Experiencing the Old West in Cody, Wyoming

I’ve been having a grand time here in Cody this week, despite a lot of inclement weather. So far, I’ve managed to tour the Buffalo Bill Cody Historical Center. It is a huge complex of five different museums.



A monument of Buffalo Bill Cody. Quite an amazing man who founded this town.



I took an interesting, narrated trolley ride around the town to learn about it’s history.



I visited the infamous Irma Hotel, that Bill Cody built and named after his daughter.



Each night, they hold a re-enactment of an old west gunfight. They actually close off a street to perform and roll their props right out into the street.



The opening ceremony begins with a rendition of the Star Spangled Banner.



Then the fun begins!



I visited the Old Trail Town, which consists of 26 old original buildings dating from 1879 to 1901. There is also an extensive collection of antiques from the Wyoming frontier.





There is a cemetary on site for some of the original frontiersmen.



Here is a unique antler stack that was on display.



I have yet to see a moose this summer, so this is as close as I’ve come. There was a head on display here.



Same with the Big Horn sheep. I’ve seen a lot of signs, but never saw one in the wild. So, there was an exhibit of them in town and I got to see some that way ;)



Then tonight, I took myself to the Cody Cattle Co. for an all you can eat Stagecoach buffet of beef, chicken, baked potatoes, beans, ceasar salad, cole slaw, corn bread, apple sauce and brownies for dessert! ;)

Here’s a shot of the dining room. I was so hungry I forgot to take a picture of the buffet or my plate, but take my word for it. It was good! ;)



After all that, I’m still not finished yet. I'm going to stay a couple of extra days here. Love this place and the adventurous spirit of the old west!

Island Park, Idaho Get Together

Sunday afternoon, I headed off to Island Park, ID to gtg with some RV forum friends. I was staying in West Yellowstone, so it was only a half hour drive to meet up with my friends Larry and Sheila who are work camping there. Our friend Kerry, who is work camping in the Tetons drove over as well. I had met Larry and Sheila before at a Quartzsite Rally two winters ago, but I had never met Kerry.

We had a lovely visit. Sheila took us on a walk down by the river to pick wild huckleberries. And were they ever good! They are at a beautiful park in the Targhee National Forest.



Larry showed us some of his recent paintings he does as a hobby.



We visited over snacks of course ;) Sheila is a great cook, but I told her not to fuss. I realize she is working.



Then, Larry was kind enough to get a group photo of us.

Sheila, me and Kerry (Left to right)



It was sure great seeing you again Sheila and Larry and nice meeting you Kerry. Thanks for a nice visit :)

I'll be leaving Yellowstone tomorrow (Monday) and heading for Cody, WY! I'll spend some time at the museum, catch a rodeo and do a little horseback riding :)

Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center

I had never seen a grizzly bear, so off I went to the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center Sunday morning. This is a non-profit organization whose mission is to save problem bears from being euthanized. Currently, they have seven bears. You can view them fairly closely within their fenced in area.

Meet Illie and Sam. These are siblings from Alaska who lost their mother. They are much larger than the grizzlies in Yellowstone since they are used to eating salmon. Illie weighs 750 lbs and Sam weighs in at 1000 lbs!

Before releasing the bears into the viewing area, the employees hid food under rocks, stumps and various places where they’d have to find it. When they come out, it’s like a scavenger hunt for them.

Here’s a video of Illie



And Sam



After Sam got his belly full, it was time for his nap ;)



There is also an outdoor viewing area of saved wolves. The organization continues to expand. They are also planning to start a birds of prey exhibit in the future.

These are beautiful animals, but I sure would not want to meet any of them in the woods ;)









Sunday afternoon, I’ll be heading off to a mini gtg in Island Park, ID with some RV forum friends :)

Yellowstone National Park: Day Two

It was another awesome day at the park on Saturday. I explored the lower loop this time starting at Old Faithful! It was so impressive, I had to take a video ;)

It’s like a big upside down waterfall!



Speaking of waterfalls…this one is called Kepler Casades



At the southern part of the loop is the West Thumb Basin, which has multiple pools, geysers and hot springs. There were several elk there that appear to be accustomed to people being around. We didn’t bother them a bit! This doe was right in the middle of everything, just grazing away. Lake Yellowstone is in the background.





Here’s an interesting hot spring aptly called a “mud pot”



Then this guy was grazing near the exit road when I left. This was the first set of antlers I saw. And they were impressive! Too bad that tree was in the way.



Along the way to the next stop at the Yellowstone Grand Canyon, I encountered two more “bison blocks”. Lol This little guy was shooed out of the road by a park ranger.



And he was not happy about it at all. Look at those ears back ;)



Then again to the entrance of the canyon viewing area.



Finally, I arrived at my destination. Here is a photo of the upper falls of the Yellowstone Grand canyon.



And the canyon itself. This park is amazing. It has a little bit of everything!



Sunday, it’s off to the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center to see some more wildlife and a visit with some friends :)

Yellowstone National Park: Day One

Today, I was at the entrance to Yellowstone at 8:30 am in hopes of finally seeing some wildlife. According to friends and family, this would be the place to see some. They were right. I was not disappointed!

I drove the upper loop and the Lamar Valley today. Upon entering and exiting the park later, I saw some elk grazing.





This one appears to have some kind of tracking band on her.



This is yet another gorgeous park, despite a great amount of deforestation due to wild fires. There are a lot of dead trees down that look like pick-up sticks. It is a very diverse park with alpine forests, canyons, mountains, valleys, lakes, falls, geysers, hot springs and more.







When I got to the northeastern corner of the upper loop, I took a ride out through Lamar Valley. There were herds and herds of bison!



There were big ones...



and baby ones :)



This guy strayed away from the herd and held up traffic for quite some time. He just kinda meandered down one side of the road, and then down the other until we just ended up passing him.



Coming back across the northern section of the upper loop, traffic was stopped. And low and behold, there was a black bear coming up out of a stream.



On the northwestern corner of the loop was Mammoth Springs Terraces. Very unique formations with hot springs on top.





At the southwestern corner of the loop is the Norris geyser basin. I took a hike down to see the geysers along with other hot springs.

Norris geyser basin



Emerald Springs. This one has the distinct odor of sulfer, which helps to give it it's pretty green green color :)



Steamboat Springs. It's very difficult trying to photograph steaming springs. A lot of them turned out as white blurs. lol



Tomorrow, we’ll explore the lower loop of the park!

Glacier National Park

Monday, I explored Glacier National Park. It’s a very beautiful and diverse park with mountains, valleys, lakes and streams. I even saw some wildlife for the first time. Mountain goats!

It was also the first rain I ran into for the first time this summer. Unfortunately, it was cloudy and overcast so my photos were not great. It’s a good thing too, because I was deleting a video off my camera card and lost the pictures on the whole dang card! Dad gummit!

I would have gone back the next day again if it weren’t for the construction and threats of rain again. There are two sections with a 10 minute wait each way, so I spent 40 minutes of my day waiting in line. At least the last one gave me a chance to put on my rain gear as I watched a storm approaching. I ended up driving about 30 miles in the rain on my scooter back to my rig at the park entrance. Not fun!

So I’ll just put this one back on my bucket list. Montana sure is a beautiful state.

Today, it’s off to Yellowstone! I’ll be spending the next week or so here.

Little Bavaria in Leavenworth, WA

Friday, I visited Leavenworth, Washington’s little Barvaria. It’s a quaint little town nestled in the picturesque Wenatchee National Forest with the Wenatchee river coursing right through it. There is a waterfront park you can enjoy with rafting and kayaking.



The town itself has all the Bavarian architecture you’d expect with beautiful gingerbread and happy oompah music playing out into the streets.









And the food? You betcha it was good! King Ludwigs is known for their Schweineshax’n or pork hocks. You can see them cooking on the rotisserie in their kitchen window.





The pork hocks are served with hot German potatoe salad, sauerkraut and red cabbage. And it was wonderful!



Afterwards, I found the bakery ;) Although I was way too full for desert, I did get a giant soft pretzel to go ;)





This pretzel was bigger than a full size dinner plate!



I don’t eat out often, but when I do it’s because it’s worth it! There is RV parking on the west side of town. I walked in, but I cheated and took the trolley back because I was so full! lol What a pleasant day and I’d highly recommend a visit to Leavenworth :)

Now, it’s off to Glacier National Park. It’ll take us a couple days to get there.