We have now arrived in the true Wild West, land of Buffalo Bill and rodeos! Cody is located in northwestern Wyoming and surrounded by mountains on three sides. The town is named for Buffalo Bill Cody, the American scout, bison hunter and entertainer. We have two days and three nights here and we plan on visiting the Buffalo Bill Center, attending a chuckwagon dinner/cowboy music show and witnessing a real live rodeo!
On our way to Cody, we have a quick overnight stop in Buffalo, WY (at the junction of interstates 25 and 90) since it is a long drive from Scotts Bluff. As we leave Buffalo, we see a rancher driving some cattle across the highway. This is a first for us – a cow jam. After the cow jam, we continue on.
Buffalo to Cody it is not so far as the crow flies, but first we need to cross the Rocky Mountain range. On the up portion we drive the truck too hard and get a warning that the engine is in danger of overheating, so we slow down.
We have already been forewarned that brakes have burned out on the down side, so we put the truck in low gear and patiently descend. Phew!! It is great to be on the flat valley for the last portion of the trip, but we have gained experience in what is to become commonplace driving conditions for the next few months as we visit the Western states.
Our campground is in town, which is an unusual treat, and we drive down Main Street in Cody to get there. Cody is a cute little western town with shops, restaurants and coffee shops and the Irma Hotel, owned by Buffalo Bill himself and named after his daughter. DT thinks it is a little too cute, almost Disneyesque in appearance, and looks behind some store fronts just to make sure they are real.
We are staying at the Ponderosa Campground, which is in town and allows us to walk to the Buffalo Bill Center and to all shops and restaurants downtown. The campground is basically a parking lot with hook-ups but the in-town location can’t be beat, so we are happy.
Our first night in town we are tired from a day of driving and decide to treat ourselves to a chuck wagon dinner and music show at the Cody Cattle Company. We arrive at 5pm and are seated at a long table with views of the stage. Dinner is buffet style – baked chicken, steak, Caesar salad, baked potatoes, beans, corn bread, apple sauce, brownie. All you can eat. We weren’t expecting much but the food was surprisingly good! And we all enjoyed the cowboy music show with the Triple C Cowboy band, hand clapping, foot stomping and all. A good first night in Cody!
The next morning, we walk into town, look around and then go to the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, 5 museums in one: the Buffalo Bill Museum, the Plains Indian Museum, the Draper National History Museum, Whitney Western Art Museum, and the Cody Firearms Museum. Clearly too much museum to do all at once. We spend most of our time in the Buffalo Bill Museum, a very well-done chronicle of Buffalo Bill Cody’s life.
After lunch we drive outside town to the very impressive Buffalo Bill Dam – one of the first concrete arch dams in the United States.
Next off to the Cody Stampede Park for a night at the rodeo. A highlight of our trip! Cowboys, bucking broncos, calf roping! Lots of riders thrown. We are amazed that anyone is willing to participate. It is amazing to watch. This is the proof we are really in the West now.
We have a two-day ticket to the Buffalo Bill Center of the West so we return the next day and tour the Plains Indian Museum and the Draper National History Museum. That is enough museum for us. We forgo visiting the art and firearm museums. We treat ourselves to ice cream at a parlor on Main Street. That afternoon we go to the Irma Hotel to watch the daily shootout re-enactment but Elle hates the loud gun shots so we don’t stay.
Instead we check Yelp and find a food truck that supposedly has excellent Mexican food. We decide to see for ourselves and get takeout for dinner – and sure enough – it is outstanding. Cody has been a fun stop – but the mountains just to our west include two of the BIG National Parks (Grand Teton and Yellowstone) and we are anxious to see both of them.