Wyoming
Wyoming Bear Lodge Resort reopens doors in hopes of rebuilding business
SHERIDAN COUNTY, Wyo. — In the snowy mountains of Sheridan County, Wyoming, it can be hard to believe a resort is open in the midst of the Elk Fire. However, the Bear Lodge Resort has decided to reopen their doors, in hopes of making up some of their lost business.
According to a press release by Lisa Eichhorn, the Public Information Officer for Sheridan, Burgess Junction, where Bear Lodge Resort resides, is not in the danger zone.
Mack Carmack, MTN News
Mid-October usually means one thing for many in the region.
“So, October is hunting season. So, that can be pretty busy. Unfortunately, the fire kind of coincided with the bulk of that business,” said Ian Lindsey, the manager of the Bear Lodge Resort.
Mack Carmack, MTN News
At the Bear Lodge Resort, one of their busiest times of year is early October. However, the now almost three-week Elk Fire has caused the resort to lose a huge chunk of their business.
“There’s been a little bit of activity going on, nothing like it would normally be, but enough that we want people to know if there’s a need, somebody’s here to help,” said Scott Jorgensen, one of the owners of the lodge.
Mack Carmack, MTN News
Now that the first snow of the season has fallen, the Bear Lodge Resort is able to reopen their doors in hopes of rebuilding some of their hunting business.
“Seeing nobody up here is weird,” said Brady Tracy, a hunter and nearby resident.
His brother told, Jeff, MTN, “It’s pretty sad, this parking lot should be full.”
Mack Carmack, MTN News
Jeff and Brady Tracy say every week during hunting season they visit the area, and were sad to see it closed most of the month.
“I feed my family by wildlife,” Jeff said.
“A lot of people don’t realize hunting is not just a sport. You’re actually bring food home,” Brady said.
Mack Carmack, MTN News
The fire hasn’t only impacted the hunters, but the employees of the resort as well.
“We actually all live here at the lodge. So that’s why the fire was particularly difficult for us, because some of our employees, their homes are actually out of state,” said Lindsey.
Saturday officially marked the soft reopening of the resort.
Jorgensen says it can be hard to predict their current business, especially since the hunting season is almost over.
“We’ve kind of done a very limited crew, soft opening, so that we could service anyone who was going to come up and check things out,” he said.
Mack Carmack, MTN News
Now, the crew is trying to stay positive, hoping more snow comes soon, for another booming season.
“We had a pretty good lunch, and I don’t know. We’ll see where it goes,” Lindsey said.
If there is one lesson to be taken away from a Wyoming family’s magnificent mule deer hunting season, it’s that putting in the work scouting an area ahead of time can pay off big time.
Ryan and Jannette Hansen — along with their sons Tanner, 17, Brock, 15 and Parker, 13 — all shot huge bucks in the same southwest Wyoming deer hunt area.
The family lives in Mountain Home in Uinta County, and spending time outdoors has been a way of life for them. Ryan and Jannette both grew up hunting.
The couple also has two adult sons that have left home and were also raised as avid hunters.
But even amid such a legacy, the Hansens’ 2025 deer hunting season was exceptional.
Ryan told Cowboy State Daily that it partly came down to luck, and sheer tenacity while hunting.
However, he credits the family putting in the work ahead of time. Once they drew tags for the hunt area, they spent months scouting it.
They put in countless hours getting to know the terrain, hiking all over the place, observing deer’s movements, and picking out which bucks they wanted to go after once the hunting season started.
“It wasn’t just a case of, ‘Hey, let’s go drive down the road and see if we can shoot a deer,’” he said.
“We really put in the work ahead of time. We put in the effort, and we were rewarded and blessed for our efforts,” Ryan added.
One Heck Of A First Deer
Their hunt area “has it all” in terms of terrain and deer habitat, Ryan said.
Vast sage flats, rugged canyons, thick timber, mountain slopes; it’s all there, and the deer thrive in it, he said.
The family started hunting there during the September archery season but didn’t get any deer.
Mule deer are notoriously difficult to hunt with a bow, Ryan said.
“We had a lot of failed stalks, and a couple of missed shots,” he said.
“Anybody that kills a mule deer with a bow is definitely a stud in my book. In all of our books,” he added.
The rifle hunting season ran from Oct. 15 to Oct. 31, and the Hansens took full advantage of it.
Parker got the first buck, on opening day of rifle season.
He made a great shot at 463 yards, and it was his first deer ever.
When asked by Cowboy State Daily how he plans to follow up getting a big buck as his first deer, Parker gave a simple answer.
“Get a bigger deer,” he said.
Parker’s buck was at the bottom of a steep canyon.
“That was definitely a hard pack out. It was literally straight up and out of that canyon,” gaining about 700 feet in elevation, Ryan said.
One Buck After Another
Jannette shot her buck the next day, at 250 yards. Packing that deer out was easier than Parker’s buck had been but still challenging, Ryan said.
“I’m glad I had Tanner, he’s my pack horse,” he said.
Tanner told Cowboy State Daily that packing out big game animals comes naturally to him.
“It’s something I love to do, I’m a hiker,” he said.
The day that Brock dropped his buck didn’t start out so well.
“He woke up sick, throwing up,” Ryan said.
Brock still insisted on going hunting. As the morning progressed, he started feeling a little better.
“When we stopped for lunch, he got worse again,” Ryan said.
Jannette considered taking him home. But on the drive out they spotted a nice buck, which disappeared into some timber.
They decided to go after it. Ryan practically had to carry Brock because his son was so weakened by sickness.
But Brock was still excited to get the opportunity. They found the buck again and everything came together when Brock made a 160-yard shot.
He told Cowboy State Daily that the adrenaline rush of getting a chance at such a quality buck helped him forget his illness for a short while.
“It was because he was so big,” Brock said.
The family returned home, and Tanner and Ryan went back out by themselves.
They hunted all day with no luck. As evening settled in, they were high on a ridge when Tanner finally spotted a buck he wanted to go after, far below.
“He bombed off the top of that ridge and went right after him (the buck),” Ryan said.
Ryan went back to the truck and drove to where he knew Tanner would probably come out after pursuing the deer.
“It was about 10 miles of driving to get back to where he was,” Ryan said.
Tanner tracked the buck, and when it jumped from cover, he made a 250-yard shot.
Father and son packed the deer out in the dark, with headlamps to light their way.
A Bittersweet Ending
Only Ryan’s deer tag was left unfilled. The rest of the family returned for the weekend and they hunted together, but to no avail.
With the season coming to an end and his family back home, Ryan headed out for the last couple of days with a good family friend.
They moved to a different section of the hunt unit, and when Ryan’s opportunity finally came, he dropped his buck with a 150-yard shot.
The deer hunting season that is sure to become a family legend was finally over.
“I was relieved that we were done. But kind of sad at the same time. It was a culmination of everything we had done,” Ryan said.
A Freezer Full Of Venison
Jannette told Cowboy State Daily that she’s immensely proud of her family’s hunting accomplishment, and she doesn’t take living in Wyoming for granted.
“My nieces and nephews live in the city, and they don’t even go outside,” she said.
“Living in Wyoming is such a huge blessing in and of itself, for sure. It was a blessing for us to go out as a family and get all five deer,” she added.
The boys decided to get European mounts of their bucks. That being, a simple trophy mount, with just the animal’s cleaned skull and antlers.
Ryan and Jannette plan to have a taxidermist do full shoulder mounts of their bucks, together on a double pedestal.
“It will be a ‘his and hers’ double buck taxidermy mount,” Ryan said.
For the family, the hunt isn’t just about the trophies and bragging rights. Hunting is still about being solidly connected to the time-honored tradition of providing themselves with fresh venison.
“Those deer don’t go to waste. We eat every bit of them,” Ryan said.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — The College of Southern Idaho men’s basketball team defeated the Western Wyoming Mustangs 81-62 in the opening round of the Battle for the Boot tournament Thursday night.
The Golden Eagles, who entered the game with a 2-0 record, controlled the game with balanced scoring and strong defensive play.
Jalen Lyn led the way scoring-wise as he poured in 26 and Nate Ahner was right behind him with a 20-point night of his own.
Defensively Kobe Kesler and Nate Anher each forced four turnovers, three blocks and a steal for Kesler and vice versa for Ahner.
CSI established an early rhythm in the first half with crisp ball movement thanks in large part to Ace Reiser who led the team with seven assists, many coming late in the first half.
The Golden Eagles led by 10 at half and pulled away even more in the second to secure the 19-point victory and improve to 3-0 on the season.
The Golden Eagles will face Clarendon College Friday night at 7:00 in their tournament semifinal matchup.
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