As a little girl, I would sit for hours listening to my 45 rpm records. By far, my favorite was Annie Oakley. I loved listening to lyrics describing how she could shoot the buttons right off of a cowboys suit at 1100 paces! She became my hero.
As you probably already know, she became the sharp shooter star of the Bill Cody Wild West Show. So of course, I was super excited to arrive in Cody, Wyoming!
As soon as we passed through the east entrance, leaving Yellowstone and moved into Wyoming, the landscape changed drastically – it felt like we were entering the set of a 1950’s wild west cowboy movie. I half expected to run into John Wayne himself.
Cody did not disappoint, in fact it is unanimously our favorite destination so far on our trip. Our campground was in the middle of town which allowed easy access to all that we wanted to do. The first was a visit to an Old Trail Town replicated using actual buildings and equipment from the area and surrounding towns, including Hole In The Wall, hangout for Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid! The grave site of Jeremiah Johnson was there along with a few other notorious outlaws. We all really enjoyed walking on the wooden sidewalks that held so much American history.
Next, we enjoyed a dinner show, featuring a chuckwagon meal and the Cody Cattle Company. This was great entertainment featuring musician Ryan Martin and the Triple C Cowboys band singing songs of the old west, surprisingly mixed with a little classic rock and roll – a little something for everyone! They were all very talented musicians. We all definitely recommend this show if you’re ever in Cody!
Now you just can’t be out west without taking in a rodeo…..which we did! We got there for the very last night of the Cody Rodeo. It was so much fun to watch the roping, riding, clowning and lassoing. When in Rome, do as the Romans do, so I just had to wear my western gear and pretend that I was Annie for a night!
As some of you may know, Larry requires periodic infusion therapy while in remission from cancer. Being gone almost 4 months presented a bit of a challenge as he needed treatment about 2 months into our trip. Prior to leaving Naples, they realized that we would be in Cody about that time and discovered that there was a cancer center there. So, arrangements were made and one morning he went for blood work and an infusion. They were so pleased with the hospital and staff in this small community hospital, stating that they were treated so very well, all the way to the homemade soup offered. Larry was even heard to say, “maybe I’ll fly in here for all my infusions”! Way to go Cody healthcare!! We are grateful!
If you’ve never been on Bear Tooth Pass, add it to that bucket list! We were about 1 1/2 hours south of this beautiful drive so we took the Chief Joseph highway (a gorgeous drive in itself) and went to the peak of the mountains, elevation just shy of 10,000 feet! The scenery took your breath away (or maybe it was the high altitude!) but we all enjoyed this scenic drive.
As we approached the higher elevations, we started noticing strange cloud formations which were new to all of us and quite frankly, a bit spooky!
Do they make you think of UFO’s?? Apparently, they are a rather rare cloud formation known as lenticular clouds. They are mostly seen in higher altitudes, above mountains!
Howie and Larry are both history buffs so one day they spent time in the Buffalo Bill Museum while Marj and I shopped – we all enjoyed our day.
Here are some pictures from the museum. (Not surprising that most are of Annie Oakley!)
There’s a historic hotel in Cody, called the Irma, named after Buffalo Bill’s daughter. This bar is inside the hotel dining room. It was a gift from the Queen of England as a thank you to William Cody for taking his Wild West show to England, per her request.
To finish up in Cody, I’m sharing a few more photos that give you a taste of that awesome little western town!
HAPPY TRAILS, EVERYONE!
Ramblin' Rosie 
Looks like Cody was a fun time!! Loved the hat Peg!! Definitely would like to go there! Thanks for sending great pictures of everything! Happy trails
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