Travel Journal: Wind River Rally – Hudson, Wyoming

What should have been an easy six-hour drive from Evergreen, Colorado to Hudson, Wyoming turned into many more with an unplanned overnight in Rawlins, Wyoming. After pouring rain, disabled vehicles, and often standstill traffic, we arrived at the Wind River Rally, a vanlife and overlanding gathering at Dee Cross Ranch in Hudson, WY, on Saturday morning, fashionably late, as it began on the previous Thursday. If you don’t know what a vanlife and overlanding gathering is, watch this video, you’ll get the picture fast.

We turned off the main road onto a long dirt driveway that led us past fields, barns, and farm equipment surrounded by rolling hills covered in sagebrush. The distinct, jagged peaks of the Grand Tetons towered in the distance. What we didn’t see were vans, which had us wondering if we were in the right place. Finally, hidden by the hills, were about 60 vans, buses, truck campers, and converted ambulances parked haphazardly in a large, muddy cow pasture.

Spinning out in the mud from the previous day’s rain, our anxiety spiked. An unleashed dog approached the van, which set off our dog Brook on a barking spree. Between the terrible traffic, unplanned overnight, and uncertainty of how to integrate with the scene, we were stressed and bickered about what to do next.

We left Brook and our cat Clover in the van because of the unleashed dog, and went for a walk, feeling completely out of our element. It felt like everyone knew each other but us. There were probably 30 dogs running about with no clear owner. We walked around until we found our hosts, Lindsey and Patrick from Featherbuilt, who gave us the tickets to the event. Lindsey walked us around the camp to show us the main stage, and recommended parking in the back of the field for a quieter spot. We felt more at ease and less like getting back in the van and spinning our way out of there!

We passed a couple of hours by climbing in and out of a variety of DIY vans and busses and meeting their owners. While I was mildly interested in the vehicles, I was mainly looking for other kids for Skye to play with. There was one family with teenagers, but unfortunately Skye was the youngest person at the event by about seven years. Everyone was friendly though, and Skye quickly made friends with several women who didn’t have children but later told me that they wanted them soon and were inspired by Skye being at the event.

We went back to the van to gobble down a quick sandwich so we could catch the tractor hayride into the tiny town of Hudson, where we followed the crowd into the Union Bar and Grill. We ordered drinks and had a seat in the courtyard to listen to live music. The main singer’s family sat behind us, including her twin baby boys, their dad, and a few other people. Their diaper bag displayed a Trump 2020 patch.

Local after local arrived and said a version of “wow, I’ve never seen so many people here!” clearly not used to visitors in Hudson. I walked 50 feet to the main street of Hudson and saw two establishments: the Union Bar and Grill and a steakhouse across the side street. Beyond that were a couple of boarded up storefronts, overgrown grassy lots, and modest homes.

An elderly, bearded man wearing a cowboy hat and a striped button-up shirt tucked into jeans held a Bud Light. The beer was obviously not boycotted at this bar for the Dylan Mulvaney controversy. A young, hipster-looking man from the Wind River Rally gathering said to the cowboy-looking man “oh you still support Anheuser Busch, that’s great!” The man held up his Bud Light bottle and toasted the young visitor. Do they not know about the social media debacle, or do they not care? Regardless, our respect for the locals soared.

We rode the tractor hayride down the main highway and back to the field of vans, waving to the kids who watched us go by. As darkness fell, festive lights clicked on around the stage and Low Water String Band, from nearby Lander, WY, strummed their first notes. Our spirits were high. We chatted with people from Florida to California, learning the reasons why they were traveling. Most lived in their vehicles. Most hadn’t been doing so for very long. Most were in there 20s and 30s. Skye was the first to dance and soon motivated several new friends to join her, more than happy to dance like a kid again.

Christina Montes from Studio Montes, a mobile tattoo artist for the event, gave Lindsey a tattoo and invited Skye to watch. Skye peppered Christina with questions about tattoo artistry. Afterward both told me how much they enjoyed talking with her and thanked me for letting her be part of the experience.

I brought s’more fixings to the shared fireplaces and people dug in. The band left and a DJ took over the music. Skye moved in on the newly vacated stage and danced until we pulled her off at nearly 1 a.m. The event went on for another night, but we didn’t think we could replicate the magical night we had (nor had the energy to try) so we moved on, grateful for the experience.

This is the Dee Cross Ranch cow pasture where the event was held.

Tractor hayride into downtown Hudson, courtesy of Dee Cross Ranch.

Union Bar and Grill with the band playing under the roof.

Skye and Brook walking at Dee Cross Ranch.

Skye dancing to Low Water String Band.

Christina Montes tattooing Lindsey while Skye watches.