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

Don't Take Your Guns To Town....

Today we are taking an overnight trip to Cody, Wyoming. President Obama is in the park at Old Faithful today so we thought it would be a good time to be away.

Leaving the campground we travel past Sylvan Lake (good fishing we'll be back), Eleanor Lake and over the Sylvan Pass (8530') toward the East Entrance. We see more ten thousand foot snow covered peaks as we go through the pass and the views of Yellowstone Lake are phenomenal. There is no way to really describe what we are seeing to anyone! Passing through the East Entrance we are on the Buffalo Bill Scenic Drive (Rte 14,16,20 E). The road passes through the Shoshone National Forest. We are in the Wapiti Valley named after the Indian word for elk. The valley follows the North Fork of the Shoshone River as it slices through the Absaroka Range of the Rocky Mountains. This fantastic mountain scenery, volcanic features and wildlife makes travel through the valley a real old west experience. Still following the river we enter the beautiful Red Rock Canyon. The brilliant red cliffs and red rock formations tower over us. Soon we come to the Buffalo Bill Dam which sits in the canyon. The road goes through 3 tunnels that wind through the cayon walls. The dam dates back to 1905 and was designed as the tallest dam in the world.

We pulled into the Ponderosa Campground and was able to get a Kabin for tonight. We left the coach in Yellowstone and decided to try one of the Kabins we see in the campgrounds. They are rustic but comfy... except we left our blanket but there is a WalMart in Cody (Yea!). Once settled we moseyed into Cody. At first we were a little disappointed as it really has lost it's cowboy town look - but the lady at the campground told us where to go and what to see.

We grabbed lunch at Wendy's and then found our way to the Buffalo Bill Museum. We are not really museum people, but this place is fantastic! This place is enormous. There are 5 facinating museums. We viewed the Whitney Gallery of Western Art first. This has one of the worlds finest western art collections. The paintings and sculptures pulled you right into the western era. (Pictures show two of our favorite paintings.)

Next we went into the Buffalo Bill Cody Museum. This focused on the life of Buffalo Bill and has a replica of his boyhood home. The remainder of this section exhibited the history of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. He called his show "an educational exposition on a grand and entertaining scale. The show provided a spectacular panorama of cowboys, Indian, trick shooters and specialty acts. The show ran for 30 years, from 1883 until 1913, touring the United States and Europe with legendary figures such as Sitting Bull and Annie Oakley. While it wasn't possible for millions of Americans to experience the West as he had, Cody brought it to their front doors. We decided to do the rest of the museum tomorrow.

Next stop was the Hotel Irma downtown. The hotel was built by Cody, co-founder of the city, and named after his daughter. We sauntered into the Silver Saddle Saloon. We had some local beers and talked with a nice couple from Oregon. We exchanged addresses and they invited us to drop by when we pass through there on our next trip. We bought our tickest for the street shoot out at 6PM and then went back to camp.

We have front row seats for the shoot out with Buffalo Bill, Wyatt, and friend Bill Tilman try to keep Cody safe for us settlers! The Cody Gunfighters re-enact the Old West every night. They barricade the street along the side of the Irma and keep the old spirit alive. There are no guns allowed in town, but sure enough Ike Clanton and his bad guys break the rules. Bill Hickock and Wyatt Earp save the day....The show is a little hokey, but fun! All the proceeds and donaations benefit Cody charities. After the show we grabbed a mexican dinner at Zapatas.

After dinner we were off to the Cody Rodeo. Rodeo is tradition in Cody and they compete every night from June 1 to Aug 31. The cowboys come from all over Wyoming and surrounding states. In it's 71st year they have everything from calf roping, bronc busting, steer wrestling, barrel racing. They even had a class for 0-5 year olds in the barrel racing. Two 3 year olds competed and it was amazing to see them ride by themselves! Naturally they close the night with the bull riding which keeps the audience riveted to their seats and me with my hands over my eyes (peaking...).

Well it was time for all good buckaroos to hit the hay... we had a full day!

Note: Pictures from Whitney Museum - Mountain Man with his Fox (James Bama), Tumbleweeds (Clyde Aspevig)