'Sin City' Evanston irresistible to some Utahns

EVANSTON, Wyo. — It's 11:45 a.m. and the temperature is already climbing into the 90s. A stiff wind whips the line of flags atop the huge building that is Porter's Fireworks and Liquor. Porter's is one of a few huge liquor stores and fireworks vendors here at the first Wyoming exit off Interstate 80, only a few miles from the Utah state line.

Two older couples in their 60s come out of Porter's Liquor Store, each with their arms loaded with all the cases of beer and brown bags full of booze bottles they can carry. Smiling like teenagers getting away with something they're not supposed to do, they pile into a large SUV with Utah plates, drive onto the interstate and head back toward Utah.

It's a common sight here in Evanston. Visitors from the Beehive State love to come to this border town. Some may come for the scenery or because it's a gateway to the Uinta Mountains. But for many the attractions in Evanston are booze, fireworks and gambling — booze and fireworks are more tightly restricted in Utah and gambling is illegal.

Evanston, population 11,507, sits in the southwest corner of Wyoming a little over an hour's drive from Salt Lake City. The town is dissected by the coast-to-coast freeway of Interstate 80, so most of the people who stop in Evanston don't stay long. For some it's a place to stop and get gas, a motel room or a bite to eat.

But Utahns come to Evanston because, in a way, this is Wyoming's Sin City.

"Evanston is the root of all Utah evil," says John Porter, owner of Porter's Fireworks and Liquor, and head of the Evanston Chamber of Commerce. "That's the way Utahns think of it anyway."

To Porter, and most other Evanston residents, there's nothing really sinful about the place. It's just a nice small town. But because of Utah's stringent alcohol laws and Evanston's proximity to Utah, the town has an outlaw reputation for being the place where you can get anything you want.

The town's official slogan, "Fresh Air, freedom and fun," is a dead giveaway of how local businesses try to attract people from Salt Lake City. "Fresh air" is an obvious dig at Salt Lake's smog. "Freedom and fun" is a promise of sorts that what you can't get in Utah, you'll find here in Evanston.

"Ninety percent of it is a myth. It's not so much about coming to Wyoming. It's about getting away from Utah," Porter says.

What many people don't realize, Porter said, is that you can buy fireworks in Utah, except aerials and some of the bigger pyrotechnics. Those are illegal in several states but legal in Wyoming. M-80s, cherry bombs and other explosive types of fireworks are not for sale here though. Those are illegal nationwide. Still, Porter gets phone calls every day from Utahns asking how much cherry bombs cost.