Cody, Wyoming

Cody, Wyoming

Buffalo Bill State Park

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The drive out of Yellowstone was amazing as expected. The road to Cody is through the east entrance of the park. The road passed through the Absaroka Mountain range and canyons, with beautiful rocky formations and following the Shoshone River. After leaving the park, Cody was 53 more miles ahead. We were then driving through the Shoshone National Forest. There were numerous recreation areas along the way, most offering camping. As we got closer to Cody, we entered Buffalo Bill State Park, where we were able to get a campsite. Our only choice was a non-hookup site, but we were okay with that. We now have the dry camping process down to a science. The site we chose faced the reservoir lake and was awesome! The dogs had a nice place to run off leash. Even though the campground rules required pets on leash, it seemed that no one was really enforcing this as other dogs were running free. We setup our living space there and sat back to enjoy the lake and the surrounding mountains. What a beautiful place, we felt lucky we were able to get a space here. After filling our water tank and getting setup¸ we discovered our water pump in the RV was not working. It seemed to be pumping, but no water came out. Kurt called Camping World service techs to help him diagnose the problem. The tech helped him locate the water pump and get to it by removing the cover. He was then able to determine that there was air in the water lines and then he worked on getting the air out. Whew! It was kind of nerve racking at first, as we would not have been able to camp there without a water pump. Anyway, as usual MacGyver pulled off this fix to save the day!

We then drove the couple of miles into Cody to check out the visitor’s center. As we headed to Cody, we drove through Shoshone Canyon, where the dam is located. This canyon was even more spectacular than any we had seen that day. There was a series of 3 tunnels that went through the mountain to get through the canyon. The city of Cody was wonderful and the visitor’s center was one of the best we’ve been to. While there, we collected brochures on activities in the area. We also purchased tickets to the Cody Nite Rodeo. The tickets were good for any night, as they only offered general admission. We were excited to see this rodeo.  After this we then went to Walmart to get our food for the week. When we returned to camp, the wind had picked up and was very strong. We were not able to keep our awning open or even build a campfire! Bummer, Kurt renamed this state Windoming! We ran our generators to charge the batteries and to be able to run the microwave and TV. After a long day we were tired and headed to bed.

The next day, we decided to visit the dam and learn about the history of this amazing engineering wonder. We were able to walk across the dam and look down at the river and canyon. There was a small museum that explained the history of the dam, how it was built and how Buffalo Bill was the first to create irrigation from the river to the local ranch lands. After this tour, we headed to the Buffalo Bill Center of the West Museum. WOW, we have never seen anything like this museum. It was mostly centered on the history and artifacts of Buffalo Bill (Col. William Cody). He was an amazing man; after homesteading in this area of Wyoming, he became a Pony Express Rider, then a scout for the US Cavalry and later became an officer. He was the founder of the town of Cody and later started his road show, the “Buffalo Bill Wild West Show”. His purpose was to take the “western” culture back to the east to entice people to come out to visit or live. He was an entrepreneur involved in the oil industry, hotels and tourism. He was a very interesting person with so many talents, especially for his time. The museum also had three other sections; American Indian Heritage, Natural History of Yellowstone, and a MAJOR gun collection (2700 guns dating back to the 1400’s, up to modern guns), which was amazing in itself.  This whole museum was so well done and was such a pleasure to visit. Even Kurt truly enjoyed it! We spent three hours in there, but could have stayed for at least a couple more. Amazing!

After the museum, we drove around Cody to check out the area. We needed propane gas for the RV and regular gas for the generators. We made those stops and also picked up some more provisions that we needed. We then headed back to camp for dinner and a wonderful campfire. It was so relaxing hanging out by the fire and having such an awesome view of the lake and the surrounding mountains. BTW, Kurt got a talking to about his campfire. The campground host came over and advised him that he should not have any logs hanging over the edge of the campfire ring! This was ridiculous, as the whole campsite was gravel! So much for Kurt’s cracker fires and I suppose he’s on another violator list in the Wyoming State Parks!

The following day, we had decided to head north of Cody for a scenic byway drive. This road went through the Shoshone National Forest and had some historical significance for the American Indians, which they originally used as a major trail. After driving an hour or so, we headed back to Cody. We went to a local sporting goods store to shop. I was looking for a backpack that sits around the waist and on the hips. I found one there that I loved. It is camo color (Mossy Oaks) and also had detachable shoulder straps if needed. It’s so nice to have a real backpack now. After that, we had found a city park with a bike trail along the Shoshone River. This trail ride was not too long, about 1 mile, but was gravel and had small hills. The best part was the river view, where we saw rafters riding the rapids.  After the ride, we had our lunch at one of the picnic tables in the park. It was a nice afternoon and we enjoyed the exercise. We then went back to camp to relax awhile. Later, we took the dogs and drove over the bridge to the other side of the lake to check out some hiking trails for the next day. We decided to go do the hike the next morning, and we would be able to take the dogs. Back to camp for the evening, dinner and a campfire!

The next morning, we drove back to Sheep Mountain, parked the truck and headed up the trail. The boys went with us and they really enjoyed the hike. This trail went up through the foothills into a small green valley. As we approached the valley area, there was a large water trough used for horse riders on the trail. Both boys enjoyed drinking the water and Kurt even put Kirby in the trough to cool him off. I’m not so sure he really enjoyed being in it, but I know he did feel much cooler. We continued up the trail for another couple of miles, when Kirby was beginning to huff and puff and the trail was getting really steep. He was getting tired and it was getting hotter. I decided to head back to the truck with Kirby, and Kurt was taking Kody. Well, Kody decided he was going back with me and Kirby. Kurt continued on the trail and we went back to the truck. We all drank some water and sat in the truck shade until Kurt returned. When Kurt returned, we headed back to camp for some lunch. We relaxed awhile and later got ready to go to the rodeo.  We headed into town and had an early dinner at the Irma Hotel. This is the historic hotel that was built by Buffalo Bill and named after one of his daughters. We ate outside on the patio and had buffalo burgers. It was wonderful! The Cody Nite Rodeo was next, as we headed to the rodeo arena. We truly enjoyed this rodeo; the participants are all “working cowboys”, not professionals. The events included bronco riding, bull riding, calf roping, ladies barrel racing, steer wrestling, and team steer roping. We really enjoyed this exciting rodeo. Just another great Wyoming experience!

Our last day in Cody was spent with Kurt doing some mountain biking and I was able to find a nice laundromat. I dropped Kurt off at the trailhead, which was just on the south side of town. He was able to ride his bike right back to the laundry, just when I was finishing the job. We drove through Cody back to the camp for lunch. The weather was warm, so we all wanted to get into the lake and cool off. The water was very chilly, but we all enjoyed our dip in the lake. Kurt wanted to go on another hike, which he had found on our way into the State Park. He took Kody and they had a nice hike on Four Bear Trail Creek, inside the Shoshone National Forest. Later, we began preparing for our departure the next morning.

We truly enjoyed our time in Cody and Buffalo Bill State Park. The campground was wonderful and was one of the best and biggest sites we’ve ever camped in, plus it was right on the lake. We felt so comfortable here and didn’t really want to leave, but on to Thermopolis!

Yellowstone National Park - east side

Yellowstone National Park

Fishing Bridge Campground – East side of Yellowstone

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Driving from Montana back into Yellowstone, we passed through Mammoth Hot Springs village. Since we had already been there, we just drove right through the area. This time we drove east on the Grand Loop Road towards our destination of Fishing Bridge Village and Campground. Along the way, we stopped by the Undine Falls overlook to see the terraced falls. Further down we stopped at the Tower-Roosevelt area for a break and Kurt hiked back into Tower Falls. I let the dogs get out of the truck for awhile and took them for a walk. There was major road construction in this area, the asphalt had been removed and the road was packed dirt with gravel. The speed limit was 20 mph and it was a grueling, slow drive. Ugh… Finally we were back on real road and continued to Fishing Bridge Campground. This area of Yellowstone had some pretty mountains and high meadows. There were many areas that were obviously part of the 1988 forest fires in Yellowstone. There were many young trees growing back, but it was sad to see the landscape like this. Canyon Village was also along the way. This is the area where the Yellowstone River flows through the canyon. There are two major falls, the Lower and Upper Falls of the Yellowstone. After realizing that this is a major feature of the park and river, we were making plans to spend some time back here after setting up camp.  Along the way there were a couple of places where the traffic was almost stopped. As we slowly moved forward, we discovered that some visitors were stopping in the road to look and take pictures of wildlife. This is not allowed in the park to stop on the roads, but so many people are so self centered that they don’t care and will block the traffic for their own pleasure. It’s so frustrating! Finally, we pulled into Fishing Bridge Campground and got registered for our site. Wow, this campground had the RVs packed in. We barely had room to setup our chairs in some space outside our camper and there were no campfires allowed. We were able to roll out our awning only about five feet. However, this campground is the only one in Yellowstone that has full hookups, which I reserved well in advance. Also, the campground only allows hard-sided RVs, as this is major bear country. (We never saw any bears in Yellowstone anywhere near the campground!) After setting up camp, we rode our bikes over to the Visitor Center to get information on hiking and possible kayaking. After returning to our campsite, we started Happy Hour and I made beef stew on our outside kitchen, which turned out really great.  We settled in for the night and got some rest.

The next day, we drove back north on the Grand Loop to Mt. Washburn. Kurt had decided to ride his bike back up a gravel road to the top of the mountain. I needed to get online and there was a signal at this high level of the mountain. I sat in the truck with the computer and was able to get some internet stuff done, but the signal was not strong enough to upload my pictures to Picasa. Kurt enjoyed his ride up the mountain, but didn’t continue up the hike to see the peak. Oh well, it was not that beautiful of a ride or hike. We continued back south on the road and stopped at a picnic site to eat our lunch. After that we went on a hike that went back to Cascade Lake.  The trail followed Cascade Creek through a beautiful mountain meadow. As we approached the lake, we saw a grizzly mama with two cubs about ½ mile away. I tried to move closer, but an off-duty ranger that was hiking near us advised us to leave the trail and head back. I was very aggravated as the bear was so far away and there were other hikers that were much closer to the bear and people fishing on the lake. The ranger got very belligerent with me and treated me like a child because I wanted to go just a little closer and get some pictures. Kurt got mad and started retreating, so I finally turned around and we headed back to the trailhead. As we have seen in the past, many rangers tend to blow things out of proportion! We were about ½ mile away and the bear was no danger to us. However, Kurt is the one who thinks that bison are not that dangerous and will get within 75 feet of one!  Oh well, an awesome hike spoiled…

On to the Canyon! After researching the canyon views, overlooks and hikes, we headed to the north rim of the canyon. We first drove the north rim drive, stopping along the way to do some hikes and overlooks. The first stop was the “brink of the lower falls”. This was a paved, switch back trail leading downward a couple of hundred feet. When we reached the brink, it was amazing to see the top of the falls and the amount of water and speed going over the brink. There was an overlook, where the view was back into the canyon and the river. I can’t even explain in words how amazing this looks. The pictures don’t even do it any justice! Not only do the pictures look like a painting, but the real view looks like a painting! It’s stunning! We also hiked along a rim trail that went down to another overlook, which looked back to the lower falls. After a few hours of viewing the north rim, we were exhausted and headed back to camp. At the end of the day, we were actually in love with Yellowstone; the canyon is really the highlight of the whole park!

The next day we headed toward the south rim of the canyon to see those sights. We first walked to an overlook to see the lower falls. It was an amazing view. We then found a picnic area at the brink of the upper falls, but we didn’t stop at one of the tables, Oh No! We headed down right by the river just above the brink and brought our chairs, cooler and food. This was an amazing place to watch the river flow right over the brink. Again, Kurt had to stand out on one of the ledges for a picture.  Imagine that! After that, we hiked down Uncle Tom’s Trail, which is a very steep series of steel steps and landings to get down near the bottom of the canyon for a view back to the lower falls! There were over 300 stairs and it was so nice going down, but the trip back up was grueling. However, it was so worth the effort. At this point, my feet were giving out on me, so Kurt hiked down to an amazing overlook called Artists Point. This is the location of most of the popular paintings of the Yellowstone Canyon portray. I drove the truck to the parking area and waited for Kurt. When he arrived, we were again stunned by the view and can understand how this is one of the most popular views of the canyon. After a few hours and dealing with too many people crowding and pushing their way into the area, we headed back to camp. An exhausting and amazing day in Yellowstone!

Our last day in Yellowstone was planned to ride our bikes back into the forest to a place called Natural Bridge, adjacent to Yellowstone Lake. The trailhead was at the Bridge Bay Marina, which we walked around and checked out first. We then rode our bikes about 1.5 miles back to the arch area. It was very beautiful and is much like some of the smaller arches in Utah’s parks. There was a short hike back up to the arch, but the trail was now closed to walk over the arch. After viewing this, we headed back on our bikes and back to camp for lunch. Kurt wanted to go on a hike by Yellowstone Lake called Elephant Back. Since my feet couldn’t take another hike, I stayed with the dogs at camp and also got some laundry and housekeeping taken care of. That’s kind of like a down day for me. Anyway, later be began prepping for our move the next day. Heading to Cody, Wyoming and we are looking forward to this place. So many people we have met told us this was a great place to visit. We will see!