Cody, Wyoming

Welcome to the American West!

"Where is the West?" This question was posed at the Whitney Western Art Museum, at the beginning of a gallery full of artwork by the likes of Frederick Remington and Charles M. Russell. The Whitney museum is just one section of the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, located in Cody, Wyoming, which we enjoyed visiting.

At some point during the great Westward Expansion in the United States, Wyoming used to be at the western edge of the United States: "the American West". In Cody, Wyoming “West” is not just a location but also a mindset, a place filled with history, and a unique western culture. 

 

As you step into the town of Cody, you enter the American West! Incorporated in 1901, the town was founded by Colonel William F. Cody, better know as "Buffalo Bill" Cody, who passed through the region in the 1870s, and loved it so much he returned to help found the town which bears his name.

Buffalo Bill Center of the West

Today Cody is rich in history, the history of the west, the history of firearms, the history of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, and of the area. The best place to understand the history of the American West  is at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, which consists of five museums:

• the Buffalo Bill Museum

• the Cody Firearms Museum

• the Draper Natural History Museum 

• the Whitney Western Art Museum

• the Plains Indian Museum

The Buffalo Bill Center is a Smithsonian Affiliate and you could spend a lot of time here in the excellent displays and exhibits filled with great explanations. We spent two days 

among the exhibits and there was even more to do! So much to see and to learn!

 

A Poster from Buffalo Bill's London Wild West tour, where he performed for the Queen. 

 

The Firearms Museum has at least 10,000 artifacts on display.The museum houses the most comprehensive collection of American firearms in the world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Draper Natural History Museum contained amazing

displays focusing on the wildlife and geography of the 

Yellowstone Basin. This was perhaps the best natural history museum I have been to. The layout of the small wing of the museum was so creatively designed so that you walked through individual exhibits and onto the next while the sounds of nature surrounded you. In an exhibit about wildfires, the scent of smoke was in the air!
 

 

 

 

 

 

In addition to these five fabulous museums, the The Buffalo Bill Center houses the McCracken Research Library. I took a few moments here to obtain some help researching a family member, who according to the oral history in our family, had performed with the Buffalo Bill Wild West show!  My Mother's Aunt by marriage, Lucille Mulhall had performed for her father, Zach Mulhall's wild west show, but I had not found documentation of her affiliation with the Buffalo Bill show in my research. A very kind research librarian named Samantha took the time to find some documentation within the Library collection and also some info online. Not only did Lucille perform with the Buffalo Bill show during its last season, but she was also inducted into the Rodeo Hall of Fame in 1975. There was also a book in the Center's gift store that gave a whole chapter to Lucille Mulhall, who was know as one of the first women to compete with men in roping and riding events. She was a skilled and well renowned roper and horsewoman!

Perhaps because of the stories I heard from my family regarding Lucille, I have always been fascinated with Buffalo Bill and his Wild West Show. I have always known Bill Cody as a showman, but the Buffalo Bill Museum does an amazing job of chronicling Mr. Cody's accomplishments, such as founding the town of Cody; bringing irrigation to the area; creating interest in the Eastern US, and around the world, about the area of Wyoming and Yellowstone; and investing in different business ventures. Mr. Cody had an inclusive mindset and brought together talented people for his Wild West Show from all different nationalities, races, religions, and both men and women. His influence is still seen all around Cody and Wyoming.

 

Bill Cody knew that irrigation could bring great farming into the area of Cody, and he was one of the investors/developers of a Canal on the Shoshone River, which eventually became a public works dam project. The dam, originally called the Shoshone River Dam, has been renamed the Buffalo Bill Dam. This was the tallest dam in the world at the time of its completion in 1910. Building of the dam also required blasting tunnels over a half mile long through the solid granite mountainside in order to build a roadway to supply the project! Quite impressive!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The reservoir above the dam was very large, and logs from the area have accumulated at the edge of the dam.

Another attraction we explored in Cody is Old Trail Town, a collection of historical buildings which have been moved to Cody from various places in Wyoming in order to retain the history of the old west. There was a building which was currently in the process of being reassembled on site, which is obviously no easy task.  Each building was disassembled at their original sites, each piece being numbered and noted on plans, then reassembled in Cody. Each of the buildings was filled with furnishings of the time. The tour gives a good feeling of what a western town was like at the end of the 19th century.

Cody is Rodeo!

Some communities have a stadium for baseball or football, an athletic home team that they root for, but the stadium in Cody is for RODEO, which takes place every night during July and August. We had to check it out! This is definitely a community event attended by families. The evening began with prayer for safety for the contestants and livestock, followed by the National Anthem. Yes, everyone stood for the flag and removed their hats!

 

All contestants were cheered on, even when they were disqualified for not completing an event. Adults and Juniors competed in bronc riding, bull riding, roping and barrel racing events.

The Calf Scramble, Cody Nite Rodeo

This was perhaps my favorite event! All children 12 and under were invited into the arena and lined up at one end. From the opposite end of the arena, two calves were released into the dirt field. Each had a red ribbon tied to its tail. The goal of the contest was to be the one to get a ribbon from on of the calf's tails. The calves were released and the kids were given the start signal. The kids charged in one direction and the calves ran toward them and in between them. It was mayhem, but no one got hurt. Two lucky kids won some prizes for pulling the ribbons from the tails! 

What great family fun!

The Beartooth Highway and Chief Joseph Scenic Byway

The Beartooth Highway was highlighted in the area magazine's as "The most beautiful drive in America". It was a stunning drive! This section of U.S. Route 212 winds through Montana and Wyoming between Red Lodge and the Northeast entrance of Yellowstone National Park, passing over the Beartooth Pass in Wyoming at 10, 947 feet!  We traveled the road from Red Lodge to its junction with the Chief Joseph Highway which brought us back to Cody. This was a magnificent day trip with stunning views. 

 

 

At the higher altitudes along the drive on the Beartooth Highway we found meadows of wildflowers, and patches of snow around gorgeous lakes. This was a view I had hoped to see in Glacier National Park, but did not see because we were unable to drive on the Going to the Sun Road to the Alpine (high elevation) meadows. It was a treat to drive this road, which I think must be similar to the road through Glacier National Park.

Standing on this bridge on the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway and looking straight down to the very deep canyon below is a dizzying experience!

This is the view from Dead Indian Pass, at 8,071 feet in elevation on the Wyoming Highway 296, known as the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway. You can see the switchbacks that we had driven over to the right of the picture,

 

We had a great week of Adventures on the Road, in the West! We are traveling on to see the sights in Eastern Wyoming and then onto South Dakota. Thanks so much for your continued prayers for safety and a fun time. We have been blessed with safe travels and fun adventures so far!