"You folks (that's us) from the East--I feel sorry for ya, too many people. That's why you came to Wyoming--all this space--right?"
Now I (Chuck) will admit to feeling sorry for the folks in small towns in the West that are miles from major stores and the benefits of the marketplace, but today was one of those days that are becoming more numerous--I could only reply, "Well, this is sure a beautiful part of the country."
Now this would have been the perfect time to ask who Dirty Sally was, but before I could ask, "Are you Dirty Sally?" (which would have been the most impolite way to find out the history of Dirty Sally), the customer at the counter required her attention.
We left without learning whether or not Dirty Sally was anything more than a curious name for this store.
Given that with the help of a Google search, I (Kate) could only find four restaurants in town (pop. 304) and that the only one of these that appeared to be open was the Crazy Woman Café, it was to the Crazy Woman that we escaped.
and soon after, arrived two very large men – one of whom was wearing a doo rag – who, immediately after being seated, began talking on their cell phones. Could they be talking to each other?
The first thing I noticed when opening the menu was the slogan printed on the top: “West of Worry, East of Envy, South of Sorrow, North of Normal.” Is this Ten Sleep’s unofficial town motto?
As for the name of the cafe (and a nearby creek and canyon), we have come across at least five "legends" or "myths" that explain the name. In these legends, the "crazy" woman is either white or Indian and refer to events in the 1840s to the late 1860s.
With some apprehension, I ordered the half order of biscuits and gravy with hash browns. Why apprehensive? Because I have been served some not so good (a nice way of saying bad) biscuits and gravy lately, with bad biscuits spoiling a decent gravy. These were a pleasant surprise with good peppery white gravy covering two light fluffy biscuits.
The hash browns were made with large shred potatoes – almost like a thin egg noodle. While I asked that they be cooked crisp, they still were not as crisp as I would like. I know that crisp is a subjective term, still these came nowhere near.
Not a bad breakfast (3.5 Addies), but I certainly wouldn’t drive over the mountains to eat here. But if I am ever again in Ten Sleep, Wyoming, I would consider returning and then crossing the street to Dirty Sally’s for a chocolate shake.
Two women, who may or may not have existed, have made a lasting impact on Ten Sleep, Wyoming. And the legends are probably far more intriguing than . . . "the rest of the story" as the late Paul Harvey would say.
1 comment:
Dirty Sally was the name of a character on Gunsmoke who the store was named after.
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