Digging for Our Roots, Part I: Cody - Yipee-Kai-Yo-Kai-Yay!

10-14 July 2012

It is only 1 ½ hours from Thermopolis to Cody so we were able to start touring Cody as soon as we set up camp. Turns out there is a world class quilt shop here, so that was my first stop. Bought fabric to make a very cute “cowgirl” quilt that will challenge my “fussy cutting” skills.

Cody is a very nice little town, about 10,000 folks, with well-maintained homes and a very nice late 1800’s downtown. It is obviously a tourist destination, but in good taste. Russ almost hit a deer crossing the main street and since that first time, we have seen several deer roaming the town.

Drove out to the Heart Mountain Japanese Internment Camp which is about half an hour out of town. They have an excellent interpretive center which gives a timeline based description of the internment. A lot of photos of internees and oral/video interviews. Met a fellow visitor who happens to be a docent for the Japanese-American National Museum in Los Angeles. That museum has one of the Heart Mountain barracks as an exhibit. He was very interesting to talk to, because, even though he is too young to be an internee, he has many friends who were internees and who had shared their stories.

On one particularly clear day, we took a loop drive on Chief Joseph Scenic Highway and Beartooth Highway. Lot of loops and steep grades climbing to just shy of 11,000 feet. It was just spectacular! Saw lots of wildflowers, waterfalls, amazing vistas and even some small fields of snow.

Joined a bunch of other tourists at the Cody Night Rodeo. This has been going on nightly every summer for over 75 years. I was a bit skeptical starting out as to its authenticity, but it was clear that these are working cowboys and cowgirls. They use this rodeo to practice their skills so that they can compete in the professional rodeos. Except for the dust, we had a nice time.

Spent two days at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center which is actually 5 museums located on the same campus. One museum covered Buffalo Bill’s life including actual film of his Wild West Show – boy, I wish I could have gone to see it in person. He was America’s first idol! Millions around the world knew of him and he is attributed with popularizing the American West. But, just as with other megastars, his personal life was a mess: his wife divorced him because he was never home, 3 of his 4 children died when they were young and, even though he made tons of money, he died in near poverty. Other museums included; Plains Indians, Firearms, Yellowstone Natural History and Western Art. All the museums had excellent interactive exhibits, although I can’t vouch for the Firearms Museum. I let Russ do that on his own. He reported that they did a “bang-up” job (LOL!)

On the last night, we had dinner at the Irma Hotel, built by Buffalo Bill and named for his one surviving child. They have a prime rib buffet which was nice. The dining room has lots of stuffed critters on the wall, a big, long bar and pictures of Cody and his family. Very crowded with tourists, many of whom were from out of the country. Apparently, the American Wild West still has its appeal with foreigners.

Tomorrow, we are heading towards the Little Bighorn Battlefield and then on to Scobey, Montana.