Colter’s Bar, Afton, Wyoming

A desire for “local life” comes to the forefront in so many conversations about traveling. Where do the locals really eat? Get their lattes? Shop? Sometimes I think these questions come up because it means a bit of savings (locals aren’t going to pay tourist prices if they can help it). But more often than not, it is a desire to feel and experience the next layer of authenticity in a destination. To feel connected to the place – to be a part of the population, even for just a few hours.

If you want to get straight to the heart of a place, I recommend pulling open the squeaky door of a local dive bar. Straight out of an old Western flick, the nearly audible unified swiveling of heads in the space is driven by curiosity. Everyone is already here – who is this stranger?

Oh, it takes a special brand of confidence to walk through the sea of stares of the locals to belly-up to the bar, but hey – your money spends as well as theirs does and you are in for some quality conversations or eavesdropping!

My companion and I didn’t have to travel far to have this out-of-towner experience. The tiny town of Albin, Wyoming is home to just about 200 residents and is about an hour of country roads from Cheyenne. We were completely unaware of Mike’s Saloon (AKA “the bar in Albin”) previous to another rural event, but when we realized there was a dive in “downtown” Albin, we were committed. We immediately planned a trip for Bucket Night Thursday “when everyone comes down.”

As predicted, every head pivoted toward the door in the hall-like bar. With a blend of classic rock and country music floating on the air, the only room for dancing was the “Excuse me… oh, excuse me! …Um, I gotta just squeeeeze past you, sorry! Thank you!” do-si-do of making your way through a crowded bar. And why not? A bucket was in short order, whether we could finish it or not (we couldn’t… but we made friends!)

The evening filled up with bartenders reminiscing about the night they met, old men talking insurance and ranching, and the longest, most detailed hunting story I’ve ever heard – from a woman! There were fluffy puppies, kids scamming their parents out of quarters to “play pool,” and even an historical mystery regarding the name “JULIE” that was once painted on the roof of the building next door.

It was an entertaining night – and frankly, the fact that we came from the “big city” (pop. 60,000) to hang out with the Albin folk bought us a LOT of street cred’ in the locals’ eyes.

Hitting up a dive bar is on every itinerary now, letting the experience go where it will. Because guaranteed, we see the community differently and more authentically, be it Dinosaur, Colorado, Puerto Vallerta, Mexico, or Albin, Wyoming.