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up next on today's Wild West I've never allowed to have this much fun they call it Paradise Ranch Brook in Wyoming's Big Horn mountains you'll see why just ahead plus it's the hotel where Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid One stayed when you step in the ocidental you're stepping back in time we'll check into Buffalo's historic accidental hotel and the amazing Treasures of Cheyenne's Nelson Museum of the West a Wyoming episode of today's Wild West is just ahead the Wild West it's still out there and we'll show you how to find it this is today's Wild [Music] West it's another day in paradise just getting started as the Wranglers driving the horses at Paradise Ranch promises to be another splendid day of riding fishing hiking and just enjoying the chance to be here incredible it's one of my favorite places in the entire world in this beautiful Valley in the Big Horn mountains west of Buffalo Wyoming and it's actually the one place where when you say where should we go for a family trip that everybody in the family says yeah yeah the ranch the ranch Paradise Ranch has a rich history that dates back more than a hundred years ago when a couple of cowboys working in this area looked out over this Valley and said this is Paradise the name stuck and that Western Heritage has been a big part of this Ranch ever since we're a traditional dude ranch and as a consequence of that horses are Central to the operation and a normal year we'll keep 180 horses here for guess he and it's quite an operation to care for those 180 horses once they're all driven into the big Corral where a team of Wranglers work together like a well-oiled machine it start by serving breakfast couple of gigantic bales of hay rolled out for the horses woman power it pitched into the feeding trough that Rings the Corral later it's time to saddle the horses for the day's rides we're having quite the adventure we love it here Camille FZ is here with her husband she works with the horses the creation is amazing we're in the middle of paradise hence the name I love it while Jacob Fen is one of the fishing guides there's nothing like it in terms of being outdoors um being close to Creation uh just a chance to interact with everything um in a really unique way Jacob's day starts early too he and Head fishing guy Dan Cowley are already reeling them in another brook trout as the sun begins to light up the valley it doesn't take r h it does not just got to get the fly in the water and you're rewarded with the beautiful Trout the fish are plentiful and hungry this morning in beautiful French Creek which runs right through the middle of the 160 Acres of private Paradise Ranch land surrounded by a million Acres of national forest the bigger one this is a yellow own Cutthroat Dan says this part of the West is home to the best fly fishing anywhere and Paradise guides can take you to lots of great fishing spots off the ranch as well let me say it was wonderful my mom caught nine fish she caught nine fish nine fish I caught a fish on my first cast Lee McAn and daughters an and Molly are just back from one of those trips right on the Powder River one of the prettiest places I've ever seen so on your back cast pause a little more don't know a thing about fly fishing there's a lot to it you've come to the right place Paradise kicks off the week with a fly fishing clinic for Anglers of all ages helping someone to hook into that first fish is pretty exciting that first horseback ride can be pretty exciting too we had to Google what loing me on Monday night first time guests Josh and Anne and their son Daniel you guys basically have never read hugle before never really we're essentially first time Riders as well been on a horse once before but with the help of a paradise riding lesson we're trotting and loping on the fast rides by week's end people keep telling us we're horse people I think they might start believing them pretty soon you can sign up and have a lesson oneon-one with one of our ranglers you learn more in that one-on-one experience than you'd probably learn all week just jumping on a ride the ranch is also a paradise for those who love to ride I've never allowed to have this much fun like Cindy Schwab she competes in Dr in three-day venting back home so you have your own horse yes so what do you think of the horses here they're they're amazing yeah oh so many good to find so many good horses in one place and so many good places to ride it's just phenomenal and we've gone on a different Trail every day and they're all just spectacular with a million Acres you'll never be on the same Trail twice wide open planes forests mountains Flats basically any kind of country you can imagine and you'll have plenty of chances to let your Pony runow plus you can chase cows in team [Music] Penning teams of riders work together to drive three cows into a pen No a simple concept but these cows do have minds of their own there you go they can make this game a real challenge all right but it's all good fun it's so fun super fun if you like today's Wild West you'll love our Western wall art see our beautiful images by clicking on photography at today's wild west.com there's fun to be had off the horse too like the sunrise hike to the top of fan Rock heading out in the preon dark is an invigorating way to start the day watching that sun come up makes it all worthwhile well we're surrounded by National Forest in every direction so everywhere you go is beautiful hiking and no one to bother you Steve fogley has run the paradise hiking program for 10 years it's actually really tough I mean I'm outside all day talking with really interesting people so it's every day it's pretty yeah to be honest but all of it I don't know just the whole experience is is just amazing time together hiking fishing and riding builds a cowboy camaraderie that nits guests into lifelong friends relationships that keep people coming back here year after year Co what Co my after my first Lo there there's no Co no it was it was it's been pretty fabulous it has despite the fact that the world is crazy right now coming back year after year even though there were differences it was still the same experience the colons have been reuniting with Laura and Steve Kenda at the ranch since the couples met here years ago and their kids now young adults have grown up together in the Paradise Ranch children's program program with fun activities for everyone from teens to toddlers this okay Mom and Dad get to play while the kids will be busy riding fishing hiking or feeding the baby Cals oh she's ready to go I'm 16 I'm 15 and there's plenty here to keep the teens happy too so you're having a great time huh yeah yes it's just like a pretty view to look at just like in general and then I just like to like get out and like just explore nature and like ride horses of course it's really nice not having your like phone and service around that's kind of refreshing it's just like a nice Escape Route just like hang out with your family meet some new people around the country and all that at day's end we'd relive our adventures over dinner and enjoy refreshments and music in the outdoor [Music] Pavilion or inside at the French Creek Saloon and many of us gathered every afternoon for another great show as the horses take off at the end of the day for their evening pasture hey boys that last run of the horses on the last day came way too soon but for most people here the week won't end with goodbye but with plans to enjoy Another Day in Paradise the following summer today's Wild West is in Buffalo Wyoming at the historic accidental hotel where Butch Cassidy calamity Jane and Buffalo Bill spent the night we'll take the tour coming up on today's Wild West if you like today's Wild West you'll love great rides of today's Wild West see the first chapter and order your signed copy at today's wild west.com Calamity Jane Buffalo Bill Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid they're among the legends of the old west who spent the night at the historic accidental hotel in Buffalo Wyoming and you can too when you step in the oxidal you're stepping back in time we've kept the authenticity of the ocidental from its vintage tin ceilings to the original wood floors and complete period Furnishings the hotel is Real Deal old west yeah it's cool it's like yeah like being back in Old Buffalo you're staying in a Living Museum this is a Living Museum The Accidental began in 1879 is a collection of tents along Clear Creek catri minders coming out of the nearby Big Horn mountains look looking for a hot meal and a place to stay well it's one of the Last Frontier hotels in the United States you know they're getting few and far between soon replaced by a permanent log Hotel The Accidental also housed a bank a stage coach stop a restaurant and a saloon and became the center a frontier Buffalo we had court here when there wasn't a courthouse when it was being built I mean uh the posi to hunt down n Champions killer was formed here in the saloon Hired Gun Tom Horn once checked in during those early years as did Future president Teddy Roosevelt well Butch Cassie is sundance's kid both stayed here Butch Cassy signed The Ledger in 1896 and it's very interesting because he did sign The Ledger Butch Cassidy he didn't sign at leeway Parker or any other kind of Alias he literally signed at Butch Cassidy but talk of the railroad coming to town new owner Oscar quick replaced the wooden hotel with a new brick structure the reason we have the buildings today the brick the wood trim the 10 ceilings are actually because of him who purchased it in 1896 but the railroad chose to build their Depot in nearby Sheridan Legend says the despondent and financially struggling quick also mourning the death of his young daughter lost the hotel in a poker game to ranchers John Smith and his son Al this is how the folklore goes there's a very fine line between folklore and history but yeah he lost the hotel Al's wife Margaret was recruited to run the place while they figured out what to do with it she never left running The Accidental for the next 59 years until she died at the the age of 92 Margaret Smith was an amazing woman that kept this place running all the way till 1976 and then her kids then had it afterwards so without her and her impact this building might not be here while Margaret did keep the hotel going the hotel was also going down hill the building was getting very very dilapidated and by the 1990s there were plans to tear it down but California's Dawn Dawson and her husband author John wexel bought the building just in time it was 8 weeks from being torn down the city was going to tear down and so she saved the building long story short it began the process of restoring The Accidental to its former glory all the bricks been repointed on the building new roof before handing the Reigns to current owners Dave and Jackie Stewart It's been a labor of love to keep it going for sure you know but the hotel is doing well today the steuarts operate a thriving acclaimed Historic Hotel that attracts people from all over the world 75% of our clientele in the summer is European the Europeans come here for the history you know they they want the history of the old west and we have it here and the music the hotel Saloon hosts live music every night where you can hang out at the historic bar and check out the bullet holes from back in the day in the original tin ceiling not to mention the food that we serve here we've got elk and bison and just steps away inside the hotel you you can enjoy fine dining at the Virginia a restaurant named after the famous novel by Owen Wister who is believed to have written at least part of that book while staying at The Accidental supposedly those characters are based off of locals that lived here at the turn of the century Ernest Hemingway is another author who spent the night here as did former president Herbert Hoover more recent famous guests include singer songwriter Michael Martin Murphy the cast of the hit modern TV Western longm and actor Paul giamani and he came out and stayed with us for 10 days was had a ball he wanted to stay in almost every room all of the rooms in fact the entire hotel is decorated and furnished like a period correct old west Time Capsule but with all the amenities you'd expect in a modern Hotel plus something you might not expect we have been booted the most haunted hotel in Wyoming we've got a little girl ghost named Emily kind of runs around upstairs in the 1904 structure guests have left a collection of dolls in a coffee room for Emily part of the reason that we chose this we we are like fascinated by the Paranormal stuff so we'd heard that this hotel might have some haunted rooms or haunted levels upstairs so that was the first draw but then we just kind of stayed for cuz it was just beautiful and fun and if you like Western history you're in the right neighborhood the site of the Federman Massacre the wagon box fight and Fort Phil Carney are just a short drive from the hotel the Little Big Horn Battlefield where kuster made his last stand is just 90 minutes north The Accidental was founded just four years after that most famous fight of the Indian Wars I think it's cool to think about what this place you know back in the day what it looked like and kind of picture that when we're here so would you recommend oh absolutely definitely not many people get to step into a historic building of this age with this kind of culture and history because a lot of these things have been lost listed on the national register of historic places The Accidental hotel where Butch incat Calamity Jane and Buffalo Bills spent the night and you can too oh it's an incredible thing more cool Treasures from the old west and much more up next at the Nelson Museum of the West if you like today's Wild West you'll love great ranches of today's Wild West see the first chapter and order your signed copy at today's wild west.com silver Saddles and rawh hide Cowboys and cowg girls Civil War us Cavalry Troopers and PLS Indians I call this my fine and fancy Firearms case historic Firearms big game animals and much more more than 10,000 fascinating items to see at the Nelson Museum of the West in downtown Cheyenne Wyoming in the collection we have about 10,000 artifacts and 5,000 books in the library they're all related to the old west and that would have been the first Cavalry that would have been in Cheyenne Wyoming founder Robert L Nelson better known as B has been collecting since he was a kid I collected rocks and I collected stamps and I collected just about anything else that I little kid without any money could collect well when I got older I started collecting antique firearms Bob was just a young teenager when he acquired his first gun and I remember very well because I was about 13 years old and a neighbor had it and he gave it to me that historic pistol turned out to be the beginning of a collection that would become the Nelson Museum well you can still see that gun today my first Passion when I was 15 years old was collecting antique firearms they were quite available you could find them in from old ranchers or in town you could you could pick up some nice Firearms it's quite the opposite now Smith and Wesson were a personal favorite there are also Colts Winchesters and remingtons all in excellent condition that's one of three that was shipped from the factory with elephant Ivory grips that gun is brand new after collecting Firearms Bob moved on to Native American artifacts Nelson's Focus was on the Plains Indian tribes that once roamed what is now Wyoming his collection includes beautiful headdresses Shields and War shirts this is one of the examples of one that I have that I know who wore it a man named pretty hail there's a photo of him there wearing the shirt but with Native artifacts that kind of history is rare it almost impossible to find out the the history of a Native American item virtually all of those items were collected not with the idea of preserving the owner but because somebody thought it was pretty the Museum's collection of historic cowboy gear includes 400 pairs of Spurs and ironically some of the finest antique Cowboy Collectibles are found on the East Coast these guys came out here thinking they wanted to be a cowboy they buy the finest gear and about one winter here was enough back East they went and they took all that great Gear with them cowg girls are well represented too now this particular cow girl here she was from the city she's a city girl and this is a very expensive highgrade outfit that she's wearing as is the king of the Cowboys and the queen of the West Bob's childhood Heroes Roy Rogers and Dell Evans any kid my age when I was young we were raised on Roy Rogers and Jean ay and Rex Allen us Cavalry of course played a huge role in the history of the American West and the Nelson has a very thorough collection of its ever revolving Saddles uniforms and equipment yeah that's an 1874 model and then it didn't change until 1885 we don't have any reproductions in this museum with the exception of a few pairs of military boots all of the cowboy all of the military firearms and all of that are vintage but it's important to remember most every display you see the uniform the Hat the pistol were each acquired as individual items then assembled to make a complete outfit it's not like you can go out and you can buy a saddle that looks like this and a uniform that looks like that you have to buy every single piece and put it together like a big puzzle it's all part of a bigger picture and a bigger story of the historic American West I designed the collection basically to show every item that somebody might have a question about that had to do with the old west in this area in Wyoming and and broader West this is the bear the charge yep there's more upstairs Nelson's collection of hunting trophies I started hunting when I was about 10 from every continent except Antarctica I think hunting is inbred into Wyoming boys I mean I'd have never met a Wyoming boy who didn't want to go hunting and I don't care if the boy was 3 years old the attorney began hunting around the world in the early 1980s and the Animals he brought home to display were a big hit particularly the school kids that we have coming through here Bob's well aware that some people don't like hunting but he believes those opponents are not aware of the many positive impacts of hunting the Safari Club of America has I believe 35,000 members worldwide and every one of those people is dedicated to the conservation of wild animal populations hunting all over the world can be quite the adventure I shot it at 20 ft and his cousin of the grizzly bear shot in Alaska brings back some vivid memories of the day he charged so he almost ended up in that guy's mouth huh man that's what he looked like when he was running at me Bob's now retired from hunting mainly because um I don't have any more wall space touring the Nelson Museum of the West is a great way to spend the day and thousands come through every year and it light me to no end I see people oooing and awing and having a wow moment uh looking at some of these items that's it for now we're back next time with more cool stuff from today's Wild West I'm markk bador we'll see you down the trail for more information on the people in places featured in today's wild west or to order show DVDs and books visit today's wild west.com funding for today's Wild West provided by the Leed Foundation [Music]