SOUTH PASS—The barstools were all occupied in the Rock Shop Inn Saloon as area locals traded news under the gleam of bottles. Others gathered with beers near the warmth of an antique pot-bellied stove. A man came in with a dozen eggs to deliver to a friend and a silky black puppy even made an appearance — eliciting much oohing and ahhing. The front door chime tinkled as another party entered, and the house was nearly full.
This Saturday night scene in February played out like so many weekend watering hole tableaus. Except this watering hole sits amid rock outcroppings and wind-warped pines at around 7,000 feet elevation. Tucked alongside the banks of Willow Creek in a crease in the landscape, it’s easy for vehicles flying by on Highway 28 to miss the Rock Shop Inn.
Despite the unlikely locale, the establishment that began as a humble one-room gem store grew into a popular local spot for beer and live music in the ‘70s and ‘80s. It expanded with a restaurant that served breakfast and burgers to many hunters, snowmobilers and passersby, and outdoor lovers could camp on the property, offering close proximity to trails, creeks and bouldering crags of the southern Wind River Range.
In recent decades, however, the restaurant shuttered, and subsequent private owners closed the 5-acre property to the public…