From Baxter Black to the Powwow Idol

Flying W Wranglers

These cowboys don’t just sing about horses and cattle; they also get down and dirty during branding season at the Flying W Ranch in Colorado Springs, Colorado. But once chuckwagon season starts, the Flying W Wranglers, the second-oldest Western singing group, takes the stage. (The oldest such group is Sons of the Pioneers, which included Roy Rogers among its founders.)

The Flying W Wranglers play traditional cowboy songs, such as “(Ghost) Riders in the Sky” and “My Colorado Home” to a nightly audience of 1,000 folks who chow down on barbecue beneath the stars.

Wherever you end up finding a seat at these dinner shows and Old West melodramas, you’ll be in for a treat.

 

Bar M Chuckwagon

April-October • Moab, UT
435-259-2276 • BarMChuckwagon.com

 

The Next Act: Back of Beyond Books focuses on natural, Western, regional and American Indian history. This independent bookseller gets its name from Edward Abbey’s book The Monkey Wrench Gang.

 

Bar D Chuckwagon

May-September • Durango, CO
970-247-5753 • BarDChuckwagon.com

 

The Next Act: Treat yourself to dessert as you relax on the garden patio of the Victorian home-turned-Mediterranean restaurant Cyprus Café. Locals tell us the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Pot d’creme is chocolate heaven!

 

BAR J Chuckwagon Supper & Western Music Show

May-September • Jackson, WY
307-733-3370 • BarJChuckwagon.com

 

The Next Act: The warm, blazing fire in the middle of the dining room of Snake River Grill pulls you in. The food keeps locals coming back. Pretty much everyone orders the fried green pepper ring (think “onion ring”), which comes stacked on a nail, and is coated with serrano chiles, cilantro, basil and the restaurant’s signature beer, of course.

 

Texas! Musical Drama

June-August • Palo Duro Canyon, TX
806-655-2181 • Texas-Show.com

 

The Next Act: Feldman’s Wrong Way Diner has a train circling the building—seriously. It serves a tasty Railroad Ties and House Salad, and the crispy catfish stuffed into a giant tortilla is a dish locals never turn down.

 

Circle Up Chuckwagon Dinner Shows

June-August • Dubois, WY
800-562-0806 • CircleUpChuckWagonDinnerShow.com

 

The Next Act: We can never resist shopping at Welty’s General Store. Frank A. Welty Sr. founded it in 1889, and Wild Bunch outlaw Butch Cassidy stocked up on cigars and other staples while he worked at area ranches. You won’t find food here today, but you will find cowboy boots and hats.

 

Flying W Ranch

June-September • Colorado Springs, CO
800-232-3599 • FlyingW.com

 

The Next Act: Explore the Paint Mines Interpretive Park, where colorful clay was deposited 55 million years ago; American Indian tribes utilized the clay for pottery and ceremonial paints. Later, bricks were formed from the clay for 1880s homesteaders. Spend the day viewing the natural diversity of hoodoos, grasslands and gulches of the park.

 

Blazin’ M

Ongoing • Cottonwood, AZ
800-937-8643 • BlazinM.com

The Next Act: Throw your line out for some catfish and rainbow trout at the four-acre lagoon inside Dead Horse Ranch State Park, stocked by Arizona Game and Fish on a regular basis. You’ll have anglers to compete with in the summer and spring, while fall and winter mean mild days
and fewer people.

 

Range Riders Cowboy Theatre

Ongoing • Palm Springs, CA
800-600-3082 • CowboyDinners.com

The Next Act: Locals wait in line at Cheeky’s for a good breakfast. With a new menu every week, you’ll never get tired of the fare. For a taste of what to expect: bacon flights, squash blossom omelets with serrano chiles and custard scrambled eggs.

 

Prairie Rose Chuckwagon

Ongoing • Benton, KS
316-778-2121 • PrairieRoseChuckwagon.com

 

The Next Act: Tucked away in a hangar at Benton Air Park is Stearman Field Bar & Grill. If you’ve ever wanted to eat with model airplanes hanging above your head, here’s your chance. At nighttime, locals like to chat around the patio fire pit. (And, of course, you can get flight training at the airpark.)

 

Circle B Chuckwagon Supper & Cowboy Music Show

Ongoing • Branson, MO
417-336-3540 • BransonShows.com

The Next Act: Branson is like Broadway in the West, offering more than 100 productions. After the Horn Family’s musical and comedic act, you may also want to check out: Presleys’ Country Jubilee, Clay Cooper’s Country Music Express, Shepherd of the Hills Outdoor Theatre and Oak Ridge Boys Theatre.

 

Lone Star Murder Mysteries

Ongoing • Grapevine, TX
817-778-2215 • LoneStarMurderMysteries.com

 

The Next Act: Grab a cup of coffee and some Nutella French Toast at Main Street Bistro & Bakery, then head out for a ride on the
Grapevine Vintage Railroad. Every Saturday and Sunday through Memorial Day, you can enjoy staged train robberies on your way to
the Fort Worth Stockyards.