Cody, Wyoming - June 20 - 23

 Cody, Wyoming, was a fun place to visit!  We began our tour of the town with a one hour trolley ride that explained the 100 year history of Cody.  There was an impressive statue of Buffalo Bill as a scout next to the Buffalo Bill Historical Center.  Cody, Wyoming, was planned and begun by Buffalo Bill Cody.

One hour trolley ride.

Statue of Buffalo Bill as a Scout

The Irma, Buffalo Bill's Hotel, was named after his daughter, Irma.  This was the first hotel in the town and also an elaborate one.  There is a large decorative cherry wood bar in the dining room which was once the saloon.  The bar was a gift to Buffalo Bill from Queen Victoria of England after Buffalo Bill Wild West Show performed in England.  They became very good friends. Late in the afternoon, there was a "Shoot Out" Re-enactment in the street just outside of the Irma Hotel.  We  watched it with a large crowd of people even though the show was less than stellar.

Irma Hotel was Named After Buffalo Bill's Daughter, Irma

A Gun Shootout Took Place Outside Irma Hotel

During the next two days, Danny and I toured Buffalo Bill Historical Center which was  five  museums under one roof - Buffalo Bill's Life, The Yellowstone, Firearms, Western Art and Plains Indians.  This is an exceptional museum, and we spent a great deal of time wandering through the exhibits.

Buffalo Bill Historical Center - Five Museums Under One Roof

Danny in the Firearms Museum

The Western Art Museum in the Historical Center

After touring the museums, Danny and I drove out to the Buffalo Bill Dam.  What a feat to build this dam in the canyon near Cody!  Took five long hard years and three companies to complete the dam, but it is beautiful and a tribute to the men who built it.

Buffalo Bill Dam Just Outside of Cody

Looking Straight Down on the Dam

Below the Dam

The Reservoir Formed by the Dam

Three Tunnels Through the Mountains Leads to the Dam

Oh, my!  Did we ever get wind blown during the Cody Rodeo!  The temperature wasn't that cold, but the wind was blowing in gusts up to 60 miles per hour!  It blew and blew and blew!  The cowboy hats flew off. The ropers couldn't get their lariats to work. The animals seemed jittery.   The crowd was miserable!  We wrapped up in blankets and huddled together until the bitter end because we wanted to see the bull riding event.  This wasn't our best rodeo, but we sure will remember it!

The Cody Rodeo

Bull Riding

Cold, Gusting Wind All During the Rodeo 

One of the nights we were in Cody, the two of us had a fun at The Cody Cattle Company dinner show.  The food was tasty, and the entertainment was one of the best musical shows we have ever attended!

Chuck Wagon Dinner Show

Good Food, Good Entertainment & Good Show

Triple C Cowboys

On to Yellowstone next!  What a grand opportunity for us to see all these wonderful things!

Little Big Horn Battleground Near Hardin, Montana

I will have to tell you that I found Little Big Horn Battleground disturbing and extremely sad.  Yes, the ranger talk was so very interesting, but it seems that there were many people to blame for all of the killing that went on that day.  Custer - yes;  Other military officers - yes;  Politicians in Washington DC - yes; Indians - yes.  The Indians were merciless, but they were trying to defend their way of life that was being taken from them.  The U. S. made promises to the Indians that it did not keep.  SAD, SAD, SAD!

BUT,I did find the land beautiful; the sky expansive; the hills and mountains gorgeous; and the river valley lovely!
 
Here are a few photos of what we saw while touring the battleground.

Ranger Talk Giving the History of the Battle

Markers Where Custer and Other Military Fell at  Custer's Last Stand

Monument for US Soldiers

 Monument for Indians 

Custer's Last Stand Hill

National Military Cemetery at Little Big Horn Battleground

Beautiful Land and Big Big Sky!

Horsemen practicing for the Re-Enactment to be held the
following weekend. 

Billings, Montana - Moss Mansion and Pompey's Pillar

What a delightful congregation we found in Billings, Montana on June 15th which was Father's Day!  As so often, we met someone who knows someone we know.  This indeed is a small world!  They even gave us a bag of homemade cookies when we left!  YUM!

After lunch, all six of us travelers toured the Moss Mansion in Billings.  It was built by Preston Moss who was an entrepreneur.  He began many successful businesses and included many innovative elements into his home - a dial telephone before New York City had one and hand painted Moorish decor are a couple of examples.  We were very impressed with his work and the beautiful home.

Moss Mansion - Home of Preston Moss, Entrepreneur of Billings, Montana

Hand Painted Ceiling of the Mansion

 We then drove about 30 miles northeast of Billings to Pompey's Pillar on the Yellowstone River.  This rock formation that towers above the surrounding land  was found by William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Exploration, and he wrote about it in his journal.  He inscribed his name and date in the rock beside many Indians' inscriptions and drawings.  As you may remember from history class, Sacajawea and her husband, Charbonneau, were with  Lewis and Clark when William Clark found this rock formation. Clark named the tower after her 18 month old son, Pompy.

Pompey's Pillar

Another View of Pillar

Replica of the inscription William Clark left.

Pompey's Pillar is Adjacent to Yellowstone River

Danny, Linda and Mike Talking to a Park Ranger

At six, the National Monument closed and we had to leave.  We drove on a gravel road through some of Montana's rural area to reach our campground.  Talk about "Big Sky Montanan!"  Pictures just don't do the expansiveness of Montana justice!  The sky goes on and on forever!  Beautiful!!

Devils Tower, Sturgis and Deadwood

After a day of rest, Danny and I along with Denise Rust traveled into Wyoming to see Devils Tower near Sundance.  We first sighted it several miles away and stopped for a photo.  At the visitors' center I met a group of hikers from Ft. Smith, Arkansas which isn't far from where we lived.  Small world!  Devils Tower is just amazing!  Out of relatively level terrain, this huge rock formation soars toward the sky!  The three of us hiked around its base which was elevated above the valley.  

We saw a large prairie dog village as we exited the park .  Those little animals are so cute to watch, and they do not seem to be afraid of humans at all.   

Devils Tower in Wyoming

Here we are several miles away from the tower.

View of the valley below Devils Tower...... Wide open spaces!

Prairie Dog Village

On our way back to Hill City KOA, we drove through Spearfish Canyon.  It was really pretty drive, but we were tired from the trip and didn't stop for photos.

On June 13th, we spent the day touring Sturgis and Deadwood,  My impression of Sturgis is that they sell lots and lots of tee shirts!  We strolled along the main street and saw some motorcycles and many stores that cater to them.  I'm glad I can say that I have been to Sturgis, but it wasn't a highlight for me.

 From there, we drove to Deadwood and had lunch at Silverado's Buffet.  It was delicious - prime rib, wonderful vegetables, salads, burgers, and desserts.  We toured the Adams Museum that Danny had visited when he was 18.  A lot had changed, but he remembered a lot about the museum and the cemetery where Wild Bill Hickok is buried.

A photo of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally

Silverado's Buffet

Adams Museum

Inside Adams Museum

Blocked Off Street in Downtown Deadwood

Danny looking at Wild Bill Hickok's Grave

The next day was a "Chill Out Day," and we rested up for the trip to Hardin, Montana on Saturday. We have many great memories of time spent with our friends in the Mount Rushmore area.

Badlands, Wall Drug Store and Minuteman Missile Site

 Sometimes being silly is just fun!  When we arrived at the Prairie Homestead there were costumes that we could wear as we toured the 1906 sod house, root cellar, barn and hen house.  It was located very near the Badlands, and I can only imagine what the family must have thought as they wagon-ed across the badlands to reach their new 160 acre farm. The family who moved here came when they were in their 50's and lived in the house and addition for 30 years!  YIKES!  Thank you Danny for not asking me to move into a place like this!

Sod house with its addition at far right, root cellar at center

"Paw and Maw Craddock"

Here are Danny and Linda looking at the inside of the sod house.

In the barn we found an old model T Ford.  Don't we look cute?

The sod house was our first of many stops on this Beautiful June day.  Next our drive through the Badlands was mesmerizing!  How strange to see these barren dirt formations in the middle of lush prairie land!

Following the Badlands Drive, we had lunch in the Cowboy Art Cafe at Wall Drugstore in Wall, South Dakota.  This drugstore was made up of a lot of stores joined together. Most of them were filled with  tourist merchandise, but it was a fun place to eat and tour.  The drug store was having trouble making a go of things until they began placing signs - similar to Burma Shave signs - along the highway advertising FREE ICE WATER!  Travelers began to stop for the water immediately and the store's popularity grew and grew.  The ice water is still free and a nice cup of coffee is only 5 cents.  Quite a deal and we enjoyed a few cups!

The afternoon was filled with a Minuteman Missile Site launch control tour.   WOW!  Very interesting! The tour consisted of only 6 people and the National Park Ranger.  She took us through the living quarters of the military personnel who worked at the remote site.  This launch center controlled many missiles in the area which were 3 to 15 miles away.

Recreation and Dining Room for the military personnel
who worked at the missile site

This door closed off the command center which was
31 feet below the living quarters.  Only 2 persons at a
time were allowed in this command center and they
stayed shut up in there behind this door for 24 hours at a time.

This was the actual command center.  One of the two keys for the
launch was on the panel at the right.

This key hole was 12 feet away from the second key hole so that
no one person could launch a missile as the keys had to be turned at
the same time. There were many, many checks that had to be
completed before an actual launch could happen.

If a missile had been launched, it could have reached Russia
in thirty minutes!  Amazing.  There were a couple of close
calls in our past, but thankfully they were both averted through the
checks and false alarms were indicated.

This is the launch command center.  There was a bed to rest,
a small kitchenette, and a rest room area.

What a great day of touring!  Long but rewarding!