We were coming back to Dubois and staying in a KOA. We stopped by a bar and someone had their gun belt over the booth," recalls Debbie Phillips, "And my husband, Al, said he felt like he died and went to heaven." Phillips and her husband are owners of Windhaven RV Resort in Dubois, Wyoming. Her husband loves the cowboy culture of the area and often wears his six shooter while working around the campground.
In talking with her, it becomes apparent that her and her husband fell in love with the west through their many RV travels. After retiring from many years in Georgia, they bought an RV and started going through the west. "We found ourselves coming back to this quirky little cowboy town so we decided to buy a house," she says, "And then we were going to start a cabin rental business, but decided to build a campground instead."
Dubois has an interesting tidbit in western folklore - Butch Cassidy had a ranch on the outskirts of Dubois. During this time of Cassidy’s life, he made his first bank robbery and bought a ranch outside Dubois under a fake name. He kept the ranch for a few years, never being very successful, until he was arrested for stealing horses and sentenced to 2 years in prison. After his time in prison, he came back stronger and started robbing more banks, trains, and stagecoaches with the Wild Bunch, eventually fleeing to and dying in Argentina. If one visits Bitterroot Ranch (http://www.bitterrootranch.com/) in Dubois, there is an option to take a horseback ride to one of his hideouts.
The purpose of starting a campground is explained on their website. "After seeing the good and bad of traveling across the country we opened our own RV resort with the goal of giving our clients the best of what we found on our own adventure." She also mentions that they are retired, so they didn't start the campground as another job, but for pleasure and to accommodate others in the western summers. "We are open from May 15th- September 15th," she says, "And during the winter we leave to somewhere warmer."
The campground opened three days before the total eclipse on August 21st, 2017. The town of Dubois experienced totality, so all 28 of their full hookup sites were filled for the event. "It was great. We had people from Australia, the UK, and all over come to see the eclipse," Phillips says. The eclipse is not the only draw to the area. The campground is right on the scenic Wind River and surrounded by mountains and go-to destinations. "It is about 70 miles to the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone," she says, "So many guests use this as their basecamp." She says that the drive to the parks is gorgeous and people have mentioned seeing bear and elk on the way up.
An interesting aspect of the campground is Phillips and her husband built it from the ground up. "There was an old cabin on the property that we tried to save but ended up with just a few good boards and we built the rest," she says. Her husband, a builder by trade, envisioned the project and brought in 700 loads of dirt to prevent flooding, along with countless loads of gravel. "The previous owners of the KOA in town removed the dyke on their property a few years back so people could view the river from their sites," she says, "Unfortunately, this has caused half their sites to flood when the river is high and we are trying to avoid that."
Opening so recent, they are still putting in landscaping and a few other things, but have added a few unique touches to make it feel like a "home away from home," which is their motto on their website. "I have a dollhouse playground for the kids, as well as two tipis where the kids can play and draw a picture on in permanent marker," Phillips says, "We also have a great big dog park, fire pits, and hope to put in some big arches soon." They are also putting some homely touches to the campground, like putting cookies out for check in and starting movie nights for the guests. .
Reviews of the place are overwhelmingly positive - a perfect 5 stars on Google. “We may not have many reviews yet because we just opened, but people seem to really like us,” Phillips says. Phillips, too, says that the people are the best part of owning the campground. “Everyone is your friend!” she says, “People stay here and say, ‘Hey, let’s have a cookout’ and we'll all do a potluck.” She also says that the some people she has met at the campground have become close friends. “A group that came from UK we became really close with,” she says, “In fact, we are going to the UK next winter to stay with them for three weeks.” It’s a happy place, surrounded by beautiful scenery and friendly people - truly a home away from home.