We bunked in “Wyoming�, which I found highly amusing, in the Gold-digger’s Camp just outside of the Fort. The “military company� housing was in the fort itself, about three tee-pee’s were on the other side of the fort.
On Main Street, the palace hotel offered more upscale accommodations, including a presidential suite with Jacuzzi. At the end of Main Street they have set up a fair-sized show arena and stables. Just past that is another settlement of tee-pee’s, then more individual cabins and a path past a lake before the path hits the fort again.
The most impressive thing, for me at least, was how child-friendly it was without losing its appeal for grownups. Free attractions from 10 am to 6 pm included the bumper cars, the rodeo show, the main street shows, the line dancing lessons, and the mechanical bull. There was no cover charge for any of the bars or the saloon with the evening’s entertainment, food and drinks were fairly priced. There was also an area where the kids could pan for “gold� and “precious stones� for 3 euros for the entire day, and an archery site and shooting range, a sand painting shop, inexpensive pony rides, etc.
Outside of each bunk and cabin was an open camp fire arrangement. For 5 Euros we could fill up a wheelbarrow full of firewood and build our own open camp fire. We ran out to Aldi and bought sausages and found marshmallows on Main Street. While the neighbors put on their shit-kickin’ finest and went to the saloon, we hung out in front of the fire place and roasted our own dinner, had kids over for marshmallows and told campfire stories.
Every weekend seems to have a theme, and we happened to be there for the “Highland Games�. Having never watched a 6 foot tall guy in a kilt throw a metal weight 5 meters into the air behind him, this was something new for me as well. We watched most of these events while the kids bounced between the bumper cars and the adventure playground.
The overnight prices were cheap – 45 Euros for our bunk-room (technically for 4 people, but we had an extra kid with us) plus one day entry of 5 Euros per kid over 5 and 13 for grownups over 12 I think. However, anyone in proper period costume gets in for free. The rooms were amazingly quiet, the bathrooms amazingly clean. When I went for a quick bathroom run at 4 am there were still people out and about, but I couldn’t hear them at all inside the room.
Anyway, it would be fun to get a group together to go back – especially now that we know the lay of the land and where the best cabins are (on the other side, next to the well hidden “Beaver Tavern�). Though we will probably skip the Harley Weekend, they have some interesting events coming up. For a 90 minute car ride and cheap accommodations, it is a less roughing-it way to rough it with an excuse to sit in front of a campfire, with or without kids. (And it’s a heck of a lot cheaper than a flight back to Wyoming).
I'm putting some of my photos from the day in the gallery, though there are a lot of kilts and the "American History" parade.
