​Driving through the majestic snowcapped mountains to reach the idyllic little town of Golden was breathtaking. The mountains rose above the sides of the road leading to the town, like the tall buildings in the city but alive with nature.  You can’t very well visit Golden without taking a tour of Coors Brewing Company which seemed to be the centerpiece of the community.  It was the perfect prelude to our final destination for dinner, The Buffalo Rose.

​The Buffalo Rose’s large metal buffalo statue mounted near its front door signified the bar’s prominence on Golden’s historic Main street. Established in 1859, the building served as everything from a political meeting place to a church. It’s most interesting function was as the town’s public pool, then called the Golden Plunge. Now buried under the floorboards of the dance floor, the swimming pool was once even the training place of Nils Christiansen, an Olympic swimmer.
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The bar itself was comfortable and unassuming serving good typical bar food. Although it had the historic Western bar feel, it didn’t seem too unique until the bartender let us look around the other room which was closed at the time. The closed part of the bar is actually a giant two-story room with a large dance floor that looked big enough to house some pretty great bands. I was disappointed that we weren’t there for a show, but I could easily see how great that venue would be on a busy night. It was a little spooky walking through that large dark room with so many shadowy spaces around the bars, booths, and balconies. According to their menu, The Buffalo Rose had a rowdy crowd where brawls would break out and end up in shootouts which resulted in permanent spirits lurking in the building. I didn’t see any ghosts, but I’d love to go back to see a band someday!
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​It was fitting that after returning from the oldest bar in Alaska, we would visit the famous Alaskan town of Sicily.  The 90’s hit television show Northern Exposure, was situated in this fictional town, but filmed entirely in  Roslyn, Washington.  Roslyn is also home to the oldest bar in the state, The Brick.  I knew The Brick well as a fan of the show, so this was very exciting for me.  Roslyn was the postcard perfect image of a great Pacific Northwest small town, and it was easy to see why it was chosen for the backdrop of the show. The producers didn’t change a detail, all the way down to the name of the Roslyn café and its famous mural from the opening credits.  I could almost picture the moose strolling down the street just like I’d watched so many times on TV.

​Okay, so I’ll stop gushing now and talk about the bar.  I just loved that show and its homey atmosphere, which is exactly how I felt when we walked into the bar.  Instead of Shelly from the show,  it was Amy who took our drink order.  Amy was as wonderful and welcoming as Shelly.  Amy even offered us a tour of the basement once the lunch hour traffic slowed down.  We could tell why the place was jumping by taking our first bite of food:  it was so delicious.  We enjoyed looking around at the antique tap pulls displayed on the walls, and the prominent antique iron potbelly stove.  We marveled at the 23’ spittoon on the floor in front the bar, equipped with running water to wash things away.  I had been to many bars before but this was the first spitoon I’d ever seen.  Not only did it provide a convenient place to spit, but it provides space for The Brick’s annual spittoon race.  Participants cheer each other on as they race everything from matchboxes to soap.

The basement tour that Amy gave us uncovered some more cool history.  Roslyn was coal mining town back in the late 1800’s.   The bar was built with 45,000 bricks in 1889 and was named, simply, The Brick.  An original holding cell in the basement was used for the movie set of the 1979 Dick Van Dyke film, ‘The Runner Stumbles,”and two more cells were added by the movie-makers.  Amy showed us where an underground tunnel used to lead to the local bordello, an all-too-familiar addition that we’ve encountered in several bars.  While I enjoyed the town and the history lesson, I’ll admit my favorite part of the experience was just sitting in my favorite television bar!
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Remote, authentic, and welcoming is how I would describe the oldest bar in Alaska; the B&B bar.  Based on its online reviews, size and location, we expected to find a seedy little fisherman’s bar on the wharf.  That was actually pretty accurate. What surprised us, though, was how much we enjoyed it.   The first thing we noticed when we sat at the bar was the humorous lines written in neon colors on the back wall mirror.  The first one stated “Bruce, shut up.”  Bruce and I introduced ourselves to the bartender Stacy, who told us the sign was for one of their regulars, and I appreciated the name coincidence probably a little too much.  It certainly broke the ice for a fun afternoon learning about the bar and the area. 
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The building itself was a small wooden frame building.  Stacy told us that it was moved in pieces by horse and buggy to its current location.  The interior was rustic and filled with beer signs, advertisements and drink specials covering the walls.  A pool table filled the center of the room in front, while  the small U-shaped bar filled in the back.  The warmth of the atmosphere though was evident with the dollar bills posted on the ceiling and featured fisherman antiques along the walls.  The bar is clearly an oasis for men looking to unwind after a hard day’s work on the many fishing trawlers based in America’s second largest fishing fleet, stationed in the marina just across the street.
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One case along the wall featured the original liquor license issued in 1906.  It was accompanied by a framed letter from a retired lawyer returning the liquor license he had received as momento for work he had done years ago for the bar.  In the letter, he had asked to give his regards to any Blodgette’s or Blinn’s that may be around; a reference to the possible origins of the bar’s B&B moniker. We returned the next day for drinks, met Abby who was tending bar, and made a couple more friends while talking about what there is to see in Kodiak.  What really touched us that Abby even offered to loan us her car at one point so we could do a little sightseeing.  We didn’t take her up on her offer, but we did take her advice about what to see, discovering a small portion of the island’s beauty and large measure of its hospitality along the way.​

​To find the oldest bar in Idaho, Bruce and I ventured to the peaceful lake town of Spirit Lake with my parents in tow.  Established in 1907, the White Horse Saloon is older than the town itself. The bar also sports hotel rooms above the bar, where we had reserved some rooms ahead of time.  Walking past the row of motorcycles on the street and into the bar, we noticed that jailhouse iron-bar doors separated the bar area from the hotel lobby.  It was a little disconcerting, but our bartender Dolly quickly put us at ease.   She explained that the bar doors were simply meant to keep hotel guests from helping themselves in the bar after hours, rather than protecting hotel patrons from unruly patrons.  Further helping us to relax was the drink, “Spirit Lake Splash” which my mom and I playfully named because I had asked Dolly what drinks she can make out of the grapefruit vodka I had eyed behind the counter.  A little Triple X passion fruit liquor and a splash of soda went down very easy indeed!

​If you want to experience what it is like to walk through an 1800’s-era Western town that looks like an old John Wayne movie set, Virginia City, Montana is the place to go.  The grey wooden plank buildings and sidewalks are restored and preserved as a National historic landmark which recreates what this gold rush town looked like over 150 years ago.    You can walk the street today and look inside the buildings, many of which are open museums  staged with antiques and mannequins. It’s like walking back in time to 1863. Other buildings are operational businesses and shops, including the home of Montana’s oldest bar, the Bale of Hay Saloon.

​By my judgement, the Bale of Hay Saloon is the highlight of Virginia City’s historic appeal.  The exterior of the building perfectly fits the Old Western motif and the interior of the bar brings the town’s cowboy atmosphere to life.  The antique arcade machines in the front room and the paintings of Wyatt Earp and Doc Holiday across from the bar transported us back to the dusty old gold panning days of the past.  The realistic tone of the saloon made it the perfect setting for the 1970 Dustin Hoffman movie, “Little Big Man”.  Parts of the structure had to be rebuilt after a 1983 fire, but the ornate, angled ceiling and the potbelly stove in the center of the bar room are easily recognizable from the movie.

​Bruce and I were joined at the Bale of Hay by my parents.   We dined on delicious pulled pork tamales and the Grog Dog on a bun, sampling several unique brews in the process.  Bruce enjoyed a Moose Drool beer while I particularly liked the Pig’s Ass Porter.   After watching our friendly bartender make Moscow Mules for other patrons, I had to try one.  It was so good that, after she tried mine, my mother had to have her own.  We enjoyed learning about how much fun the Bale of Hay has in celebrating its heritage by organizing fun events like Brothel Days, featuring bed races down main street and local ghost tours.  Our only regret is missing the Brewery Follies in the attached log opera house next door.  We do know that we want to come back!

​The experience got even better when we walked inside the bar.  Antiques and bizarre taxidermy decorated the interior, including the stuffed head of a huge St. Bernard named Buck.  At 240 pounds, Buck held the title of largest St. Bernard in the world in the Guiness Book of World Records for more than 20 years. His owner had his head mounted after Buck passed away, but the shape of Buck’s mounted head resembles that of a bear.  The taxidermist charged with the task couldn’t find a dog skull large enough to fit Buck’s skin, so he used a bear’s skull instead!  We sat in “Buck’s booth,” of course,” to honor  the great dog.