The dam was originally called the Shoshone Dam but President Harry Truman renamed it the Buffalo Bill Dam in recognition of Cody's early efforts at irrigation.
We went for lunch at a town outside Cody called Meeteetse. Can you call a place a "town" when the population is 300-something? Maybe village, or hamlet is a better term. Meeteeste's business district was a block long. Our destination was The Cowboy Bar, which has been there since 1893. The back bar (see picture below) was brought here from the Chicago World's Fair that same year The walls of the bar were covered with brands from area ranches and wanted posters. One was for Butch Cassidy (Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid is one of Mike's favorite movies). Both the girl behind the bar and a local guy sitting at the bar said that Butch Cassidy was arrested outside the bar, but our Google research could not confirm that. The drive there was worth it as the buffalo burgers were terrific. I could have bought the glass my iced tea was served in for $3, but instead I asked if the cowboy boot shaped shot glasses behind the bar were for sale. (I thought it was a perfect souvenir. I could use it for serving syrup and the boys for its intended use!)
The gal said they weren't for sale, but she would give me one. She said she hardly used them as they were difficult to clean (I may have to rethink my using it for syrup idea). As she handed it to me she laughed and said, "Now you can tell people you got the boot at the Cowboy Bar." (booted out. . . get it?) Mike jokingly (I hope) said he had been booted out of bars before but that this would be a first for me. There was a photo op jail next to the Cowboy Bar so I went in there to pay for my crime!
The other reason to drive to Meeteetse is across the street - a chocolate shop owned and operated by The Cowboy Chocolatier. He uses no preservatives in his handmade truffles so they have to be eaten within 5 days. As if that would be a problem for me! We chose Meeteetse Mud (a rocky-road type concoction). YUMMY!
Meeteetse is halfway to Thermopolis, Wyoming's largest hot spring. Since we had seen them in Yellowstone, we didn't to there, but I think you can go in the hot spring there, unlike in the park.
I've mentioned several times over the course of our journey that we were unable to do some things because they were closed, mainly because we were too early. We hit it just right in Cody because two of their popular, trademark activities start June 1 and go until the end of August. So the late afternoon brought us back to the Irma Hotel where every night they block off the side street and hold a shoot-out. Being the first night, I think it was like a dress rehearsal for them. (I had walked into the Irma to get the picture below of the bar and overheard one of the performers say to the other - "Are we doing it just like last year?") The shoot-out had Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, Rooster Cogburn, and Calamity Jane, to name a few famous cowboys (and cowgirl). It was part slap-stick, sometimes corny, sometimes funny (when one of the bad guys got shot, the doctor said he'd take the bullet out but couldn't give him any anesthesia. When they guy asked why, the doctor said because it said so on page 153 of the Obama Care plan! Maybe that's not so funny if you love the Obama Care plan. . . ) and overall entertaining. And it was free (did I mention we like free?).
The shoot-out is done in time to get to the Cody Rodeo, the other activity that starts June 1 and runs every night through the summer. In fact, a rodeo clown urges everyone to come to the rodeo before the shoot-out starts. Opening night the cost is only $5 - a bargain because the regular price is $18. We were given the same tip by 2 different locals so we headed to the opposite grandstands called The Buzzards Roost where the bleachers had seat backs and armrests. Plus we were right above the chutes the broncs and bulls exploded from with their brave, albeit crazy, riders. How these cowboys don't snap their necks or backs is beyond me. The very first rider we saw got bucked off the horse, but his hand got tangled up in the rope and he couldn't get free. That bronc dragged him around the arena until a group of cowboys that rushed out could get the horse settled down enough to free his hand.
Cowboys are very patriotic. The shoot-out began with a presentation of the colors and we all stood to sign the National Anthem. Ditto for the rodeo, which also included a prayer.
My favorite part of the rodeo was barrel-riding by the girls. I could not get pictures of this because they all just looked like a blur with how fast the horses were going. They have a timer on a big screen so you can see the progress and after a rider has went around the last barrel and headed for the finish point, I was often rising out of my seat, urging them on. They cutest thing was the 11and under division for girls. Some of them never got faster than a trot and it took several tries to get the horse to go around the barrel. When this was the case, everyone cheered as if they had set a world record! The last little girl could have competed with the adults. She came roaring out, racing around those 3 barrels, her hat flying off and finished with a time that would have put her in the top 5 of the older girls.
My least favorite was the little boys riding the smaller bulls. They all wear helmets (thankfully) but none of them stayed on more than 2 or 3 seconds (you have to stay on for 8 seconds to receive a score). At least two of them looked a little shaken up when they fell.
Saturday night pretty much brought to a close our time in Wyoming, as we are driving to South Dakota today. We loved most everything about Wyoming. Some fast facts: They have no state income tax. The state runs a surplus due to revenue from oil, natural gas and mining interests. It is the least populated state. The average ranch size is 3,700 acres. Also, Wyoming was the first state to allow women the vote! We decided we could live on a ranch here.
Several conversations reinforced for us how truly fortunate we were at Yellowstone. A couple from Ohio sat next to us at the shoot-out. They, too, had just come from Yellowstone. She asked if we saw any bears. When we said 4 - they were amazed. They hadn't seen any. And a local girl in a shop said she has lived in Cody her whole life (she was 20-ish) and for as many times as she has been to Yellowstone, she has never seen a bear. We consider these gifts to be blessings that have made our adventure so wonderful. (We asked the same couple if they went to the Dan Miller show, because they would like it. They had the dilemma on Saturday night of choosing between the show or the $5 rodeo tickets. Dan doesn't perform on Sundays and the rodeo tickets go up to $18. They chose the rodeo. I must be related to them.)
We may have turned the weather corner because today (Sunday) is sunny and warm again. I'm typing as Mike is driving. Our drive through the Bighorn Mountains to get to I-90 east is reminiscent of the rock formations in Utah and Arizona. We had 59 miles where we never went over 30 mph because of the twisty, curvy road. (how many times have I used those terms to describe roads we have been on?!). We usually do these roads in the Jeep, but there were no signs with length of vehicle limits (and we have seen such signs), our RV GPS brought us this way, and we passed a motorhome our size coming from the direction we were headed so we knew it could be done. Many signs on the route indicated types of rock and age. One sign said 2.5 billion years. How do they know that? (my mind gets boggled easily).
This is an indication of the type of road we were on: several times on this stretch there are other signs that said when the flashers are flashing, the road is closed and you would have to turn around. There was always a gate that would prohibit any going further. Thankfully, that wasn't the case today with the nice weather. It would have been nearly impossible for us to turn around. (remember, we can't go in reverse unless we unhook the Jeep).
We went through Granite Pass, elevation 9033 ft. and the road down was as tricky as the road up.
We are now on I-90, where Mike breathes a sign of relief. We see great scenery when we are not on the interstates but often the driving has to be so focused that Mike doesn't get to see what I see! Plus, he says I am not writing a book so here are the pictures for today:
In jail in Meeteesee.
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