Images of The Past

The Kabins weren’t bad last night, but it did get a little cold (30’s). We used the cabin heater. Worst was getting up and walking to the rest room at 1AM! Went to Granny’s for breakfast and then back to the Museum. We weren’t going to view the Plains Indian section because we had seen so much in North Dakota already, but we decided to give it a quick look. This was really different and we learned about other clans, about their lives and how they moved during the winter and spring. The exhibits of authentic clothing from famous chiefs and Indian women were terrific. For a section we thought we would breeze through we spent about 21/2 hours!

Leaving the Plains Indians we went outside where they had 2 gardens. There were sculptures among the trees and flowers so we followed the path through the Braun Garden first. First we came upon Crazy Horse. The artist (RV Greeves) admired the legendary warrior. He considered Crazy Horse an American hero. Though he didn’t fight for the American flag, he did lay down his life for the land we call America. The next sculpture was our favorite and as we sat on a bench in front of “The Unknown” we had our own interpretations of what the sculpture meant. It was strangely quiet in the garden and the sculpture seemed to change with time and we would see different things in them. The sculpture itself portrays several Indians looking with wonder into the vast unknown. The Greever Cashman Garden was the second garden and we stopped in the café for a cold drink. Across from the café was Sacagawea, the American heroine who served as Lewis & Clarks interpreter. She is holding her young son standing majestically in the blowing wind. Our last sculpture was the symbol of the American West, a cowboy on a bucking bronco. There are many more sculptures scattered around the grounds of the museum, but it was time to move on.

Back inside our last section was The Draper Museum of Natural History. We spent another 2 hours learning about animals and looking at the displays and videos. The animal displays were very realistic (some of them had been alive at one point).

Finally we were museum’d out and it was time to head back to Yellowstone. We were sitting in the car making phone calls when Ken noticed someone standing behind us. They were taking pictures of our NH license plate! With all of the great exhibits inside it was funny to think of people taking a picture of a license plate….. It was cold in the mountains on the way back and they are dusted with new snow. We plan to come back to Cody and put our boat in on the Buffalo Bill Reservoir. It's a magnificent area surrounded with red rim rock and hoo doos. Coming back through Sylvan Pass we had a little sleet. We missed most of the weather. As we came back into the park there were Bison at the entrance to greet us.

Back at camp we relaxed in our chairs and enjoyed the late afternoon sun and talked about the trip. It was a great day!

Note: Pictures - Bear in Natural History Bldg, Spirit of Wyoming, Sacagawea, The Unknown, Crazy Horse