Stationery Break Day at Terry Bison Ranch, Cheyenne Wyoming
Our Time at
Terry Bison Ranch:
It was good
to have a day to rest and relax without any real schedule. Pete chose Terry
Bison Ranch in Cheyenne because it would give me an opportunity to take a trail
ride if I so desired. I was just too tired to even consider taking a trail
ride. For me, that’s really tired. I had ridden in Wyoming before, so I don’t
feel like I missed out. Plus, here’s the scoop on Terry Bison Ranch:
Frankly, the place really confused us. So much so, that it’s going to take a bit of work to sort it all out for you, but I’ll try.
Frankly, the place really confused us. So much so, that it’s going to take a bit of work to sort it all out for you, but I’ll try.
· We never got an email confirmation for our reservation
“ That’s just not how we do it,” they
said.
Well, okay, but in an electronic world, when you are operating a business that people are planning their lives around, some sort of confirmation, especially one that lists our reserved site and dates (just to make sure we haven’t made a mistake) would be both reassuring and helpful to put into our binder. Because that led to the next situation:
Well, okay, but in an electronic world, when you are operating a business that people are planning their lives around, some sort of confirmation, especially one that lists our reserved site and dates (just to make sure we haven’t made a mistake) would be both reassuring and helpful to put into our binder. Because that led to the next situation:
- The message on the answering machine (at 8:30pm) said their office closes at 5pm
Since we don’t have a paper telling us how to handle late arrivals, we were super-nervous arriving at 10pm. At National/State Park sites, there is a card with your name and site on it, waiting at the gate. At TBR, we had to search on the façade of the trading post to find out that if you arrive late, you just mosey yourself into a site (praying that there is one despite the fact that you paid for a site in January) and just pay in the morning.
·
When
we checked in, they were friendly. They gave us a cute TBR newspaper, a
campground map and a 10% off coupon for The Senator’s Steakhouse and here’s where
things get confusing if you are or are not paying attention.
The newspaper explains the difference between buffalo (located in Africa and South Asia, according to the missive) and Bison (located in North and South America. The current owners claim responsibility for approx. 2,500 head of the formerly endangered herd).
Why is the meat for sale in the Trading Post at TBR called Buffalo and why is it from a meat plant in Sturgis, SD?? Shouldn’t there be a sign explaining this? It costs twice as much as the buffalo available in local grocery stores, also from the Dakotas.
The newspaper and website encourage a visit with the camels and there is a public catwalk for which to view goats, pigs, steer, an ostrich, and some ponies in a cared-for, but desolate fenced in lot. There is not even one bison in the public viewing area. The camels were in a field 1/3 of a mile away. The only way to visit with them would be to take a walk along the service road. The ranch invites you to take a train ride on their hand-built railway (it’s cute from afar). The charge for my family to see the feed-lot bison (remember, we’ve seen a herd of 500, in the wild) would have been $42.
We’re already (willingly, mind you) paying $42 for our site. That’s considered pricey in the camping world. The sites are pull-through, on gravel, right next to Route 80. The price is raised to $58 during Cheyenne Frontier Days, a city-wide extravaganza/rodeo/fair held the third week of July.
Consider this: KOA campsites cost about $34 for a pull-through site. Some are next to highways. Most come with a pool and activities like mini-golf for no charge. National park sites cost about $17-20, sometimes with electric but usually with no water hookups.TBR was pricey.
The newspaper explains the difference between buffalo (located in Africa and South Asia, according to the missive) and Bison (located in North and South America. The current owners claim responsibility for approx. 2,500 head of the formerly endangered herd).
Why is the meat for sale in the Trading Post at TBR called Buffalo and why is it from a meat plant in Sturgis, SD?? Shouldn’t there be a sign explaining this? It costs twice as much as the buffalo available in local grocery stores, also from the Dakotas.
The newspaper and website encourage a visit with the camels and there is a public catwalk for which to view goats, pigs, steer, an ostrich, and some ponies in a cared-for, but desolate fenced in lot. There is not even one bison in the public viewing area. The camels were in a field 1/3 of a mile away. The only way to visit with them would be to take a walk along the service road. The ranch invites you to take a train ride on their hand-built railway (it’s cute from afar). The charge for my family to see the feed-lot bison (remember, we’ve seen a herd of 500, in the wild) would have been $42.
We’re already (willingly, mind you) paying $42 for our site. That’s considered pricey in the camping world. The sites are pull-through, on gravel, right next to Route 80. The price is raised to $58 during Cheyenne Frontier Days, a city-wide extravaganza/rodeo/fair held the third week of July.
Consider this: KOA campsites cost about $34 for a pull-through site. Some are next to highways. Most come with a pool and activities like mini-golf for no charge. National park sites cost about $17-20, sometimes with electric but usually with no water hookups.TBR was pricey.
·
The
menu for The Senator’s Steakhouse menu is kindly printed on the back of our
newspaper. The menu is expensive. I don’t have a problem
with paying good money for good food, but the online reviews (very few recent,
by the way) leaned heavily towards the negative. Pete and I had a long talk
about expectations. He felt very strongly about eating bison at the ranch, so I
accepted that. It is what it is.
·
Our
dinner experience:
We had a super-nice server, Jayci, who, while she never complained, was
responsible for too many tables. It was July 4th and there was a
concert scheduled in the main dining room. (“You can sit in the main dining
room, but you’ll have to pay for the concert ($30 total add-on for the family)” said the hostess. So
we chose the outdoor patio. It IS a ranch. There are some flies. Thank goodness
for the breeze.)
·
The
salad bar, which was $3.99 extra, had some choices. Jayci sold it very well. We should have
looked at it first. We were lucky to squeeze a salad out of the neglected
ingredients. Many were not fresh. The soup tasted canned-but-doctored. Jayci
took that charge off of our bill. Thank you, Ma’am.
·
The
meal itself was ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS. HANDS DOWN, MOUTH-WATERING BISON
GOODNESS. I had an 8-oz. bison sirloin. Pete had a 12-oz. bison ribeye. Both
kids had bison burgers of different sizes that came on fresh buns with fresh
lettuce, onions, tomatoes, and garlic pickles. The meat should be ordered rare
or medium rare. We ordered medium rare and they may have been a tad underdone,
but we are fine, even impressed with that. Juicy, juicy, flavorful, and juicy.
I detected a bit of bison-gaminess in the first bite, but I truly did not find
much of a taste difference from beef. Our entrée plates came with buttery Texas
Cheese Toast and a wonderful combination of grilled colored peppers, zucchini,
onions and squash. I chose a baked potato, which, again, was fresh and plump.
Pete had garlic chive mashed potatoes. We debate whether these were from
scratch, but they were so tasty that doesn’t seem to matter. OH! I must tell
you: THEIR FRENCH FRIES ARE HAND-CUT! We
skipped dessert. The kids wanted ice cream and pound cake, berries and whipped
cream were available in the RV for anyone who wanted them (no one. We were
full!)
·
Here’s the important part: We would have much less of a
problem paying for the extras if Terry Bison Ranch seemed to care more; Care
more that we were staying there, Care more for their buildings, Care more about
whether we’ll come back or most importantly, Care more if we tell our friends
that this is a “not-to-be-missed” stop through the Plains.
Between the concert and the fireworks TBR put on after the concert, July
4th would have been a prime time to capitalize. Do they still have cookouts? Why didn’t they have a cookout/buffet? They
could have charged the concert-goers extra for added value, taken the stress
off the restaurant staff by having a simplified menu and brought about a
unified experience, and THAT’S WHAT’S
MISSING at TBR. It feels like they have one foot in and one foot out of the
public camping/dining experience and the layman’s ranch experience is what the
public is craving. There’s just so much unreached potential.
Other things we did:
Isaac did laundry/web surfing while we replenished supplies in Cheyenne
(20 minutes away). My grocery list: Diet Coke, Ice, eggs, bison. I feel like Wilma
Flintstone.
 |
| Pete taming a Jack-a-Lope! |
Millie and Pete rested in the RV while I took a rockhounding walk up the
service road (and visited with the camels, too).
 |
| Isaac "riding" a bison |
 |
| Millie loved Blossom, born on June 21, 2013 |
 |
| Great Plains at Dusk |
Birds: Lots of different swallows on the
ranch. I also saw Night Hawks (not true hawks, by the way) and another bird
that I can’t yet identify because I misplaced my field guide.
I swear I heard coyotes baying. Pete said the sound was of cooing Morning
Doves. Hey, It’s my balloon! Don’t pop it!
Why today was the best vacation day ever: My rested, relaxed, well-fed family took a stroll through the ranch at dusk, giggling the whole way. Joy.
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