A half hour drive west of the Wyoming capital of Cheyenne lies the town of Buford. Buford isn't a huge city, crammed with amenities and bustling with people. It is, in fact, the complete opposite of this. Buford, Wyoming is entirely different because it enjoys the distinction of being the smallest town in the United States.
When I'm road tripping across the states, I am always on the lookout for something quirky to see or do, so when I read about Buford, I knew I had to visit.
Buford started life as a tiny trading post, with a gas station, post office and house. It used to be home to 2,000 people but now entertains just the one, like the sign says.
Plus two visitors from Wales...
These days, however, the town has expanded to include a store and coffee stop in its single gas station. I didn't spot a post office, so can only assume it left town because the guy who lived there didn't sell enough stuff on eBay, or only had the one pen pal? I'm hazarding a guess, here but, a post office in a town with one patron wouldn't be much of a business.
Anyway, the sign reads that the population of the town is 1, and I guess this is the person who served me in the gas station. His house is round the side of his business and cars and trucks drop off the nearby highway for gas and, hopefully, to give the guy someone to chat to now and then so that he doesn't lose his mind. The new owner bought the entire town in 2012 and renamed it PhinDeli Town after opening his convenience store and coffee business.
Big store, small town
Just because they're small doesn't mean they don't know how to impress
It's literally a 'blink and you'll miss it' kind of town, and struck me more of a motorway service station than anything else. I've no idea why it's classed as a town, but it has a zip code and everything. It doesn't look it'd be too wild on a Saturday night, though. Despite its size, Buford has a lot of personality.
Don't worry about the owner too much, though, he has a steady stream of curious visitors dropping by to have their photo taken at the town sign and buying quality Vietnamese imported coffee in his store before heading off into the distance in search of civilisation.
