Wyoming
How A Wyoming Couple Resurrected The Legendary Brooks Lake Lodge
When Barbara and her husband the late Richard Carlsberg bought Brooks Lake lodge in 1987, its entryway and lobby were still propped up on jacks from an abandoned 1983-84 restoration.
To get to the lodge in the first place, the couple had to first break their own trail through fresh powder on a 5-mile road that has a 1,000-foot increase in elevation.
The road typically gets 5 to 6 feet of snowpack in a given winter season, which made their October trip to see the lodge a rough go, Barbara told Cowboy State Daily, But it’s one that she still remembers as if it were yesterday, even though she no longer owns the lodge. She sold it in 2000 to Max Chapman, who’s owned it for the last 24 years as it’s continued to grow a reputation as a truly one-of-a-kind Wyoming experience.
“Dr. Hoppe, the Minnesota dentist we purchased the lodge from, must have just run out of money,” Barbara said. “That’s the only thing we could figure out.”
When Barbara and her husband toured it, the lodge itself was just a shell of what it had once been. The only thing Hoppe had completed was the bar and a restroom connecting to the bar.
The lodge was just one step away from complete ruin, Carlsberg said, with its entry way floating on jacks and other structural issues. Roofs on some of the cabins, meanwhile, had already given way to time and the elements.
But at least the Carlsberg’s knew next to nothing about running a lodge of this nature.
Despite all those challenges, the couple bought the lodge anyway.
They saw beyond the run-down and neglected property. Because along with that was a shining gemstone of a lake in the backyard set in a ring of mountains — the same lake that had once caught the eye of its namesake, Bryant B. Brooks, Wyoming’s seventh governor.
It was love at first sight, Barbara told Cowboy State Daily.
“We were smitten,” she said. “Absolutely.”
After The Honeymoon, The Real Work Begins
The lodge took an entire year of sweat equity — and millions of dollars — to get to anything like a functional state so it could open again.
“We had to put rooms and bathrooms in — everything,” she said. “It had been gutted.”
The couple did find some serviceable lodgepole pine furniture, built by hand once upon a time, but they had to buy all new beds for the cabins, as well as many other furnishings.
Barbara found a Wyoming artisan to craft new light fixtures for the lodge using discarded pipes.
“We had to build up staff housing, too,” she said. “Because that was kind of nonexistent. So, we probably ended up with as much staff as we had guests that first season.”
They opened for winter 1988, Carlsberg recalled, and then faced a steep learning curve after that.
It took about five years for the lodge to break even, but the couple never stopped working to return the lodge to its former glory. They just kept adding something to it every year, restoring one or another lost piece of history.
Eventually, they even found one of the Yellowstone busses that used to take guests from Lander to Brooks Lake Lodge and then on to Yellowstone National Park, Carlsberg said.
“That took us three years to restore,” she said. “And it was a labor of love, too.”
Celebrating Wyoming
One of the things that surprised the Carlsbergs once they got Brooks Lake Lodge open is just how much the lodge seems to mean to the rest of Wyoming.
“People were so grateful that we had brought the lodge back into existence,” Barbara said. “We didn’t find out until after we bought it that it was much-loved by Wyoming people.”
In fact, when the couple held a grand reopening ceremony, they planned a big reception not knowing at all what to expect. It attracted dignitaries from across the Cowboy State, including then-Gov. Mike Sullivan.
“He came up and did some speeches and it was a big party,” Barbara recalled.
Barbara added that she also believes, as was expressed in a previous Cowboy State Daily article about the lodge’s history, that the lodge is not something that people buy because they want to make a lot of money.
It’s just a special piece of history, and its owners are stewards of that. They restored that stewardship, which has been carried on and expanded under Chapman’s watch.
“You want it to break even, you want it to pay for itself,” she said. “And we realized at the time that we probably could get it to that, but as far as making any large profits out of it, we knew that wasn’t going to happen.
“The benefit of it is just owning that gorgeous place and having a staff,” she added. “I do miss the staff — and all the snowmobiling.”
Figuring It All Out
Just after the Carlsbergs bought Brooks Lake Lodge in summer 1988, a third of Yellowstone National Park was wiped out by a devastating wildfire.
“That’s how I can remember all these dates so well,” she said.
Richard was one of the guides who led people on trails in the Shoshone National Forest and Bridger Teton Forest that are accessible from Brooks Lake Lodge year-round.
“He really challenged people on those rides,” she said. “People got to do things they never thought they could ever do. And it was just a wonderful time in our lives.”
Barbara, meanwhile, focused on running the lodge. One of the decisions she made was to open the lodge to the public for lunches — an idea she drew from the couple’s many trips to Europe over the years.
“My husband loved to hunt, and he’d been hunting in Spain,” Barbara recalled. “And, believe it or not, we stayed with our hosts in their home. So we just thought, you know, what a lovely way to entertain, and so that is how we entertained at the lodge.”
The public lunch became something of a command appearance for the snowmobiling public, with as many as 150 people coming to it on any given day.
“We couldn’t believe how popular it was,” Barbara said.
Even The KGB Loved It
Wranglers and other workers came from all over the world to work at Brooks Lake Lodge, Barbara recalled, and so did guests.
The most unusual guest Barbara recalled was the time the head of the former Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev’s KGB came to Brooks Lake Lodge.
“We had some attorneys from the Los Angeles area, which was where we were from, who were trying to work with the Russians on the rule of law,” Barbara said. “And they had become friends with this man, and I kept thinking, the head of the KGB!? But guess what, he ended up at Brooks Lake Lodge.”
That was a week when all sorts of interesting people showed up wanting rooms at the same time, Barbara said — some of whom she concluded must have been bodyguards for the KGB director.
Regardless of how strange it all seemed at the time, hospitality at Brooks Lake Lodge is nonpolitical, then as now.
“We gave him a cowboy hat and we had campfires and did singalongs with him,” Barbara said. “You know, we gave him the whole Western story and he loved it.”
Barbara has many other precious memories of the lodge from the dozen years the couple owned it, including the lodge hosting her own daughter’s wedding.
“I probably never would have sold it if my husband hadn’t died,” she said. “But I didn’t want that to just be my whole life, and it would have had to have been.”
Today, Barbara lives on a ranch in nearby Moran, but she remains smitten by the beauty of Brooks Lake Lodge, and she’ll never forget the memories made with her husband in a place ringed by mountains, set with a beautiful gemstone of a lake in the backyard.
Renée Jean can be reached at Renee@CowboyStateDaily.com.
Wyoming
Hoping to draw Colorado interest, construction begins at $80M betting facility in Laramie County
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Foundation work is beginning this week on Wyoming’s next horse betting and gaming house.
The $80 million Wyoming Downs facility in Laramie County, one of two the company is investing in over the next couple of years, is poised to be one of the largest facilities of its kind in the state. The company is aiming for a spring 2027 opening.
The facility will host upwards of 600 historic horse racing machines, Wyoming’s largest TV wall, multiple dining options and more across 58,000 square feet. More land was bought for future hotel development. Commuters driving between Cheyenne and the Colorado border can see clearly from Interstate 25 the expansive development.
That placement along the travel corridor is purposeful, Wyoming Downs and 307 Horse Racing President Kyle Ridgeway said.
“I think that the targeted consumer for this is from Colorado or from the Front Range,” Ridgeway said. “I anticipate we’re going to have plenty of people from Cheyenne come down here to play and enjoy the amenities, but when you look at 600,000 people within a 30-minute drive, that’s what justifies this investment and brings all that tax revenue in from another state, which is fantastic.
“We don’t get the opportunity to do that in Wyoming very often.”
There is still plenty to offer Cheyenne residents besides the facility’s amenities. Ridgeway said in a speech to attendees at the project’s groundbreaking Tuesday, June 2, that more than 150 permanent jobs will be supported by the facility on top of the dozens supported by the companies’ corporate offices and the 400-plus involved in the project’s construction.
Groathouse Construction, a Wyoming business, is the project’s general contractor. Wyoming Downs said it believes putting the project in local hands also helps keep the project uniquely Wyoming-focused.
Ridgeway added the facilities have already proven themselves to be effective tax revenue generators for the local governments. The Wyoming Gaming Commission’s 2025 report, released in late May, shows bettors wagered $2.49 billion on historic horse racing machines last year, a jump from the $2.11 billion wagered in 2024.
Wyoming Downs facilities generate roughly $25 million in taxes annually across the state, and Ridgeway estimated after the ceremony that the upcoming $80 million facility alone will generate an additional $3 million for Laramie County once the property has been in operation for a few years.
Horse betting sites have been increasingly popping up across Wyoming this decade. The Wyoming Downs location will be Cheyenne’s second large-scale horse betting facility since 2024, when the 30,000-square-foot Horse Palace at Swan Ranch opened. Ridgeway said Wyoming Downs is still offering something fresh for tourists and residents.
“This’ll have amenities that Swan Ranch doesn’t have, including the largest TV wall in Wyoming and a pretty super-cool sports viewing area with a restaurant and just a level of finish and class that I don’t think Wyoming has quite seen yet with these types of properties,” he said.
Ridgeway said he thinks resident fatigue with these facilities isn’t as strong as it appears, especially given the tourism benefits of off-track betting.
“Wyoming’s been built on mineral extraction and tourism, and what this is is a touristic facility. I’m not aware of any particular pushback about this specific facility outside of — you see random social media comments where people say, ‘Oh, another gambling facility.’ But where this is located, I think people in Cheyenne have generally been supportive of,” he said.
The Laramie County facility will be just one part of a larger project Wyoming Downs is working on over the next few years. Construction will begin in early 2027 on a similar facility in Evanston looking to draw in Utah and western Colorado crowds.
Some of the company’s current facilities, notably in Casper, Cheyenne and Rock Springs, will see millions poured into renovations as well. New smaller-scale parlors will also go up in Gillette and Green River this year, according to an information packet provided by the company.
More details will come as the construction process develops, Ridgeway said. Details about amenities, such as what the complex’s dining options will look like, remain undisclosed, though Ridgeway promised that options will be “excellent.”
“We haven’t made final selections on what the options are, but we have a number of different options on the table that we’re considering for what we want to offer for the customers,” Ridgeway said. “You have to have something that’s high quality for where this is located. If somebody’s going to drive 25 or 35, or even 45 minutes to come here, they got to be able to sit down and have a quality meal.”
For more information as it becomes available and to learn more about Wyoming Downs facilities and 307 Horse Racing‘s events and offerings, see the companies’ websites. Renderings for the upcoming Cheyenne facility commissioned by the company are available for viewing below.
Related
GILLETTE, Wyo. — Two of the Republican candidates for Wyoming governor, Megan Degenfelder and Brent Bien, went head to head in Campbell County this evening. They both highlighted differences in some areas but agreed on energy, public lands, government oversight, abortion and election security.
Degenfelder, Wyoming’s superintendent of public instruction, introduced herself as “a Wyoming ranch kid whose parents clawed their way into the middle class” and said she believes Wyoming is “worth fighting for” because she believes the Wyoming people’s lives are at stake.
Bien, a retired Marine Corps colonel and combat veteran, pointed to his military career and leadership experience.
“My whole adult life has been about leadership, about principled conservative leadership,” he said. “My objective is to restore principled conservative leadership, accountability and discipline to Cheyenne.”
Nuclear energy
Both candidates supported Wyoming’s role in energy production but opposed bringing outside nuclear waste into the state.
“I do not want Wyoming to be … the permanent repository for spent nuclear fuel. I will not allow that to happen on my watch,” Bien said.
Degenfelder said Wyoming should consider nuclear power as part of its energy future but added, “If it works for us to be able to have nuclear as part of the portfolio, then it has to be right for Wyoming and that is ensuring that we do not accept anyone else’s waste, period.”
Public lands
The candidates also opposed privatization of public lands.
“No one loves public lands more than I do,” Degenfelder said. “You start selling that to the highest bidder, Wyoming loses who we are.”
Bien said he is “absolutely opposed” to federal lands being sold to private interests.
“If they do decide to dispose of it, then we as the state of Wyoming should get first-right refusal at no cost,” he said.
Attorney general and judicial appointments
When asked what each would be looking for in an attorney general and judicial appointment, both candidates called for conservative leadership.
Bien said he would seek an attorney general from outside state government.
“I want a clean set of eyes to look at what everything’s been that’s been going on,” he said. “I want someone who will put people first and it will put Wyoming first.”
Degenfelder said she wants stronger advocacy from state agencies.
“I want a bulldog in not just the attorney general’s office, but in all state agencies,” she said. “I want an attorney general that is so aligned to my mission and vision and what I believe that there’s an amicus brief on my desk the next morning after an action takes place.”
Immigration
Both candidates supported stronger immigration enforcement.
Bien explained he wanted to cooperate with ICE “to the fullest extent possible” and to make sure immigrants who are not in the United States legally would be sent out of the state.
Degenfelder said illegal immigration is already affecting communities in Wyoming.
“If you’re here legally, you got nothing to worry about. If you aren’t, it’s time to go home,” she said.
Energy development and green energy
Energy policy generated some of the sharpest comments of the night.
Degenfelder argued renewable energy projects should compete without government support.
“I’m also an economist and so I’ll tell you the way that you kill these green energy, you make them play on the same playing field,” she said. “No more tax subsidies, no more handouts, ensuring the regulatory environment is just as equal.”
Bien took a firmer stance against renewable development.
“Folks, there’s no place in Wyoming for this green energy,” he said. “I want these things bonded up front and where we’re not paying for these like we did all the gas wells. The answer for me is absolutely, unequivocally no.”
Economic development
Degenfelder argued government should focus on infrastructure such as water and sewer systems rather than directing economic development.
“Government does not create jobs. Private business does,” she said.
Bien echoed that sentiment.
“The only business that government has in business is simply to get out of the way. It’s to cut taxes. It’s to deregulate,” he said. “Right now, we’re turning into state capitalism where we have our own state government picking winners and losers.”
Government audits
Both candidates supported increased auditing of state government.
“This state has not done a full-blown budgetary audit since 1989,” Bien said. “Whoever’s belly-aching loudest is going to get audited first.”
Degenfelder agreed.
“We should be auditing every single state agency, every single budget line all the time,” she said. “Government is a beast, and you need someone in there who can tame it and who knows how to do it.”
Abortion
Abortion was another topic where both candidates expressed strong opposition.
“Life starts at conception and there are no exceptions,” Degenfelder said. “We are now one of the most openly abortion states in the country because of that ruling by the Supreme Court. We’re working against the devil here.”
Bien also opposed abortion.
“Folks, for me, there are no exceptions. Life does begin at conception,” he said.
Election integrity
Bien advocated for hand-counting ballots.
“I am very much a proponent of hand tabulation being the primary method of counting all cast paper ballots and I will push that way,” he said.
Degenfelder called for paper ballots statewide.
“Every single ballot should be a paper ballot,” she said, adding that she supports “banning dropboxes.”
Republican platform
Both candidates pledged support for the Wyoming Republican Party platform.
“80% is a no-brainer, and we need to require that out of our elected officials,” Degenfelder said.
Bien said he expects to be held to “100%” of the platform.
“The party’s been co-opted. You have to have an ‘R’ behind your name to win in this state,” he said.
Candidate priorities
During a segment where candidates selected their own discussion topics, Degenfelder highlighted school choice, career and technical education, removing pornography from school libraries and protecting Wyoming’s water rights.
Bien focused on education and agriculture, criticizing student proficiency rates and proposing policies aimed at strengthening Wyoming’s agricultural industry, including declaring agriculture critical infrastructure and reducing regulations on small butcheries.
Technology and education
Although technology and its place within education was not discussed during the debate, County 17 asked both Degenfelder and Bien their thoughts regarding student technology in schools.
Bien said technology is being used too much in classrooms and is making it harder for students to think on their own.
“What it’s doing is it’s dumbing down our kids,” Bien said. “Our kids aren’t learning how to critically think anymore. They go straight to one of the AI things and it generates an answer for them.”
Degenfelder said she backed a bill to ban cellphones during instruction time.
“I supported a bill that came through the legislature a couple of years ago that actually would ban cell use during instructional time, and I stand by that,” Degenfelder said. “I think that it’s appropriate to take cellphones out of classrooms, and what we find is that kids thrive.”
Closing statements
In closing remarks, Bien emphasized his experience as an outsider candidate.
“I am the only outsider in this race, but I am the only one who’s got an inordinate amount of leadership experience,” he said. “Folks, you deserve a government that you can trust.”
Degenfelder pointed to her endorsements from President Donald Trump and U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman.
“I get asked a lot, ‘How did you get the Trump endorsement?’” Degenfelder said. “The answer is really simple. I earned it.”
Alongside other candidates, Bien and Degenfelder will be competing for support in Wyoming’s Republican gubernatorial primary Aug. 18.
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