"The Rodeo Capital of the World"

We left West Yellowstone Friday morning and headed back thru the park towards Cody, Wyoming. We got to Cody that afternoon and set up shop in our new campground for the next three nights. Cody is the birthplace of the rodeo and also the town founded by the famous William F. Cody (aka Buffalo Bill), who is responsible for settling the Wild West. We started our Cody adventure Friday night by taking the convenient campground shuttle bus to the world famous Stampede Rodeo. The rodeo was a true Western rodeo and we saw bare back bronc riding, saddle back bronc riding, women’s break away roping, steer roping, team steer roping, women’s barrel racing, and finally the famous bull riding. We also saw some other interesting things such as a 5 year old bull rider and our bus driver’s daughter Liz, who is Cody’s famous female bull rider. After the rodeo we ventured into downtown Cody to see what the town had to offer. We found a cool little bar called the Silver Dollar and met some very cool local folks.


Saturday was pretty much a rain day and we just ran a few errands, watched a few movies, and then embarked on another trip to the rodeo that night. We returned to our normal seats and sat with one of our new friends who was an Australian grandmother watching her friends compete in the rodeo. We started out the rodeo minding our own business and simply enjoying the events. However, about halfway thru the rodeo we were approached by a bachelorette party from Bozeman, Montana! They were a group of very sweet girls and we enjoyed watching the rest of the rodeo with them. After the rodeo we were somehow appointed to head up the transportation and security detail for the rest of the party. We smuggled the group onto the shuttle bus and went back into town with the girls and had a good time hanging out with them at the Silver Dollar. They ended up getting super stalked and eventually chased by a bull rider and pickup man from the rodeo. We escorted them back to the front door of their hotel as the creepers followed in their truck as we walked them down the street. We said our goodbyes to the girls and now have five new friends and a wedding to attend on September 12th in Bozeman, Montana.


Sunday was our last day in Cody and we went to the Buffalo Bill Historical Center. The world famous Cody Firearms Museum was by far the best exhibit. They had a little over 6000 guns on exhibit that represented pretty much every gun manufacturer in existence. The exhibit led us thru the evolution of the very first firearm all the way to the present mass production of modern weapons. The firearms exhibit also had an amazing Boone and Crockett display of every animal you could imagine from a mounted Walrus to the world record Polar Bear who stood 11’ tall. We also went thru the Buffalo Bill museum that examined the American cowboy, dude ranching, the settling of the west, and how Buffalo Bill utilized his outdoor shows to communicate to the world about the American west. After the museum we strolled thru downtown Cody one last time, grabbed some dinner, and then headed back to the camper and called it an early night. Tomorrow we are out early and headed to Darby, Montana to visit my cousin Lacy at his ranch and spend some time in the true west away from the tourist areas.


Cheggy