June 1, 2004
Travel + Leisure Magazine
Next Lodges
Hamilton Bryan could never erase a childhood memory of cattle drives with his grandfather on the family ranch. So in 1996, Bryan sold his city business and lit out for Wyoming, where he assumed the lease on the dilapidated UXU, located just off the road Teddy Roosevelt called "the most scenic fifty-two miles in the United States. "
The makeover took eight years. Each of the comfortable log cabins, which are surrounded by towering sandstone hoodoos and miles of Douglas Fir, has been upgraded with the subtle but vital details, such as handmade soaps and concealed CD players. An eager international staff attends to any request. On my first night Randy Peasley's delicious dinner - grilled blue marlin in coconut-lemon broth, rosemary-and-garlic-crusted chicken, shrimp-and-scallop risotto, all served alfresco - was the perfect conclusion to a day's ride into the backcountry. Over mango sorbet, I contemplated the next day's alternatives to once again skirting peaks and winding into valleys carved by wind and rain. Should I spend it wading the Shoshone trying to outwit a wild brown trout, or leave before sunrise for a guided expedition into an uncharted nook of Yellowstone?
I set my alarm clock for dawn.
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