young ladies and they are all really good at what they do.
The Rustic bills itself as the world’s most unique bar. At least it says so on the aging neon sign out front.
It’s a bar more geared toward the tourists than the Outlaw. A community meeting place of sorts since 1917 or 1919 — no one is quite sure and both dates appear in printed material — the Rustic has come to reflect the newer direction Dubois has taken.
There’s still Tuesday night family-friendly square dancing all summer. Friday nights after the rodeo lets out, most contestants and probably a few fans head to the Rustic Pine.
Where Outlaw patrons wear their ink by the sleeve, Rustic boozers are more likely tramp stamped or sporting Dixie Chicks-inspired foot tattoos.
Centennial Legacy
Sunday night at the Rustic. The wife ordered a peach High Noon. I had a Shiner or three. I'm wearing the King Ropes hat now.
“You coming from Sheridan?” the bartendress asked.
“No, why?”
“Your hat. I'm from there.”
Oh, right. Sheridan, headquarters for King Ropes, which Texas ropers like to swing and, go figure, Cactus seems to be the favorite of Wyoming ropers. You’re never appreciated in your hometown. That’s biblical, by the way. New Testament.
I explain this to the bartender who I simply call “Sheridan” for the rest of the night. I think her name might actually be Sophie and she just recently turned 22.
Even though it’s technically older, the Rustic looks newer, cleaner, brighter.
Kathleen Murdock had her wedding reception here a few weeks ago. By her account, it was spectacular.
“The bar is full of history, and it has been beautifully restored to highlight its charm,” she shared on TripAdvisor.
The Rustic does seem to be able to effortlessly transcend the gap between old and new, kind of like a typical city block in London.
Whether it’s the classic postcard photo from 1935 featuring the handwritten words at the top: “Flat Tire Here,” or a 1950s-era photo of peppy bobbysoxers and stoic cattlemen, this place always looks the same. One hundred and five years, and counting.
The music at the Rustic on this Sunday night is not nearly as inspiring as the Outlaw’s. The sound system is less robust and the tunes are all in the same narrow Spotify playlist vein of neo-country like Kane Brown ft. Marshmello or Morgan Wallen ft. Diplo, and bellbottom country like Lainey Wilson or whoever the Nashville girl-of-the-month is.
Drinking Buddies
Johnny Rodeo walks in straight off a Hollywood set — vest, boots, wild rag.
“The usual, Johnny? Shot and a Coors?” Sheridan asks.
Johnny nods and fumbles for his pockets.
“I got you, Johnny,” Sheridan says.
They make small talk.
“I'm digging the vibe tonight. It’s less stressful so I get to talk to everybody,” Sheridan says.
The west end girls in Dubois trend on the blue-haired, Friday night bingo side. No need to card anyone at the Outlaw. On the eastside at the Rustic, it’s more buckle bunnies and enlightened Swifties who can sing every lyric to any Taylor tune pre-2014.
Sheridan works the room flawlessly. She’s been behind the wood at Rustic for less than a year but looks like an old pro.
“I was just going to be here for a few months while I figured out my next move,” she divulged. “That was last winter. But the people are so nice here and I really like the change of pace.”
The night passes uneventfully. The only entertainment is a group of tourists in Yellowstone hoodies and jackalope caps asking directions to Jackson.
“Says here on the GPS that ‘Doobwah’ to Jackson is an hour and a half, but we were wondering about coming over ‘Tugwattee’ Pass. Is there likely to be snow up there to worry about?” asked a gentleman in bright orange Crocs.
Bless their hearts and Sheridan’s patience.
As watering holes go, the Rustic Pine lives up to the billing. Historic? Sure, though I’ve tipped a stout in Irish pubs that had co*cktail napkins that old.
But 105 years is nothing to scoff at in an age where every day it seems old bars are being turned into banks and old banks are being reimagined as new bars.
Unique? On any given night, yes, the Rustic is as unique as the characters that belly up to the bar. Just remember to count yourself among those characters.
Jake Nichols can be reached at jake@cowboystatedaily.com.
