I would like to tell you about a very fun and inexpensive antelope hunt several friends and I took last September in Medicine Bow, Wyoming, about 50 miles northwest of Laramie on US Highway 287. We had all hunted for antelope at least once in Wyoming but decided to try for areas we had never hunted before. Our first choice was area 47, which is around Medicine Bow. There was a total of seven of us applying, so we had to split our group application into two parts and just hope both groups would be successful in the lottery. Unfortunately, only one was, and my group was the lucky one! While waiting for the drawing, one of the guys had gotten on the Internet and researched a list of motels and restaurants in the area. I started calling them to find a good base of operation. My first and only call was to Trampas Lodge in Medicine Bow. After speaking to owner Jim Rice, I decided we could not improve on the accommodations. Rice was very knowledgeable about the area as regards places to hunt and landowners to call. He was particularly knowledgeable about places to shoot prairie dogs, which is something I am very interested in.
I went ahead and booked two rooms at the low price of $32 a night. Out of the original group of three who were drawn for permits, it turned out that only two of us could make the trip. Fortunately, I was able to talk a couple of friends into coming along to shoot prairie dogs, so the room situation worked out well. We left Gatesville, Texas, early in the morning and stopped in Ft. Collins, Colorado, that evening. The next morning we drove straight on to Laramie, Wyoming, where we stocked up on groceries and supplies. Although we were only staying three days, we were prepared! If you have never been to Medicine Bow, let me describe it by saying you don't need a map to find your way around. We went straight to the Trampas Lodge and met Jim Rice. He gave us the keys to our........(continued)
