Once again in Wyoming...

We have made all of our final reservations to end our "summer trip" this year, ending with a meet up with friends who are camping in Tucson.  In order to match their days, we needed to stretch out a couple of ours here and there, so ended up staying in Wyoming a bit longer than usual.  

We had always planned on re-visiting Cody, so that worked out fine.  There is so much to see and do there, adding a couple of days (and being able to!) worked out well there for us.  But where else, we asked ourselves?  Well...we'd never been to Casper, so decided to add that town to our agenda...why not? So added a week there...

Last time we were in Cody was in 2016 and we loved it!  We happened to be there during one of their Indian Pow Wows and got to enjoy that as well.  There is so much to see and do not only in Cody, but within a short drive from Cody - we never got to see it all!  So, we were anxious to come back and see what we didn't see last time!  

The first thing on our agenda was to get back to the Buffalo Bill Center of the West Museum.  It's actually five museums in one.  They have now made the ticket a two-day ticket, which is a good thing, because it really does take two days to see and enjoy it!  As we entered the lobby a bright red 1959 Corvette was being displayed...as a raffle!  Well, I couldn't pass that opportunity up!  I'll let you know if I'm the lucky winner, as the drawing is next week!  Wish me luck!! 

Well, from there, Jack and I split up...he, to the Cody Firearms Museum, and I to the Draper Natural History Museum.  

Two years after our visit in 2016, the Cody Firearms Museum totally redid their displays.  Jack had read all about it, and was anxious to see it "in person".  He was not disappointed.  I had visited it back in 2016 as well, and took a "quick peek" this time and could really see what a huge difference they had made.  The biggest, I felt (amateur that I am) was how they displayed the arms in clear  cases from all sides.  Cool.  But that is only one observation, and this museum is HUGE.  

Now, my visits...the Draper Natural History was beautiful...truly beautiful.  They focused only on the west and did it in little scenes.  The taxidermy was done so well, the animals looked almost alive.  This museum wasn't as large as the others, but done just as well.  

The namesake...The Buffalo Bill Museum.  You are greeted at the entrance by Bill himself (via a full-size motion activated screen) welcoming you, then on you enter, to learn about him and his show.  It was extensive, with maps showing you where and how many shows they put on in the years they traveled, a miniature display of their entire show requirements from housings to arena; films, photos, old billboards, costumes, etc.  Very well done, of course.  

On day two, we finished with the Whitney Western Art Museum, which was quite extensive, and like the others, beautifully well done.  It was a pleasure to have the time and really enjoy two full days in these wonderful museums.  

Once we "finished" with all that, we were ready for a little music!  Of course there are several options to choose from, but after doing some sleuthing, we went with the Cody Cattle Company Dinner Show...and we were so happy that we did!  What a great time we had (and a good dinner too!)  As I've shared before, we have been to several "western" shows, but this one was nicely different in that it not only had the required  western songs and humor, it threw in some really, really old ones (the ones my Dad used to sing to me when I was a kid), but also (surprise) some non-western, new songs (from out of nowhere)  that made you go "what the heck?" and laugh!  Wonderful mix and some of the best guitar and fiddle playing we've heard in a long time!  The lead, Ryan Martin, also lives and plays in Apache Junction AZ at Barleens (also a fun place!) in the winter.   Very fun night!  

We also decided to take the short trip out to the Historic Buffalo Bill Dam.  Now, I've seen a number of dams, and I'm not usually impressed with them...it's just not my "thing" really....but it is Jack's, so I go along...Well, I have to say, after watching the video on how this dam was built, what these men went through to build it, etc.  I'm impressed.  Out here in Wyoming, it's pretty much dry dust, at least in this area, and Bill Cody saw that.  He instigated and helped finance the dam idea so that people could get water to their land and farm.  It was that simple.  It wasn't for power or money, it was for survival.  It took five long, hard years to build.  When it was finally completed it was the tallest dam in the world (at that time).  It has no rebar, only cement and boulders in the construction.  

One of the things that it left me with was the reminder of what the generations of men before us have gone through to build - our dams, our bridges, our roads, the very buildings we live/work in, and drive on every day.  We take all this for granted as we go about our day, but many people gave their lives for these "conveniences".   Next time each one of us crosses a bridge, or enters a tunnel or sees a dam, let us remember that and send up a "thank you". 

After we left the Dam, we decided to continue on with a short drive and do a little scenic loop.  We choose the East Yellowstone Loop, one we hadn't done before.  It didn't turn out to be much, but a couple of little things...some interesting rock formations - called "The Holy City", a pretty creek here and there, a very unusual home up on a hill that I found out later was built by a man called Frances Lee Smith, who worked on it for 12 years, never getting it quite right.  He obsessed over the project so much that his wife left him.  In 1992, while working on the balcony, he fell to his death. The house remained empty for 30 years until it sold in 2019.  And finally...an old Bob's Big Boy statue, placed on a pedestal out in the middle of a field!  No fanfare, no sign, nothing, just him in all his glory!  I checked on that one too...It seemed it just appeared one day.  No one knows how, or why.  That one made my day!  ;-) 

never getting it quite right. He obsessed over the project so much that his wife left him. In 1992 while working on a balcony, he fell to his death.

Read More: Weird Things You Can Spot From Wyoming Highways | https://y95country.com/weird-things-you-can-spot-from-wyoming-highways/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral

never getting it quite right. He obsessed over the project so much that his wife left him. In 1992 while working on a balcony, he fell to his death.

Read More: Weird Things You Can Spot From Wyoming Highways | https://y95country.com/weird-things-you-can-spot-from-wyoming-highways/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral

We finally left Cody and drove on to Casper...a long, long drive.  We booked a week here at a CG called River's Edge, hoping that as the website said, it would be a nice respite along the river.  Well...it is along a river, but not exactly what I was picturing....

Turned out that Casper, at least while we are here, is dry, very windy and dusty - almost all of the time.  Sitting outside is pretty much out of the question.  We did manage to take a walk down to the river, and I'm guessing that maybe? in the late spring, it's a pretty place, but right now...not so much.  No shade, lots of white rock (to bring out more of the sun's glare) and stir up that dust along with a few small trees.  Oh well....

The city, and that's what it is, does have one thing going for it...a great museum, called the National Historic Trails Center.  It is all about the migration of the people coming west in the 1800s - The Oregon Trail, the Mormons, the Pony Express and finally the Train.  It has some of the signatures of the folks that celebrated arriving at Independence Rock, an actual Pony Express Saddle showing the wear and signatures of the riders, some fun "rides" in moving stagecoaches and wagons crossing the North Platte River, movies to watch, walking wagons to pull, backpacks to lift, several dioramas, stories to listen to and read.  It was very well done.  They also have an auto tour guide you can do on your own if you want to continue on and see the various areas that these folks traveled through.  Once again, another reminder of how the people "before us" paved the way for us, and were hardy, brave people!  God bless them!

...on the road in Wyoming,  Marie

If you would like to see the rest of my photos, you can on my Flickr at https:/https://flickr.com/photos/74905158@N04/albums

Cody & The Tetons - Revisited...

Our 20th Wedding Anniversary was fast approaching, so it was time Jack and I make plans on where to spend it!  We had talked about it on and off over the months but not knowing what part of the country we were going to be in at the time, we hadn't made any plans.  Now that we were in Montana, and September 1st (and being Labor Day weekend) only weeks away, we needed to get serious about it.

The Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming seemed like "the perfect choice".  It has always been at the top 5 on the list of our most favorite places we've visited.  Quickly checking with the National Park, I found out we could only get 5 days at the RV Campground in Colter Bay.  We decided we would stay a week in Cody beforehand, then go into the Park for the 5 days and stay the 1 special night, our anniversary night, at the Jackson Lodge itself (big splurge).

Three years ago we had spent just a couple of days in Cody visiting their wonderful  Buffalo Bill Center of the West museum, walking through the town, and enjoying the sights and sounds of their annual Plains Indian Museum Powwow, that was taking place.  We just weren't there long enough to really take advantage of all that Cody had to offer and just knew that it was a great little town that we would love to come back to again.

Now was our chance!  So nice to be able to settle in, relax and take in the sights.  One of the first things we did was take the Cody Trolley Tour!  We have learned that this is such a fun way to get to know a town, all the "little known facts" that one doesn't learn on their own!  Well, there's not a whole lot to Cody, but the two guides made it a whole lot of fun!  They took us all around the small town and out to the Dam.  We even caught a few deer grazing on some apples along the way!  They filled us in on all the history (much of it we already knew) but it was fun to hear their stories, especially about the burial of disputes of poor Buffalo Bill Cody (seems he died in Denver at his sister's, so he's buried there instead of here in Cody, much to the chagrin of the town he created).

The Buffalo Bill Dam was quite an engineering marvel, built from 1892-1906, it was the world's tallest Dam at the time.  The thing that I marveled at was that it could only be worked on during the winter!  This was because during the rest of the year the water was so high that it would pour over the area they were trying to dam up!  Those poor men would be working in below freezing conditions, digging, pouring cement, etc. under ungodly conditions!  Amazing...and it's not only still standing today, it's a thing of beauty!

After that, we spent a wonderful afternoon at the Old Trail Town.  What a unique and unusual place.  A gentleman by the name of Bob Edgar and some friends have collected authentic historic structures and furnishings from remote areas of Wyoming and Montana and reassembled them here where Buffalo Bill Cody first started the town of Cody...and what a great job they have done too!  They have located and brought back the cabins of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, a Wyoming saloon frequented by Cassidy's "hole-in-the-Wall Gang", along with cabins from such scouts like "Curley", a Crow Indian army scout who helped Col. George Custer.  A small cemetery is there as well, holding some "interesting" folks, one being the infamous Jeremiah Johnson who was portrayed by  Robert Redford back in 1972.  He even came here to be a pall-barer when they brought Johnson's body for the re-burial!

On our final night in Cody we spent at the Cody Cattle Company Dinner Show.  What a fun night of good food and entertainment!  Three guys sang and played foots stomping music for a couple of wonderful hours while we ate till out tummies were about to bust!  It sure was a great way to end our stay in Cody!


Because of the fires in Yellowstone, we had a very  l o n g  drive to the Tetons the next day.  Ugh.  But...we made it with smiles on!  The sun was shining and our campsite was lovely!  Nothing like the smell of pine trees to cheer one up!  mm mm

Since we'd been to the Park before, we weren't here to "run around and see everything", We were really here to just sit back and enjoy the calmness of the Park, which is what we really did.  It's a good thing too...as we, or I should say I, really, hadn't given much thought to the fact that when we were here last, it had been the first week of June when everything was still in bloom and the snow was still on the mountains.  Not so at the end of summer.  It never occurred to me how dry everything was going to be...silly me!  Sure looks different in late summer!  When we were here 3 years ago we saw tons of animals, this time, one lone elk!  But in all fairness, we didn't go looking this time either.  It still gave us great sunsets tho!  ;-)

The one thing we did do this time, other than sit by the lake and read, is take the Jackson Lake cruise.  We had a nice tour guide, a young college student here for the summer from Grand Rapids MI, who was quite knowledgeable and entertaining.  As I said, the snow level was down, as well as the water level, but we did see a couple of young bald eagles and an osprey nest.

Our last night was spent in the beautiful Jackson Lake Lodge, a splurge for us, but hey, once every 20 years, so OK!  ;-)  A special lovely dinner in the Mural Room, a toast to us and our life together...ever onward my love!

...on the road, heading west!  Marie

If you wish to view the rest of the photos from this trip, you can at my Flickr account at:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/74905158@N04/

It's a Matter of Perspective...

It's funny how under certain circumstances you can feel like an "expert", or at least "experienced" and then under other circumstances, with the same subject, you now feel like a "new-comer".  Such is the RV life!

We have been full-timing it for 18 months now, and compared to some of the folks we've met at campgrounds along the way, we are "rare and experienced" and are asked a lot of questions.  Then you come to a situation like we did this week...a "Rally", changes everything.

The Family Motor Coach Association celebrated their 50th anniversary with a big rally and reunion in Gillette Wyoming.  2639 motor coaches and around 6000 people attended a four day celebration filled with seminars, shopping, exhibits, historic motor coaches, new ones to tempt you, entertainment and fun.

The few days leading up to the rally found us in campgrounds in Cody and Buffalo on our way to Gillette - along with dozens of other fellow FMCA rally bound campers.  On one such night we had an opportunity to visit with several of them over an ice cream social given by one of the campground hosts.  We quickly learned how "new" we were at this life style!  We might be the rare "full-timer" but other folks have been RVing (and going to these rallies) for 10, 15, 20 years.  "New-comer" took on a whole new meaning!

The day of the check-in found us leaving our campground in Buffalo at the same time as many others - all headed where we were.  What a strange sight to be on an Interstate with nothing but RVs all heading to the same place.  The only other rally we have attended was the small one put on by the manufacturer of our rig.  That was in Florida last year, and we didn't see anyone on the road with us as we traveled to it!

For those of you not familiar with rallies (we sure weren't before we joined the RV world).  They are an organized gathering of like-interested (or like-coach) folks to come together for a few days to camp, socialize and learn.  Depending on who is hosting and how large the group is, vendors, RV dealers along with their latest rigs and entertainment, might be included.  Something like this, that draws people from all over the US and Canada, it's as big as a State Fair, with seminars going on throughout each day on just about every subject having to do with this life-style from maintaining your rig to cooking in it!

Here in Wyoming, each day brought on a different kind of weather too.  The day of check-in was thankfully, sunny, as hundreds upon hundreds of coaches arrived and were guided in by experienced and well staffed volunteers.  The Cam-Plex that this was being held at was a huge dirt & grass multi-event arena.  They had us parking in row after row, after row, around and around we went to what seemed like miles of coaches!  That night gave us a beautiful sunset to start our celebration off.

However, it was soon to change!  The sun quickly left us and the storm of wind and rain came in with full force adding a show of lightening and thunder to the next night.  Our rigs were rocking and rolling.  As we started out the following day, to mud and grass soaked fields, we didn't let it slow us down.  The rally organizers had school buses that ran shuttles all day and evening until everything was over so that we could easily get to and from the various areas with the least bit of trouble.  Good thing, because as the days continued, so did the weather worsen.  Day 3 brought more rain and then a heavy down poor of hail!  Inches of it!  We even got a tornado warning for a few hours!  Some of us were left stranded in the exhibit hall with the vendors and just had to go on shopping (me!).

They brought in some fun entertainment for us as well.  One night they sent us down memory lane with The Buckinghams as they sang songs from the 1960's with many of us singing right along with them!  

Friday evening they held a "Black Tie and Blue Jeans Dance" that we were just to tired to go to!  Dashing from seminar to seminar from 8am to 4pm every day just tuckered us out!  We haven't had to cram so much learning in, in a long time!  Just ask me how to clean a holding tank now, and I can tell you!

We made up for it Saturday tho and got to enjoy an evening with Marty Stuart and his band.  A great way to end the event.

But Sunday was another story...Sunday was "exit day"...sort of.  You see, that "weather" I mentioned earlier, well, it kept raining on & off, more on that off, really.  Most of us were parked on what started out to be dirt & grass...that quickly turned into mud and muck.  I finally renamed our street (each row had a street name) from 5th street to Lake Lane!  Pretty much everyone on our row had to be towed out.  6" of mud & water just doesn't make for easy drive-ability when you have a 26,000 lbs vehicle!  We had put wood under our tires, Jack thought that would help...nope, as soon as he drove off of them...we sank!  But, as RVer's do, one came to our rescue and tied his car to our RV and with a lot of tugging and willpower, he pulled us out!  I couldn't hardly believe it (I delivered a nice bottle of red wine and a hug afterward)!

A good washing getting all the mud splatters off, and the day was done...many, many things learned, enjoyed, and will be remembered for a long, long time, thank you FMCA!

 Rows of motorhomes, photo courtesy of Mike Wendland

First night sunset

Seminar photo courtesy of Mike Wendland 

 The Buckinghams Concert

 Exhibit Hall, photo courtesy of Mike Wendland

Sunday's swamp dilemma...

 "Lake views"

 Might as well enjoy the lake view! 

Here we are, propped up, but still 6" deep...

...on the road (again!) in Wyoming,  Marie

If you wish to view the rest of the photos from this trip, you can at my Flickr account at:http://www.flickr.com/photos/74905158@N04/

A quick stop in Cody

Cody Wyoming, the home of "Buffalo Bill Cody" and his Wild West Show!  Couldn't miss an opportunity to check that out!  A whole town devoted to one man, and after spending a day in the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, I can see why.

For a man who lived 71 years, he sure accomplished an awful lot...but he started at it at a young age.  Young Bill worked for a freight company as a messenger and wrangler before trying his luck as a prospector in the Pikes Peak gold rush in 1859 (age 13). The next year, at age 14, Cody joined the Pony Express, fitting the bill for the advertised position: "skinny, expert riders willing to risk death daily."  Sounds like a great job opportunity, don't you think? hm mm

It was his service in the American Civil War in 1867 that earned him his nickname.  He began buffalo hunting (to feed constructions crews building railroads).  His own assessment puts the number of buffalo he killed at 4,280, in just over a year and a half (he apparently was quite good at it).  He became a national folk hero thanks to the dime-novel exploits of his alter ego, "Buffalo Bill.” In late 1872, Cody went to Chicago to make his stage debut in The Scouts of the Prairie, one of Ned Buntline’s original Wild West Shows (Buntline was the author of the Buffalo Bill novels). 

In 1883, Cody founded his own show, "Buffalo Bill's Wild West," a circus-like extravaganza that toured widely for three decades, and the rest, as they say, is history...

What I also learned, was that he married and had 5 children, 4 of which died at pretty young ages.  Irma, the youngest, survived and even joined the show for awhile.  He named a hotel (turned restaurant) for her in Cody.  His wife didn't travel with him and stayed married to him all through those tough years (out lived him).  He was a very active man, involved in everything from women's & Indian rights, to water and land management in Wyoming.  His foresight helped build a much needed dam just west of Cody and he was recognized by both politicians and royalty.  He was quite a man.   We had no problem spending a full day in the Buffalo Bill Center of the West.  It actually is 8 museums in one.  Jack spent most of his time in the Cody Firearms area that had a special show from the Smithsonian and I went over to the Whitney Western Art Museum & Photography Gallery.  I was in awe of some of the incredible art they had.  Jack said he saw firearms and "artwork" (on them) like he has never seen before.  I was allowed to take photos in my area (so I did, of course), but he was not.  Afterward, we made our way to the historical part of downtown to check out "The Irma" and have a drink at the bar that cost $100,000. back in the turn of the century.  They have a gunfight melodrama every evening (except Sunday) in the street out front, just to add some fun (and bring in the customers!).  The bar is now part of the restaurant, so you can't sit at it, so I just had to take a picture, but it was all fun.

The next day Cody was hosting the Plains Indian Museum Powwow, so of course, we went to check it out.  What a beautiful sight!  Hundreds of men, women and children all dressed in traditional regalia from head to toe.  We got there a little late and it was pretty crowed, so I didn't have the best spot for taking pictures, but that didn't stop me from trying.  I had promised my daughter and grandson that I would do my best to take some good shots of the various regalia so that they could see the special colors, beading and designs.  There were so many beautiful ones to look at, each different, I just kept snapping pictures.  They had each tribe parade around the area as they announced their region, then they would have different groups, like the Tiny Tots.  These were adorable little ones under 7 years.  A couple were barely walking!  Their whole family would walk with them, supporting them in keeping this tradition alive.  It was so great to see the love and happiness they all shared.  They also had the 7-12 age group.  Shy and proud at the same time.  Sweet.  Then the competition dancing began.  The drummers chanting and drumming while the dancers competing in the hot sun.  They were competing not only for the money, but for the honor as well.  You could tell that these people really had their heart in what they do.  It was very special to see.  I'm glad we were there to be a part of it, if only on the sidelines.

Cody was just a quick stop for us, as we are on our way to Gillette WY for our very first, very large, RV Rally!  Four days of seminars, entertainment and shopping! Yippee!
 

 ...on the road in Wyoming,  Marie

If you wish to view the rest of the photos from this trip, you can at my Flickr account at:http://www.flickr.com/photos/74905158@N04/